We had to say goodbye to summer a few weeks ago. In doing so, we had a few last fun events to complete our summer bucket list. We met up with our dear friends for a playdate and picnic at the park. We will miss our flexibility in meeting up with friends during the week!
Our close friends bought a cabin just 45 minutes from our house! We are so excited as we don't get to see them as often as we would like to and now we have seen them the past two weekends. The girls love to swim and boat as much as we do, so we are a perfect match. We look forward to many memories at their lake home.
The Klay curse was broken... we welcomed our dear cousin/niece on August 26th. It has been 12 years since a girl has been born in our family, so we are thrilled beyond words to welcome Ms. Whitney! We have already showered her with ridiculous headbands (see above) and girly outfits.
The lovey we gave her is as tiny as she is... of course our cousin Emmett, decided his new sister wasn't going to get any new toys. Ha, let the fun times begin :)
We went back to our friend's cabin for a day trip and to enjoy the lake! The Moms had happy hour on the dock while the kids swam and went fishing.
After a fun day with friends, we were pooped. Long summer evenings are no more......
Our last hurrah, was the Carson Park trains! It is our tradition to go at least once during the summer and this year, we made it on the last day they were open. We had to ride both the steam and diesel trains for the full experience.
Our parents love the awe and wonder in our eyes. They hope we will never grow too old to ride the trains...
Cooper had 4K orientation and met his teacher, Ms. Nikki! She is the owner of the daycare center he attends, so the transition should be smooth sailing :) More to come about 4K in a minute....
I had my 1st day of school on Tuesday, September 3rd. I am now a big first grader and had no hesitation and worries in my body about going to school. I love everything about school... my friends, my teachers/staff, the shiny-waxy floors, my brand new supplies, our playground, and of course, the bus! My parents appreciate my love for school!
My first day of school was also Daddy's 39th birthday! Poor guy gets lost in the shuffle a bit with all the excitement. We still had a nice dinner out, some delicious cake, and of course, lots of love and well-wishes. His presents this year included 4 pairs of work shoes and a shopping trip for new work clothes (ha, the things parents enjoy as they age!)
Mommy is fortunate and thankful to be job sharing again this year. It is her 6th year job sharing and her 15th year teaching Kindergarten. She can't hardly stand the thought that she has been teaching that long already. Her students from her first and second year of teaching are now college students, yikes!
Per Dad's request/tradition, she has to hold up the number of fingers for the year she is entering with teaching. She is not sure how this will work next year on her 16th year?!?!
After my 1st day of school (which was more like an open house and stations), Daddy took us boys to play a round of golf followed by lunch. While Mommy worked a long day, we had fun and reminded her by texting her photos with what she was missing. We are pretty sure she wasn't all that amused.
2 days after my first full day of school, it was Cooper's turn. He has been WAITING sooooo long to go to school, so he can be big like me. We have talked a lot about 4K and we thought he was well prepared for the next step in his education. We took some pics of Cooper (and Liberty)....
He was happy and excited!
He loves his camo backpack from Pottery Barn Kids (complete with his name on it)
Our parents putting on a happy face, even though they were ready to bawl their eyes out....
And then, the yellow limo arrived. Cooper said, "That's NOT my bus!" It became very real that sure enough, he was heading to school. He got on the miniature bus, our parents waved wildly (in the picture below, you can see his tiny hand waving in the front seat), and off went Super Cooper to 4K.
Our parents held it together, but barely... their baby was off to school and off to great things! Cooper's teacher shared he had an awesome day and Cooper was all smiles and stories when he got home. We are looking forward to a year full of fun, learning, and new memories!
