Back to School and Routine :)

Well, summer is officially over:( We have been back to school now for almost 3 weeks and I am so happy to say that all 3 kids are loving it!!! It was hard to say goodbye to pjs till lunch time, swimming whenever we wanted, sleeping in, etc... But 3 happy kids makes 1 happy mama:) We did try and make the most of our last couple of weeks of summer though. Well, actually a lot of the first week back was spent catching up on sleep;) There were a couple of mornings when I woke the kids up at lunch time! It isn't easy getting over a 13 hr time difference! Once we caught up on sleep though, we were ready to play!

I loved having the kids home this summer!! Once school starts life always gets nuts! I loved just being able to let them play and to play with them. They even joined me for yoga and pilates a couple of times! I got such an awesome stomach work out those days from laughing so hard:)

One thing Lily and Ella both really wanted to do before school started was to go back to the fish spa and have our feet nibbled on:) There were a TON of fish this time!! A little too many for Ella and Jake actually;) We headed for mani/pedis after while Brent and Jake shopped at the superhero store!

We also headed to the National Science Museum one day. It is really close to where we live and we pass it all the time and finally decided to take advantage of it on a rainy Saturday morning. The kids really enjoyed it!! They had some really cool exhibits and Brent loved showing the kids how things worked:)

This girl figured the puzzle out all by herself!!

Another thing that the kids and I have recently picked up is golf! Brent is beside himself excited about this!! I am actually taking weekly lessons with a sweet friend and Lily is in a weekly class as well. We are both loving it!! Ella and Jake are too young for lessons, but they always want to practice at the driving range or at the putting green at the condo. 

And of course the thing we are loving the most about being back is awesome friends!! The best thing about living in the condo is that you can go down to the pool anytime and there is always someone to play with! We have made some amazing friends in the short time that we have been here and I know they will be lifetime friendships!

And then there is school:) Once again, we have been blessed with fantastic teachers!! School started on a Tuesday, so we had meet the teacher on the Monday. We started in Lily's class first. She was so excited to have 5 friends from her 1st grade class in her class! She has quickly made friends with the other students as well and is so happy!! Her homeroom teacher is so calm and soft spoken which Lily absolutely loves! She came home the 2nd day of school and said, "Mom, she never yells!" This is a big deal for Lily:) Her teacher is also huge into reading which is Lily's favorite thing to do:) In 2nd grade, they start to focus on a language. Lily choose French and this has quickly become a highlight of her day! Right now she is taking swim lessons, golf lessons, soccer and will start dance next week 2 times a week. Between all that and playdates, she is very busy, but extremely happy!!

Ella repeatedly tells me, "Mommy, Kindergarten is AWESOME!!" The first week is a little different here for Kinder and younger here. They have the meet the teacher on Monday, and then just go in a small group for an hour on Tuesday, then a half day on either the Wednesday or Thursday and eventually the first full day on Friday. Ella was pretty disappointed because she wanted to immediately start going until 3 o'clock! I appreciated this little transition more for myself! I had to get used to her going 5 days a week when we first moved here, but now it's until 3 everyday!! That's a really long time!! She is so happy though! She too was extremely excited to have 1 sweet friend from last year in her class and a new friend we love from the condo! Her teacher is extremely animated and loves to sing...Ella is totally in heaven with her teacher:) Her class is called the Lovable Lions. She even got to dress up like a lion on one of the first days! Ella is also taking swim lessons, soccer and dance 1 day a week:)

And then there's Jake! I wasn't too sure how Jake was going to do going to school. He was pretty excited about going where his sisters go and getting to play on the playground he just got to look at last year:) However, I never expected him to love it this much! He goes in with a smile and comes out with a smile everyday!! I really miss my little buddy during the mornings, but I am glad he is having so much fun! Bless his teacher's heart...17 three year olds...13 of which are boys!! They added an extra assistant for her;) She really is fantastic though! She has lots of years of experience and is extremely organized and structured but also very loving:) Her classroom makes my heart so happy! It is beautiful, with toys and books everywhere! I also love that one of the helper teachers is a guy. Jake loves having his best buddy in his class and is enjoying making new friends! He is also taking swim lessons and soccer:)

And some more first day of school pictures! 

Getting some last minute snuggles and tickles! 

We were all very excited that Daddy took the morning off!!

So...we are doing good!! Getting back in the routine and used to the schedule again:) Life is busy, but it is fun!! Time is flying, but I am loving all the memories that we are making here!