1st Day of SCHOOL

It was as exciting as their faces show!!

Emery was over the top excited as seen by only tiny slits of her eyes showing......I think excited to FINALLY be a part of the picture rather than just watching the picture being taken!

We dropped Kayden off first.....her teacher is Mrs Greenleaf & I can already tell it's gonna be a great year! Kayden didn't stop talking about EVERY last detail of her day when I picked her up!

2nd Grade {or peace!}

Messenger bags are HIGHLY preferred by the girls in my house.....Kayd had her heart set on some shade of green when we started this messenger bag browsing & ll bean pulled through! Best lunch "box" ever made! Spill spill spill as they may.....dowsing them in some soapy water, a quick rinse, lay out to dry....WAAAALLLLAAA brand new again!

Time for good-bye's

If you had asked me at the beginning of the summer if my baby was ready for Kindergarten I would have FIRMLY answered NO! All she wanted was to stay home with me & be home schooled {per her}! BUT a girl is subject to change her mind at any given moment & this little girl did just that!! She walked confidently & excitedly down the hall to her classroom!

Mrs Benge whom we already know & love!!

It's as if she'd already been "schooled" on just what to do & where to go.....we walked into the classroom & with ease she did just what she was supposed to do without being told! PERKS of an older sister!

Before we knew it the 1st bell had rung & that was our clue to leave.....I asked Emery if she was ready for us to go & her reply was "YES"!! I snuck in one more squeeze much to her dismay & just like that she ran off to play!

No tears shed from mom or dad {can't confirm if tears were or were not shed by Jon in the car....he was quite sad}......see life was in perspective that early Wednesday morning. The dad of a friend of ours died at the early age of 62 from cancer Tuesday. Then sometime Tuesday night/early Wednesday morning the brother of a sweet friend of mine passed away at the WAY TO EARLY age of 25 from a rare form of brain cancer. So as I dropped my girls off at school Wednesday morning I wasn't relieved to get them out of my hair but rather excited that I HAVE 2 HEALTHY GIRLS TO DROP OFF AT SCHOOL! That's a WHOLE LOT to be happy & grateful about!!

We can't say we didn't make the most of it!

On the eve of this "1st Day Back to School" I feel content. I think I've cried my share of tears over the thought of my baby going to Kindergarten {don't worry though, I saved some JUST for tomorrow!}. I've wondered countless minutes over "where did time pass us by SOOOO very fast"?? I've worried hours over "did I prepare her enough for school, give her the confidence she needs to withstand MEAN KIDS & to be comfortable about who she is, the kindness to "treat others as you would want to be treated", to respect her teachers & those around her, to LOVE JESUS despite all she faces in her next 16+ years of school, oh & so much more"?? Cry, wonder, worry as I may the eve before that 1st day of school is here! Nothing I can do now but just jump on this school ride enjoy & support her as much as I can! Cause it's what I've done with my soon to be 2nd grader!!

I decided there was NO ROOM for sadness around this house today & so we made our way downtown to make the most of this day!

I let them pretty much run the show....all with reason of course!

Imax was 1st on the list! We watched the most PRECIOUS movie Born to be Wild while munching away on popcorn

LOVE THESE 2

We then made our way over the Ocean side of the TN Aquarium {LOVE being a member.....no guilt in a 1 hour visit!} where the oldest requested to "pet the stingrays"......

the youngest requested to "see sharks"

& stopping for a few minutes to gaze at the wonders of Jelly Fish......being asked by the oldest "how do they have babies"......curiousity! LOVE IT!

I hope these girls never tire of loving on their momma........

cause I know I can't get enough!

Then, quite possibly the highlight of their day was playing in all the various "water play" areas that surround the aquarium for the next couple hours

Foot & Handprint of Emery: 5 1/2 years old

Foot & Handprint of Kayden: 7 1/2 years old

WHO NEEDS LUNCH?

Not these 3 Hughes chicks! Ice Cream at Sweet CeCe's was the best lunch a girl could ask for!

Our evening was just as I had envisioned it to be! A scrubbing from head to toe, clipping of the fingernails & toenails, lotion from face to toes, combing & blow drying of the hair, cleaning of the ears, uniform of choice laid out on bed, & stories in bed! Yep quite a dreamy evening.....for me I guess! But why did I think these 2 girls of mine would fall into a dreamy state of sleep at 745 pm after we've kept the most ERRATIC summer sleep schedule we've EVER kept??!! Messenger bags are chuck full of brand new school supplies, shots up to date, lunch bags are waiting to be filled with their choice of 1st day back to school lunch {will report on that later!}, book reports neatly finished & waiting to be passed off........so I guess we're as ready as we're gonna be.....we'll maybe ready for everything but that dreaded alarm & making lunches everyday! :)

New Do's

oh how i do LOVE a good before & after.....no matter what it is! a makeover, a piece of furniture, a haircut, weight loss, ect.....

so with no further ado i waited EXCEPTIONALLY long to get my girls' hair cut....like maybe 6+ months, not on purpose rather it just seems to be pretty low on the priority list!

Kayden before:

during:

after:!!!! {we love candy....our hair stylist!}

Emery before:

during: {glorious shampooing! quite dreamy wouldn't you say?!}

after:

yet one step closer to that 1st day of school!