And so . . . school begins . . .

What a look!?! Can you say, "We're having so much fun!"

Her "first day of school" outfit-PINK!

Looks like kindergarten!

The lesson plans are all made, I've stacked the papers, I've gone over the day's activities one too many times-WE ARE STARTING. I've decided to home school Alea this year-no surprise really-and begin her in kindergarten. Yes, I know it's a little early-according to her age-but I feel like she's ready. We've done preschool for the past two years and I feel like another year would be a waste of time. The beauty of homeschooling is going at your child's pace and I feel she is ready to delve into kindergarten.

I remember doing the "home visits" for preschool preparation. A little nervous going up to the front door plastered with a super sweet smile for the impressionable first impression. I loved meeting the kids for the first time and meeting their parents. I got a peek into their world. By visiting their homes, I already had a feel for where they were coming from. First day of preschool (2-3 year olds) was a bit weepy-mostly moms-and then after about two weeks, routines began and children became compliant. The year began with all it's stories, songs, snacks and sleep!

The day begins with a terrible yell and "Mommy, I need a band-aid!" Upon investigation, Alea has contracted a splinter. It's a perfect one though. The kind that is big enough to see and had one splintery finger still sticking out from her thumb. She sat like she was about to get shots waiting as I got the tweezers to extract to splinter. I don't know how many times she asked if it was going to hurt, but - with her distracted by the TV - when I finally did pull the pest out she didn't even flinch! Perfect, and now we can start our day. The first day of kindergarten!!

I remember the "open house" for second grade school preparation. I felt like teaching second grade was like getting a new job every August. You have a new class and new parents every year. The first day of class was basically an interview for the upcoming school year. You're nervous, you sweat, you try to get organized, the children look at you like you're some sort of real leader and are more than eager to follow. Routines begin and before you blink we're out for Christmas!

We couldn't have asked for a more smooth transition into our home school routine! Alea, being Alea, picked out her "first day of school clothes". She decided to wear a ballerina shirt (pajamas-sorry mom!), matching tutu, pink panty hose and her ballet slippers. We began the day with a song, did language arts, computer technology, art, literature, math and ended with a reading circle. I have blocked off an hour and a half and we went over that today. I hope this is a sign of things to come, a love for learning and teaching. I am using My Father's World curriculum with supplemental materials. This is suggested, tested and loved by my wonderful older sister of whom also home schools her FOUR children. Benton did great also, he did everything right along with us. I'm looking forward to watching my children grow and learn while I grow and learn right along with them!

On the side. . . Alea proceeded to call me "Teacher" or "Erin" while school was in session. It was too cute.

Our Tenth Year of Marriage!

Today marks a great achievement in today's marriage standards-or lack thereof. Greg and I happily celebrated our TENTH wedding anniversary. I can't say that we did anything of grandeur or expense but we did the most important thing for both of us, we spent time together. We both talked about how significant TEN years really is and how different we thought life would be after TEN years of marriage. Sooo, this year we wrote down where we think we'll be in another TEN years, put our predictions in an envelope, sealed it, not to be opened until August 7, 2019. It'll be fun to see where we are compared to where we think/hope we are after TWENTY years of marriage.

Greg is my best friend. He is always encouraging, supportive, faithful and so full of life. We have lived in two states together: Texas and Iowa. Been out of the country twice. Lived in a total of eleven residence-eight of which were our "permanent" address. Achieved four and six year college degrees. Birthed and are raising two beautiful children. Since marriage, Greg has had eight different jobs and I've had four. We've survived a tropical storm on Galveston Island and three winters in Iowa! Greg has played in bowling leagues, multiple softball leagues, a flag football league and golf tournaments he also coached basketball. We have been through seven cars. We've owned only ONE refrigerator, microwave, washer, dryer, wok, toaster and kitchen table. We've buried four grandparents, welcomed seven new nieces and nephews, been in three weddings and thrown multiple wedding, baby and lingerie showers. We've watched movies until we've laughed ourselves to tears, stayed up all night to see the sunrise, gone to bed before the sun, exhausted ourselves watching TV shows, saved a puppy and gotten locked IN our apartment. We've kissed each other good night (excluding nights we're apart of course and those nights we talk on the phone until one or both of us fall asleep) every night and never gone to bed mad at each other-honest. I'm convinced that we are a perfect match-though I had my doubts-and we just couldn't be happier. . . TEN years later.

Balloon Festival

This past weekend, we attended our first annual

balloon festival, along with our friend Kevin. It was in

a little town south of Des Moines and we were really wowed

at what we saw! For a small town, it was quite impressive. It's

always fun to have your expectations exceeded and not the other

way around. We arrived, through miles worth of a single line of

traffic, about an hour before the great launch. It was great

timing, the kids were just getting restless when they gave

the "green light". The balloons began to fill and we

watched around one hundred hot air balloons

launch in about thirty minutes.

We were so close! The kids

enjoyed seeing the fire

and all the different

colors and designs of

balloons.

Alea is convinced that she is going to have her own balloon festival "with only pink balloons".

We had a great time. . .

Our Little Soccer Player

For the past four weeks, Alea has been playing soccer. She had two practices and two "games". I should have known before we even had her play that she is not a soccer player! She did not like the contact part this contact sport. I pictured it differently . . . I pictured all the little ones being polite and taking turns kicking the ball . . . NO, they were really aggressive for little four and five year olds. Not to mention there were three boys to every one girl-if that tells you anything. They would literally swarm the ball like little flies. Alea spent much of the time out on the field jumping up and down watching her shadow, inspecting the grass, planting sunflower seeds (??) and giving us thumbs up. She did make two goals tonight!! Whoo-Hoo-but did I mention it was for the other team? I'm glad she experienced the sport of soccer but I'm convinced she will not ask to play again.

They spray painted parts of the field orange and she was fascinated!

-This is during the game.

Is there really a soccer game going on around me?

-Still during the game.

There's our STAR--just go the other way!

Happy? Birthday to ME

The signs were obvious, though I chose not to listen. I'm getting older. This one seems different for some reason. I'm getting older. Why can't I just stay in my 20's, that seems so much softer than the 30's. I'm getting older. Birthdays use to be something to look forward to and enjoy. I'm getting older. My grandma said I could stay sixteen forever--if only?!? I'm getting older. Oh, embrace and let go, it's already come and gone-I'm 30 and getting older!

If you haven't guessed, I turned 30 (on the 10th). It was so much more fun to pick on everyone else in my family when they turned 30 than to experience it myself. Ug, I thought I'd be OK with this, I've even been practicing saying, "I'm thirty" for a while now and that didn't make it any easier to bridge that gap. I'm not depressed, I'm just not eager to let go of the 20's. I did have a wonderful birthday! Greg took the day off and we shopped, walked, swam and ate. I couldn't ask for a better husband or children to spend the WHOLE day with-they made it so wonderful. Thanks to everyone for all the texts, calls, emails and cards-they helped dull the pain!

Happy July 4th

We hope everyone had a wonderful weekend celebrating our great nation's birthday with family and friends. We were so busy but had a wonderful day. We were in another parade with the church-this time it was cloud covered and rainy (the high was only 67)! We followed the parade with me and my dear friend Amanda trekking off to the outlets leaving the daddys to care for the little ones. We then reunited for dinner and fireworks. Alea was so excited about watching the fireworks she was squealing all evening. Benton did wonderful during the beautiful booms going on all around and we all went to bed happy and tired.

This was our second year to enjoy the local fireworks with our friends, the Charlton family. We are so blessed by their friendship and enjoy many dinners and playdates with them. They are so faithful and encouraging, the kind of friends you can always count on. They help to fill the big empty spot left from being so far from family. I hope we continue to make memories and enjoy each other's families as long as we can. Thanks for sharing this wonderful day with us, Charltons!

Benton Earns Dessert?

We made a cake and have been whittling away at it the past week. During dinner, I did the typical mom thing and told the kids that if they ate all their dinner, they'd get to finish off the rest of the cake. Alea didn't miss a beat and her plate was completely wiped clean in minutes . . . Benton, not so much. He was too busy playing and still had a plate full. I thought it wise to explain to him why Alea was getting cake and he was not. I showed him the empty plate and said, "Alea ate everything on her plate, see, it's empty, now she's getting cake. You will not get cake until your plate looks like Alea's, OK?" He agreed and slowly walked back to their table. Out of the corner of our eyes and amidst muffled giggles we watched as Benton slowly, piece by piece removed his dinner from his plate. Oh, not into his mouth, onto the floor under their picnic table! What a sneaker! He, with a grin on his face, reproduced the empty plate to me, but still did not get dessert.