Seriously, is it really September? Wow. Where did Summer go? I'm happy to report we continued to cram in as much fun as we could these last few weeks. I'm sad to report that tomorrow life returns to 'normal' as the girls head to daycare and I go back to work...I worked last week, but not full time and the girls were here and there. It's always such a bittersweet time of year for me. I do get very excited about starting a new school year and the potential effects I can have on all the new students I get to spend more time with than my own children the next 10 months...however, that's the hard part too, spending more time with my kindergartners than my own children:/ When we are in our school routine I wake them up, get them dressed, shove them out the door....then pick them up, feed them supper, baths and bed. Bottom line, I miss my OWN kids!
Part time work would be a great gig... still an outlet for myself, but more time with my girls too. BUT, my house, car van (we'll get to that in a minute!) clothes, etc... won't pay for themselves, so off to work I go. I know, those of you that work 12 months EVERY year aren't feeling any sympathy for me here and are thinking "at least you get your summer's off!" and I agree, that is a great benefit of my career- but it does make it harder to go back too!
So about that 'V' word...van. Yay, we got one. Do you hear the excitement in my typing voice? In all honesty, it took some major convincing to get me to agree to even looking at a van (yes, Daren was on board WAY before me:), but once we test drove them and tried the car seats in it, it was kind of a no-brainer...I had to put ease and practicality (and oh yeah, price!) ahead of my dislike and stigma that comes along with being a mini-van owner...and I have to say I LOVE it! The gas mileage is not much worse than the Malibu, believe it or not, and I still have a few perks and amenities I had a hard time giving up. So instead of saying I own a 'van' we like to call it the "swagger wagon" thanks to the folks at Toyota for the idea. We actually did not get a Toyota, we got a Honda Odyssey, but props to the Toyota Peeps for created this hilarious commercial/videos a few years ago...It really brought a whole new appreciation for the 'swagger wagon' and helped make it a little easier to take the plunge!
Here's the link to the video- it's hil-ar-ious!
Goodbye Malibu...Hello Odyssey
The 'old' lady now has an age appropriate vehicle:)
I did lots of racing this month and it's really been the 1st time the whole family has come to support, so it was great having them cheer me on!
My little bell ringers in their PJ's as I'm getting ready for my half marathon in Madison...
13.1 Miles later....
Danika also did a kid's fun run and earned a medal too!
After the Buckshot 5 mile this weekend...These 2 have spent lots of stroller time waiting for me:) It's meant a lot to have them there though, so an extra thanks to my hubby for entertaining them!
After my Madison race we headed for a weekend in the Dells with my mom, sister, and nephews. We had a great time and both girls LOVED the water!
Getting sunscreen ready...tribal style:)
Danika's FAVORITE water slide. Daren, I, or a lifeguard caught her and she did this slide over, and over, and OVER again!
In our condo there was a hot tub pretty much right in the living room and my nephew Collin and Danika kept themselves entertained in there...They'd sing, put on shows, lay down their blankets, play with stuffed animals, etc...
My helper
Best part of the trip:) Story time with Aunt Mimi/Mom:) We didn't have much for books, so good ol' technology and the ipad came in handy!
...and just like most things end for our family, with a nap for these 3!
Gotta love the 'swagger wagon' so dad can fit in between them:)
Oh yay, I had a birthday...a dirty one:/ I know it's just a number and I never thought it would bother me that much, but maybe it was the van and 30 all within the same month!
Daren and the girls spoiled me with flowers, and an UH-MAZING red velvet cake. From scratch. Frosting too! I know, he's husband of the year material!
We also ventured to the Minnesota State Fair. I'm sure I'm going to sound quite selfish here, but I totally miss my kid-free fair days! It was tiring exhausting with the kids, and we didn't even get to do all the fun kid stuff! But Danika did enjoy herself...Haddie, probably not so much, but we just kept feeding her and she was content:)
Ferris Wheel with dad...despite her face, she loved it:)
Happy and clean...
and not so much...She loved the cookies, but like her mama, she HATES messy food!
We even caught a few minutes of a high school rodeo taking place in the coliseum. Danika liked watching the bull riding!
The Fair isn't complete without the super slide!
Some other random funness from our month...
Danika earned a new activity and she chose this floor puzzle...she loves this thing and can just about do the whole thing without our help!
My ice cream girls:)
Even thought the 1st and last time we took the boat out this summer, Haddie broke her leg, we decided it was completely unrelated and we should probably take it out again before summer is over.....errrr, wait, it is over:/ Good thing we snuck out on Sunday! The weather wasn't scorching, but it was a nice, cool evening for a ride. Danika and I even jumped in and swam a bit. Granny got to come along too!
Future Driver...YIKES!!
A favorite moment of the month:) Papa reading to Danika!
Well... off I go, now at 11:07pm to prepare for my kindies who will be walking in the door bright and early tomorrow morning! Wish us all luck that we survive this week getting back to our new normal:/
To all my teacher friends...best of luck on a great, rewarding, school year
and
To all my mommy friends sending their babies off to school, I promise, we'll take good care of them and they'll be O.K. sooner than you will be :)
Love,
J and the Fam
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