Oh boy - am I behind, or what?!

Butterfly
Originally uploaded by tracyg00

I just noticed that my last post was right after the first day of school. Dang - guess I've been pretty busy. Both kids are really enjoying school. As a matter of fact, Jake was originally set up to go to school on M, W & F, but he loves it so much that he wanted to go every day. So, Oct. 1st I switched him to the 5-day program and he couldn't be happier. This morning, as Darin was taking Megan to school, Jake looked at us with a huge smile and said, "I go to school every day!" He's pretty proud of that.

Megan still gets up for her 7:30am start time without too much trouble. She's a big fan of school too. She gets home and wants to do her homework right away. We got her progress report and apparently, she is "a joy to have in class". Well, duh. :-)

This photo is from the Cleaveland's annual Octoberfest party. They had an awesome face painter. Megan tricked Darin into washing off her first paint job, so she could get a second. Here is the original:



Jake is not a fan of face paint, so he decided to just jump in the bouncy house. This was one great party. The kids had a fantastic time.



In addition to keeping up with school, I was somehow roped into becoming a Daisy Scout leader. That's right - the leader. Megan's school doesn't offer a scout program, and she's been exposed to Girl Scouts through the O'Donnells since she was a baby. So, when I called to get her signed up at Queen of All Saints, the coordinator asked me if I would be one of the adult volunteer leaders. I said sure, since Megan is kind of shy and she only knows one of the girls from that school. I had to go to a volunteer orientation one evening and when I showed up, I noticed that I was listed as the troop leader. That woman was tricky. So, we've had our first meeting and it was a big success - but now I've got to start working on a plan for meeting number two. Fortunately, when they're this young, they only meet once a month. Phew.

I've got more to say, but I've got to get some work done today. More to come soon.

A big week for Megan

Kindergarten!
Originally uploaded by tracyg00

Megan started kindergarten today. She was excited to go and has been counting down the last 4 days. No tears or hesitation from this girl. I think Darin and I were more nervous for her. When I picked her up, she said, "I LOVE it! The curtains are very pretty". She said she met lots of kids but can't remember their names yet. I asked her if she was nervous at all and she told me, "no". I really don't think she was. Aww....getting so big and confident.

Speaking of confident, Megan learned how to ride a two-wheeler this past weekend. On Sunday afternoon, she was riding her strider bike (a no-pedal balance bike) and she told me she wanted to ride with pedals. I said ok and then she announced loudly, "Francesca - my mom's gonna take my training wheels off right now!" So, I proceeded to get the tools out and take them off. I held on to her seat for about two passes of the length of the sidewalk and by the third pass, I let go and she was off! She still has a tough time getting started, but it won't be long for that to follow.



We also took the kids bowling this weekend. They had never been bowling, which is why the news is making it onto the blog. Our neighbors had won a certificate or something and invited us. It was a bit chaotic, but they seemed to have a good time. They really liked the shoes.

Update

Pre-school
Originally uploaded by tracyg00

So, Jake came out of school on his first day and said, "It was fun". I think he's still a little out of sync these days since he's not doing everything with Megan. Darin dropped him off at Debbie's this morning and he cried - even though he's been going there since he was 3 months old. It was the first time he's gone there on his own without his sister. Must have been a bit strange for him. Hopefully he'll be pleased to go back to school tomorrow.

My baby started preschool

First Day
Originally uploaded by tracyg00

Awww......Jake started preschool today. He was not happy about it. For the last few days, when we would ask him if he was ready for school, he would say, "I don't want to go to school. I want to stay home with mom". He cried on his way in (I'm sure it didn't last long). We're heading out to pick him up now. Let's see how it went.......

Our Annual Myrtle Beach Trip

Self sufficient
Originally uploaded by tracyg00

We just returned from a week in sunny Myrtle Beach. And, it was truly sunny for the entire week (except for 20 minutes of rain one day). We were originally going to drive there, but found some cheap tickets on Spirit Airlines, so we decided to fly. This year, the kids were completely self-sufficient. They had all of their own belongings in their own suitcases and rolled them through the airport all by themselves. It's amazing how much easier it was this year over last!

The kids hit the beach the first night:



Jake was a fan of that surf beginning on day one. Megan seemed to enjoy the pool a bit more. We kept busy with lots of activities. Obviously, the beach and pool were main attractions. But we also went miniature golfing.



We visited a water park (I have no pictures of that one) and both kids went down the big slides. Woo hoo! We went to the amusement park (I don't have pictures of that either because my battery died). Darin and I played golf and we had an all around good time.



Here are some beach and pool shots to sum up our trip:







And finally - a family photo:

She's 5!!!

Birthday Girl
Originally uploaded by tracyg00

Megan turned 5 on August 4th. She woke up in the morning and said, "Do I get to go to school today?" Apparently I had told her that you can go to kindergarten when you're 5. So, I told her that school starts in the fall. Now, every other day or so, she asks me if it's fall yet. I hope we experience this same sort of enthusiasm a few months from now when we have to be at school by 7:30am. She is not a morning person.

We had a very girly party last Saturday. Megan even made a sign for the door. If it's tough to see in this photo, it says "no boys allowed".



We had lunch at a fancy table with lots of flowers:



We painted flower pots with oil pastels and planted flowers:



And as a few of the girls were leaving, they said "Megan, your party was great". So funny.

Summer Water Fun

Splash!
Originally uploaded by tracyg00

We've had lots of water fun this summer. The backyard pool with the slide has been a big hit. It's our "go to" activity when we're not up for a big outing.







We head out to Montrose Beach when we've got more time on our hands. Jake is much easier to take to the beach this year than last. As soon as he hits the sand, his shoes come off and he runs for the water.



Megan is a beach girl too:



On this particular day, Uncle Jimmy joined us (since he's not working like much of the construction industry).



He was nice enough to buy them ice cream. Note to self - ice cream and sand do not mix.



We got home and went in the neighbor's Slip n' Slide to wash off before I'd let them into the house.