Labor Day Getaway

With Bret being gone during the week for the last month, weekends together have become very important. It has not been easy for the girls to deal with Daddy being gone so much. Shelby especially has not dealt with it well. She has started baby talking again, and she is throwing temper tantrums like you have never seen! I know this is a result of to much change at once, daddy leaving and preschool.

Bret suggested we go up to my parents cabin in Ruidoso for the long weekend. I wasn't sure I wanted to go to all the trouble, but he was right! We had a great time. Getting away from everything for a few days was just what we all needed. We took walks, played in the river, went out to eat, and went to the gun show (Daddy's choice). Most importantly, we laughed and snuggled and spent a lot of time together. I am so lucky that I am married to a man who loves his wife and children as much as Bret does!

The girls loved playing in the river!  They were so cute in their rain boots.  As you can tell from the pictures, Macey enjoyed it more than most. 

Shelby was very unsure of herself at first.  This was her first step into the water, and she nearly took both her sisters down in an attempt to keep her legs dry.

There are some great roads going up the mountain by my parents cabin, and we really enjoyed family walks.  We saw several deer which was fun. 

Yes, I know this picture is ridiculous, but Bret is oh so proud of it. 

When 30 was old

This is a conversation that I had with Abby the other night while she was doing her homework. I think it's so funny because I can remember when I thought 30 was old!

Abby: This is so dumb!

Me: What is Abby?

Abby: I can't believe they are asking me a question about the year 1998. That was so long ago George Washington was probably still alive.

Me: Abby! I was in college in 1998.

Abby: Wow, I figured you were just a baby when George Washington was alive.

Shelby's first day of school.

Shelby had a good first week of school. She has shed some tears when it is time for me to leave. That has made it a lot harder to leave her. However, she has loved school. Her teacher thinks she is hilarious and really seems to love her. Hopefully that is the case. I did get to school early one day, just in time to hear Shelby tell her teacher that she didn't like her! Apparently, she didn't want to leave the playground when it was time. We had a long talk about that, made Shelby apologize, and she has been great ever since. I can't help but think her spunk is a little funny, not that I want her acting bad. The second day of school, I was waiting in the hallway for her class to finish and two teachers from a different class came up to me and asked if I was Shelby's mom. When I told them yes, they said Shelby is so funny and so friendly. I can't even imagine what that child has said to them! Here are some pics of her first day at school.

Isn't she so cute walking in with her backpack on? What a big girl!

Deciding she doesn't want to go in after all. Here come the tears. :(

Wait a minute, there's a Guinea pig in here? Maybe I'm OK after all.

Her cubbie and basket.

Mrs. Charlene telling Shelby how much fun she is going to have while I sneak away.

Shelby's a preschooler!

Shelby tells anyone who will listen that she is now four and a preschooler. She is so excited about going to school! Really, she should have started last year. However, we moved just in time for the school year, and there were no openings. After being on the waiting list for a year, she finally got in. Today was her first day. It was essentially a meet the teacher type of day. We were there for only an hour, and I got to stay with her in her classroom. She loved it, and didn't want to come home with me. At one point during our "playdate" she very loudly said, "Mom do you like that teacher over there, I think she is nice." Of course the teacher she was talking about was her teacher and she was only two feet away from us. I am just thankful she said something nice. I'm hoping that means Wednesday will go smoothly. She typically does not like to be away from me, and I am emotional enough about her growing up! I don't think I can take it if she cries when I leave. I forgot my good camera, but luckily, I always carry the little one in my purse.

What won Shelby over was the basket of plastic animals (her favorite all time toys) they had. She never moved from this spot the whole time we were there.

She also loved this bench with the turtle head. I couldn't get her off it!

This picture is for you daddy. Shelby wanted you to see her cool playground since you didn't get to come.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it's off to school we go...

I am way behind on blogging. I have so many stories to share and so many pictures from this summer that I don't even know if I will ever get them in. Somehow blogging just didn't take priority while my kiddos were home for the summer. They are now back in school, and I miss them terribly. However, I was getting tired of the endless bickering that had started. I guess that was a sign that the girls were ready for school too. Macey was thrilled to be back at school. She loves all the socializing! Abby always starts the year off nervous. She usually hangs on me till the last possible second and then runs into class. I can't even think about dropping her off at the curb! However, this year she isn't hanging on me quite so much, and I even dropped them off outside once. Truthfully, I prefer walking them in myself. Since it's only been a week, I don't really know much about the girls teachers yet. Abby's teacher is knew to the school this year. Macey has a temporary sub since her teacher's husband had a stroke on Monday. She is a wonderful lady so keep her husband in your prayers!

Just a memory I want to keep....Abby informed me this morning that she could not give her teacher the note I wrote because in second grade it was really uncool to take notes to your teacher?!? When exactly did that become a rule. I decided it wasn't worth the fight and just talked to the teacher in person. What Bret found funny was that it was uncool to take the note, but not uncool to have your un-showered mom walk you into class and talk to your teacher. Why do they have to grow up?

DO-DO-DO-DO DORA!

I took Shelby to the Dora The Explorer Live show last night for some mom/daughter bonding time. It is so nice when I get to spend alone time with each of the girls. This was Shelby's first show (at least the first one she can remember). She went to see Sesame Street with her sisters when she was a newborn, but that doesn't count. She loves Dora, Boots and Diego! The show was great. I have been to several ( Barney, Sesame Street, Clifford, Jungle Book) with the older girls, and this was by far the most entertaining. We were on the fifth row, dead center, which helped. Shelby screamed, danced, waved her star in the air, and sang along the entire show. It was so fun to watch her having so much fun. I do think her favorite part was when Diego and baby jaguar made a surprise visit. She came home so keyed up I didn't think I would ever get her to sleep.

No, I did not pose her this way. She did it all on her own!

Obviously these were taken with my camera phone. I couldn't resist spoiling her rotten and buying her a flashing star and Dora Doll. She also got a "Backpack" after the show.

Happpy Fourth of July!

We had a great fourth hanging out with friends and family. This was the first year that Macey and Shelby didn't cry when the fireworks started.

Everyone was so excited when the fireworks started!!!

About halfway throught the show, Shelby lost interested and started digging in the dirt and collecting rocks.