The Cheerleader

The first week of school flew by.  But it was a good week for all of us.  The kids are adjusting well to the school schedule, and so far everyone is happy and content.  BabyG has her first test this Monday, and she will start her GATE class this week as well.  GATE is the gifted program at the county schools, and she was chosen to be tested and was accepted into the program.  She is so excited, and we are so proud of her!

This week will also be the beginning of after school gymnastics classes.  This will be the first year that she has taken gymnastics from the coach that comes to the school.  With cheer practice on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday nights, we just can't squeeze in the time to drive to the other side of town for tumbling/gym classes.

I think she will do just fine.  We are both looking forward to something new.  And, these girls are getting really good with the cheers.  Monday, they will start learning the competition dance.  We are looking forward to another busy and fun week!

First Day of School 2012

Today was the first day of school for my kids.  My Facebook, and Instagram pages were filled to the brim with first day of school pictures of kids holding super cute printed "grade" signs.  Someone went as far as pinning the printables, but forgot to actually PRINT them.  So, I'm including them in my blog post instead.

Big10 started the 7th grade today.  He seemed more nervous today than he did when he was new to middle school last year.  I think it was because he did not get a walk through on schedule pick up day.  We were at the beach on vacation when they gave out the schedules, so we just had a friend pick it up.

I'm not lying when I say he was a NERVOUS WRECK!  A BASKET CASE!!  Seriously.  But come to find out the day went smoothly.  He found all of his classes with no trouble, and he loves his math teacher.  He even ate the Steak Burger served in the lunch room, even though it "wasn't all that good".

My little third grader was the exact opposite of her brother.  She sprung from the bed and was dressed and ready to get out the door in about ten minutes.  It was her idea to ride the bus which is just a total shock.  She is our grumpy morning person normally.  She had a great day as well, and enjoyed seeing some of the friends that she has missed over the summer months.

I am hoping that the rest of this week is just as good as today was for these two.  And now I am off to check out the stack of paperwork that is waiting for me.

One last time. . . .

Monday morning we packed the car and headed to the beach for one last Summer road trip.

We have a condo that we rent from someone in Ft. Morgan near Gulf Shores, and we all just love it there.  It is a little more secluded than the Gulf Shores beaches, and I love how peaceful it is.

 When I uploaded my pictures from the camera, I realize that I only took pictures on one day.  And it was our last day at that!  I guess I am going to have to do and IPhone picture post as well.  

  The last couple of days were Red flag days, so the wind and waves were pretty strong.

Hubby and the kids enjoyed a little fishing.  While they fish, I just relax in my beach chair and listen to Jason Mraz on Pandora, and "people watch". 

 The drive down on Monday is probably the longest drive we have ever taken.  Besides the drive home Friday.  Both there and back, we made so many stops.  On the way home we stopped by The Track one last time for a couple of go cart rides.  We went by the Tanger Outlets in Foley for a little back to school shopping.  Then we stopped one last time in Fairhope to shop at Dick's Sporting Goods and eat at Zaxby's.

How crazy was I to declare "no more fast food" the week before vacation?!

 The weather was really good while we were there.  It drizzled a little bit on Thursday, but just early in the morning.  We all tend to love cloudy days at the beach.  The kids act like putting sunscreen on is a death sentence   So they welcomed the clouds any day.

 I tried my best to get a couple of happy smiles from the kids on camera.  I did manage one from baby G.  

This is what I got from Big10. . . .

When will he learn to just smile and make me happy with a photo?

I couldn't resist snapping a picture of G's torches at the entrance to her sand castle.

So Cute! 

Now we have the weekend to recover for work.  The kids have one more week before school starts.

G will start cheer practice this week, and have open house at the elementary school.  Hair cuts are on the schedule, and we will see what else I can squeeze in there.

Next up for this new blog, a signature!  Until then. . .I'll talk to y'all soon,

Our New Home

If you are reading this, welcome to my new blog address.  I have been having mega trouble with my previous blog, and have been working on creating a new one.  I was pretty pumped about making the move to Word Press, but to be honest, I'm just not savvy enough to figure Word Press out.  Not to mention I have absolutely NO patience for it!  So here I am.  New blog address, new blog name, same old stories.

I can hardly believe that Summer is coming to an end.  We are getting ready to go on our last Summer vacation, and then it is back to business.  

Before much more time passes, I have got to document our All Star experience.  This was big10's last year in little league ball.  Luckily we got an extension on the season when he got called for the all star team.  We were all thrilled to have a little more baseball play. 

Sadly, we did not make it to State.  But we had a great group of boys, they played well together, and most of all had loads of fun together. 

I'm guessing that I have about 500 plus photos from two tournaments and a couple of months worth of practice.  It was really hard to choose just a handful for this post. 

The rest of our Summer has been pretty uneventful.  Right now we are just relaxing and enjoying the last few weeks of a laid back schedule.  We are getting ready to head out for a beach vacation soon.  We are watching the Olympics like it is our job right now.  I've also started a new "fitness routine".  It's not really a routine, it is just exercise.  Before this week, I was not exercising at all, so I am calling it a new routine.  It just sounds better that way.  Hopefully I will stick to it this time around.  I have a few jiggles I could spare to lose.

Up next?  Seventh grade and Third grade school years, Cheerleading, middle school sports tryouts, and who knows what other surprises?  I'm just glad I have a place to document all of it!

Y'all make yourselves comfortable here.  I'll be back with more soon.