Back To School

Another summer has passed and back to school we all go! What a time of great excitement for everyone. Madison is now a third grader. Molly was began a new adventure in Kindergarten and Mallory started preschool for the very first time. I began another blessed year of job sharing with Jodee in First Grade. We had 4 open houses to go to the first week of school. It was a busy time, but I enjoyed seeing each of the girls faces as they visited their schools and meet their teachers on their special nights. Coincidentally, Molly's teacher, Mrs. Matthews, is a member at Pleasant Hill. So she had the chance to meet her a little early. Madison was excited about her teacher, Mrs. Huelsman, because her class last year had been reading buddies with her new teachers class. It was a comfort to her that she already knew her. Mallory was just thrilled to be in school. She walked in and got right down to business playing with toys. She didn't want to leave. Her teacher Mrs. Blankenship has been teaching at the same school for 32 years. All three teachers seem like wonderful women. Everyone picked out their first day outfits and we did the best we could to get in bed on time. I was so happy to be there in the morning to see the girls off to school. Molly was rising the bus for the first time. This of course was a very big deal! It was so hard to believe that I was sending another one of my girls off to Kindergarten. I shed a tear or two for Molly just like I did for Madison. It was even more of an adjustment for me getting used to Mallory being a preschooler. My baby is in school now! All of my girls are in school! Mallory's first day, it felt so strange being home alone. It was so quiet! But I don't have any trouble finding things to keep me busy. On my days off we walk up and meet Madison after school. They cut her busing this year. It hasn't been that bad. Eventually she won't need me to meet her and she can walk on her own. Mallory insists of seeing Molly off in the morning. I love watching her get on the bus. She is really enjoying Kindergarten. When I drop Mallory off at school I can't help but pick around the corner and watch her for a few minutes. She is so full of life and enthusiasm. She fits right in at school. Another year begins. I have enjoyed my new class as well. Many sweet kids and nice families. That always makes for a successful year. I wish my girls a happy and fulfilling year.

Labor Day Weekend

Our Labor Day weekend revolved around lots of soccer. Madison had a tournament called the Mead Cup. She played 3 games and Duane assistant coached the games and volunteered as a field marshall for 3 hours one of the days. Unfortunately they lost all three games against some pretty tough competition. But it was a learning expereince. Madison is used to winning since she has been on such talented teams in the past. Now there is a lot more talent to play against on the select teams. She needs to start uping her game a little. On Monday we wanted to have a family day since we had a break from soccer. Duane and I were very ambitious, considering the weather channel was forecasting rain for most of the day. But we decided it would be pointless to sit at home to wait and see if it would rain. So we packed up the bikes and headed to Yellow Springs to ride on the trails. We packed lunch and stopped by the side of the trail and had lunch about 3 and a half miles into the trip. Mallory had fallen asleep, but woke up in time to join us for lunch. After lunch we decided to go a little farther. It was Molly's first time on the trail on two wheels so she was able to kept a pretty steady pace with us. It was great having time to be outside and just talk together. I'm so glad that the girls love outdoor activities. We managed to avoid the rain until the minute we pulled into the parking lot after a 10 mile ride. Mooly did her "happy dance" because she was ready to be off the bike after a long ride. We went to Young's Dairy for some ice cream. The girls got to pet the goats and ride on a makeshift train. Luckily the rain didn't last. We decided to take a short hike through Clifton Gorge, still with the threat of rain looming. We managed to stay dry again and ended up hiking about 5 miles. I had never been in the gorge on a cloudy day before. It got pretty dark once we made it to the bottom. I had a blast listening to Madison and Molly pretending they were characters from the Chronicles of Narnia, British accents and all. Mallory walked a good part of the hike, but Duane got an extra workout carrying her some of the way. All and all everyone faired very well considering the amount of activity we squeezed into one day. Clifton Gorge is such a pretty place. I hope we can get back there later in the fall when they leaves have changed. We were all tired an hungry after a long day, so we ended the great day with dinner at Waffle House, one of our favorite places to eat. It was a truly wonderful family day and a day to be very grateful for so many blessings.