Girls' Weekend

Abby and I had a wonderful weekend together "at home"... just the girls! On Friday night, Abby got to pick out our dinner... fresh fruit, yogurt and yummy Hawaiian rolls! We had a lovely picnic dinner in our family room, enjoying each other's comany and watching Back to the Secrete Garden. After bathtime, we had a little craft time and made cute ponytail holders for school :)

On Saturday, Abby and I took the train from Fullerton to San Juan Capistrano for the day! We had a lovely time having tea and going to see the little petting zoo. We even made time to wander around and look at many of the shops and displays of the local artists! On the way home, Abby would tell you, we got on the wrong train! Only a tiny little "oops!" :) We did end up at the right place. We got on the Amtrak rather than the Metrolink... oh well, common mistake, right?!? On the way home, the conductor was announcing stops over the intercome, "Next stop, Santa Ana in 7 minutes..." Abby immediately looked at me and said, "Did she say Santa? Well... we don't believe in Santa and we don't celebrate Halloween!" I tried hard not to laugh. It's just too funny the things that are constantly coursing through these little ones' brains!!!

See our beautiful teapots and heart shaped scones?!?

Silly goats... don't eat me!!!

After we got home and got cleaned up, we had a light dinner, and both crawled into "Mommy's bed" (not sure why it's never Daddy's bed...) and cuddled and read before lights out! Note: Since all three of our children are BED HOGS (Really!!! I mean like taking up the whole CalKing bed by sleeping diagonally and spreading out like a giant star fish!), this was a very very special treat for Abigail :)

Sunday was the first time that Abby was out of the Preschool program at church. She sat through the service with me like a pro. We sat in the first row... because Abby wanted to make sure that she could see everything :). After church, we went to Costco and had our "snacking lunch". This little girl loves samples! She was spotting them left and right, making sure that this mama didn't miss anything :). I don't usually go to Costco on the weekends because I don't like fighting the crowd, but I have to say, this was one fun Costco run with my hungry (or greedy???) daughter!

Abby, thank you for such a fun weekend! I love spending girly time with you... even if I'm not very good at it sometimes. I pray that you will remember our times together and that God will bring us many many more occasions to build memories as Mother and Daughter. I love when you get that little look when you wrinkle up your little nose, point your finger back and forth between you and me, and say in a whisper "Girls, girls, girls, girls..." and get all excited and dance around that we are going to have "girl time" :). I pray that you will treasure these times with me as much as I treasure them in my heart! I love you, little Abster!

Thank you, Ms. Jacque!!!

Today marked another milestone in the lives of our family. Abby officially graduated out of the Preschool program at our church.

Thank you, Ms. Jacque, for your love, heart, energy, and time that you have poured into the lives of all three of our children! Your creative talent, coupled with your passion for the children to learn God's truth is truly a testament to God's faithful work in your life! Thank you for your service of love to our little ones throughout these years! You made going to church such a special time for all the little preschoolers at our church! Everyone loves you... and for good reason :) You are a dynamite lady... we will miss having you as a teacher!

May the Lord continue to bless you and allow you to see great fruit in the lives of the children that you have poured yourself into!!! We love you, Ms. Jacque!!!

Mr. Lollipop Crown

Mr. Caterpillar lives on the wall of Mrs. William's Kindergarten class. He grows longer and longer as the school year progresses. He is a tool to help the kids to learn their numbers, counting, and patterning. Every school day, Mr. Caterpillar increases by one circular paper segment.

At the beginning of each year, the new Kindergarten class gets the privilege to name their Mr. Caterpillar, and today was the big day. All the children are given the opportunity to suggest a name. Once all the suggestions are in, the students vote on THE NAME. Some of the names suggested were: Sophie, Mr. Caterpillar (very original), School, ABC, Pizza (?!?), Matalie... and Abby's suggestion was Mr. Lollipop Crown (Mom's note - I 'm thinking that she thought the antennas looked like lollipops???). After the votes were counted, Mr. Lollipop Crown was the winner :) Good for you, little Sweet Pea!!!

*** I later found out that Abby didn't vote for her own name. She voted for Sophie. HA HA HA!

SCHOOL

Today marks the beginning of the 2008 - 2009 school year! This year, Isaac is in 3rd Grade, Seth is in 1st, and little Abby, she is starting Kindergarten! Can you believe it?!?!?

Bye, Mom! I'm going to school now!

Abby came home with the poem by Wendy Silva:

Kindergarten Wonder

I wonder what you're doing right now

and if everyone is treating you kind.

I hope there is a special person,

a nice friend that you can find.

I wonder if the teach knows

just how special you are to me.

And if the brightness of your heart

is something she can see.

I wonder if you are thinking about me

and if you need a hug.

I already miss the sound of your voice

and how you give my leg a tug.

I wonder if you could possibly understand

how hard it is for me to let you grow.

On this day know that my heart breaks,

for this is the first step in letting my baby go.

I took Abby to McDonald's to celebrate her very first day of Kindergarten. She was so excited to tell me all about her day and about the book she worked on and her first little friend that she made. She told me that she almost cried a couple of times, but she didn't, because she was brave. She also told me how she was Bathroom Buddy even when she didn't have to go. She told me how she got to play with special white sand and that she made a picture of herself inside an apple. Oh Lord... please help Abigail to keep her bright spirit and her love to learn new things!

Buying her own little ice cream

When we picked up the boys, they were just as excited as Abby was :) It warms my heart that they want to share their day with me and tell me about the stories that they read and the different classroom rewards and rules and the different class schedules and their friends that they've reconnected with...

Good job paying attention, Seth!

Waiting to be picked up...

Lord Jesus, I love this and I love drinking in the excitement of my children's first day of school! I don't think this will ever get old :) Thank you for providing for our family so that I can be a "stay at home" mom (even if I am rarely at home!).

The day is just a bit brighter when...

Happy Labor Day!!!

What a wonderful way to end to our summer. Our family had a slow and casual day today. Even the kids said it was a great day!!!

In the morning, we went and played some "family baseball". This is our baseball drill... Matthew is the Hitter, Isaac is Shortstop, Seth is Pitcher, and Abby is the Designated Runner and I am at First. The goal is for the fielders to make a good fielding play and then a good throw to get the runner out. It is really a lot of fun... even Abby gets into it :)

We went to the Rainforest Cafe for lunch. The kids worked hard and earned gift certificates from the library to have a meal there. What a fun place to eat! If you've never been, you should at least go once! There are animals everywhere, giant butterflies, iguanas, and even thunder storms!!! Very cool!

After a lazy afternoon nap, we woke up just in time for the Dodger game and UCLA football game! And guess what... both teams won!!! The day is just a bit brighter when the Dodgers AND UCLA win their games :)

Good night all... we've got a big day tomorrow -- First Day of School!