Reese's First Day of School

Four and a half years ago at a school baby shower, everyone was talking about how fun it would be in 2008 when the children of the five pregnant teachers would be starting Junior Kindergarten. At that time four years seemed an eternity away. Back then the time seemed to pass so slowly as I was anxiously anticipating each week of pregnancy. I couldn't even see that far into the future to know if I would still be here in Indiana (but who are we kidding?) or if I'd even still be teaching. (My original plan was to be a stay-at-home-mom after I had my first baby.) But somehow four and a half years passed and I was enrolling Reese in our school for Junior Kindergarten.

There was no doubt in my mind that I wanted her to attend JK at my school. I am just in awe of her teachers both professionally and personally. They are just amazing women and Joel and I are thrilled that Reese gets to be in their class. Reese seems to really love them as well and speaks very highly of them at home.

So this year is very different for both of us. I take Ryan to his sitter's in the morning, then Reese and I ride to school together. She hangs out in my room for awhile, then one of my students walks her to her room before the bell rings. Her day ends a little before my day ends, so she has a little desk in my room where she colors pictures or plays with puzzles while I'm teaching. The conversations we have to and from school are just priceless. I get all the scoop while it's still fresh! She's a trip!

Reese on her first "mini-day" where Joel took her to school for an hour.

Reese on her first official day of school.

Catching Up

So much has happened in the past month of August. I celebrated my 30th birthday and tried to make the most out of the last days of summer (for me anyway) by having a lot of fun playdates and spending time with the kids. Reese and I started school (where we have a new principal) and Ryan started at a new sitter's. Here is a review of sorts in pictures:

Ryan having a ball at Clare's 1st birthday playdate.

Clare was just the belle of the ball at her party. (Okay, was that pun too much?) :)

Unfortunately both kids came down with a nasty bug and were pretty pitiful for 24 hours.
Oh, and sorry, Mom and Dad about them getting sick at your house. I owe you!

We enjoyed another lovely neighborhood gathering--this one was hosted by Jason and Leslie. Our neighbors rock!
Joel and I took the kids to the Indiana State Fair and loved showing them all of the animals...
...except the pigs. Reese may even be nominated for her dramatic performance in the award-winning movie, "The Scent of a Swine."

Ryan really loved the cows... ...even though it seemed odd that in his other hand he was holding his sippy cup of soymilk. :)

This picture is for Great-Grandpa Young. The kids know that Grandpa loves tractors, so they loved looking at them and trying a few out.

The end of the State Fair meant the start of a school year...for two of us this year!

Back in Business!!!

That's right--I am typing this from my laptop that Joel just picked up this afternoon...It only took 4 weeks and 1 day to get it fixed, but I can FINALLY use my memory card in my computer so I can upload pictures!!! Whoo-hoo!!! I wish I would've realized a year ago that this was a fixable problem as I would've saved a lot of time and effort. But nonetheless, I'm just glad that I finally have a computer that is fully functional. (And Joel is, too, so he'll never have to hear me complain about this again!)

If you are a fellow blogger, I apologize for not being able to keep up with your blogs over the past month. I don't like to check blogs from school since not only is time limited, but you never know when big brother is watching. I've really missed keeping up with everyone. So thank goodness for a 3-day weekend...I have a lot of catching up to do!

Keep Your Fingers Crossed!!!

I just called Best Buy and they have my computer at the store. Is the problem fixed? I am not so sure. They were in the process of booting it up and are going to call me back when they have inspected it. It's been four weeks as of today and I'm sooooo ready to be back online!

Technical Difficulties

Some of you may or may not have heard, but I have been without a computer since last Friday. Our computer has never been able to read any kind of memory card or USB port, and we have always chalked it up to an issue with Windows Vista. I finally took it into Best Buy last week, thinking they would just tell me what kind of memory card would be compatible with it. It turns out that the issue was not with Vista, it was our actual hardware.

Luckily we found this out with a day to spare on our 1-year-warranty. Phew! They are now sending it out to have it fixed somewhere else and I should have it back in about a week and a half (hopefully!). So if you've wondered why I haven't responded to any e-mails, this is why!

The good news is since I am without a computer, I have been able to do things like reading a book. I just finished My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult and thought it was absolutely fabulous. Kelly has been a huge fan of hers, so I'm going to have to steal some of her books after I get done using her computer. ;) Thanks, Kelly!

The Big 3-0!!!

This past Saturday, August 2nd I celebrated my 30th birthday. My day started like this: I got to sleep in, then was awoken by two cute kids and my sweet husband singing "Happy Birthday" and bringing me a donut with a lit candle in it. After eating every morsel of that delicious donut, we got ready and headed to the Children's Museum to play.

Later Kelly and Holly took me out to lunch at MacAlister's Deli, then we went shopping at Hamilton Town Center. They gave me my birthday presents: a photo book to look back on my first 30 years of life (though I told them they could've left out the 8th grade pictures) and a beautiful initial necklace. After our shopping excursion we headed home to what was supposed to have been a family cookout. Instead we had this:

And my reaction was this:

Oh my goodness!!!
It was so sweet of my family and Joel to plan this for me. I had such a great time hanging out with my friends and family.

Unfortunately Reese had a bad headache, so I tucked her into bed and let her watch a show on the portable DVD player. She was so sweet, though, and kept apologizing for getting sick on my birthday.

Kelly and Polly

Neighbors Jen (holding Jack) and Leslie (holding Laney)

Random group shot

Here's Johnny! Ummm...I mean Jack. :)

Ella was rockin' it out!

Troy, Jen, me, Jason, and Jack

Me with Jessica and Kelly

The boys enjoyed playing a game of football/catch and running into trees. I'm just sayin', Joel.

The sign was so cruel... :)

But the even bigger surprise came at the end of the night when I found out the party wasn't stopping--we were going OUT! Jen, Leslie, Holly, Joel, and I met up with Kelly and Keith at Lulu's for some drinks and dancing. It was a great end to a fabulous birthday!!! Thanks, everyone!!!

Wet 'n Wild at the Water Park

I apologize in advance for the picture overload!

Reese and I looked way too dry at the beginning of the day.
Ryan was the happiest when he was on the water slides. :)
This was the closest Reese got to the spraying water. Doug dubbed her the "Water Princess." :)
Reese was happiest when she was "all wrapped up" in her towel.
Quinn was all smiles in the wave pool!
Riley was having way too much fun!
Owen liked wading and splashing in the pool.

Ryan wasn't too fond of the wave pool...
...but Grandma Marsh actually got him to go without a tube and he liked it! (The wave pool was not his favorite part--he preferred the slides or the hot tub.)
Grandpa Doug was helping Joel and Reese ride the waves. Surprisingly, the wave pool was Reese's favorite part!

Reese was either chilly or doing one of her famous poses.
Riley liked being in the middle of the action!
That's Ryan in the center of the picture, zooming down the slide!
I never could decide which boy was having more fun: Joel or Ryan.

Fun with the Cousins

One of the greatest things about being on vacation with family is getting to spend time with family. We don't get to see Joel's side of the family as often as we'd like to since they live about two hours away, but we always make up for lost time when we're together!

Reese with her cousins (from left): Owen, Riley, and Quinn.

Grandma Marsh entertained all of the kids with bubbles.

Quinn loved trying to blow the biggest bubbles!
Ryan pondering the question, "What happens to the bubbles when they pop?"
Reese could've done this all day long.
Miss Riley was a big helper all week. I can't believe she's going to be 8 next week!
Yes, Owen is just as sweet as he looks.
Riley actually entered and won a coloring contest at the resort. Way to go, Riley!

Reese and Riley made cute little bugs from a book Grandma and Grandpa bought for Reese.