Yard Sale

This weekend, our church had a yard sale. In the past, our garage sales have been massive. Tons and tons of stuff. Good stuff. And we made tons of money. Ilda said that one year, the church made 1300 dollars. That is a lot of money for selling a bunch of stuff that people want to get out of their house.

This year's yard sale seemed a bit rough to me. I didn't think there was a lot of stuff. We did have a ton of Christmas decorations, oddly enough. Oh and a lot of toilets. Cause everyone wants to buy a used toilet right?

We met some really interesting people during our time. My mom said that she didn't feel right encouraging these hoarding tendencies in people. It was obvious that some people were hoarders. You could just tell. Were we enabling them?

We sold a ton of stuff. It was not a lot of stuff, but we sold a lot of it. I had a junk seller come up to get the majority of our left overs so we didn't have to haul it all away.

Guess how much money we made on this garage sale? The closest guess will get a free redbox code. Oh wait, the closest guess from a person who wasn't at the garage sale and knows the answer cause they asked Ilda wins a free redbox code. Don't be a cheater.

The contest ends tomorrow night at midnight PST.

BFFs start the 2nd grade

Maggie and Katelyn met on in August of 2009. We were both at meet the Teacher night at their schools. I remember looking around the class and saying to Maggie,"Hey, look over there. That little girl looks nice." They met that night and were fast friends.

They stuck together through Kindergarten and begged to have play dates every day after school or to go have lunch together. It was such a blessing for Maggie to have such a sweet friend to help her have a great first year. I met her parents and talked to her mom every day during pick up time.

Last year, they were in the same class together again. The year was a tough learning curve for Maggie and she was so thankful to have her BFF by her side as she navigated the new school year. They again begged for playdates after school or to go to McDonald's together.

This year, they are in the same class again. I was really nervous. I didn't tell Maggie, but I was so scared that they wouldn't be together again. They had a playdate on the day that the class lists came out. We met Katelyn's mom at school at 5:00 to see the class lists. Before we got out of the car, I prayed with the girls that no matter what, they would have a great year.

I was so stinking nervous. I was trying not to let them see how nervous I was about this. I mean, they would still be friends, but it would be so nice for them to have each other in class one more year.

We walked over to the list posted outside the school office. We scanned the lists and couldn't find their names. Where were they?

Then, we saw it. They were in the same class together for the third year in a row. There was cheering and high fives.

So, they are together for one more year. Yes! Maggie is so much more confident this year about school. She and Katelyn know the ropes, but still have each other to lean on.

As an added bonus, I have become friends with Kirsten, her mom. We have a lot in common and it's nice to have someone to navigate school and parenting with her. We even met for coffee this morning without the girls to just catch up with each other.

As we left school today, they begged for playdates at each other's houses. I hope they have playdates for many years to come.

Ba Ba

My kids have strange attachment issues to these sippy cups. Maggie called it a "ba-boo". She kept it for a long time.

Patrick now loves the same ones. His happy spot is in the rocking chair with "ba-ba" and a blanket.

I guess Ba-ba wanted to take a first day of school picture too.

First day of school pictures

I took these pictures in the backyard on the first day of school. Patrick couldn't be left out. As soon as he saw the camera, he started yelling, "CHEESE".

Stylish new bookbag ready for the 2nd grade.

She is unbelievably excited about 2nd grade. I hope it lasts past the first week!

CHEESE!

She looks like she is not quite sure about Patrick here.

She won these squinky ninjas at Boomer's the day before school started. They wanted to take a picture too.

Could he have more CARS on his body? Yes, cause even his shoes have CARS on them.

Family Fun Day

On Tuesday, we went to play putt putt at Boomer's in Modesto. Steven had just gotten back from Colorado the night before, but he wanted to spend the day with us before Maggie started school on Wednesday.

Little did we know the skills that our family has when it comes to putt putt. Maggie is on her way to becoming a pro. Do colleges give scholarships for putt putt?

Patrick was in heaven. I mean, come on...he had a golf club and a little ball. What could be better? He loved swinging the club and placing the ball in the hole with his hands. His favorite holes were the ones where you put the ball in a hole and it would go down a tunnel and come out on the other side of the hole.

Yes, I am a really good putt putt player!

Doesn't he make it look natural?

It was a fun last day of summer fun!

Maggie's first day sof school

Today was a super easy morning. You could tell she felt confident about going. She quickly dismissed Daddy on the playground. She said she was going to make lots of new friends. She is in her classroom from last year with the same teacher and her BFF, Katelyn.

She was still annoyed that I was trying to take her picture in the front yard. You can tell that this year's picture was quickily snapped in the front yard so no one would see her as they walked to school.

Thankfully, she let me take a lot more pictures in the backyard.

I am hopeful about this school year. I love her teacher and I think she is going to have a great year. I am so proud of Maggie.

Goodbye, Summer

This has been an amazing summer. I really, really don't want it to end.

I asked Maggie to tell me about this summer. She summed it up in one word: TRIPS.

We took some amazing trips this summer. I love to travel, so it was perfect. I don't know that it was so much fun for Patrick. He likes his routine, like most 2 year olds do, but he did fairly well.

I really am having a hard time even remembering all of the trips that we took.

We went to the Grand Canyon with the Monroes. That was an amazing time. I hope we continue to travel with them and let our kids have fun together. Steven and his guys are going back next summer to hike the Grand Canyon for his 40th birthday.

Then, we went to Ashland, Ohio for National Conference. It was really a great growing time and confirming that the ministry we are doing here is what we are supposed to be doing. This year, the kids got to go with us and had a blast too.

From there, we went to Destin to meet my family at the beach. WHoo hoo! I loved it. We went to the beach and swam every day. Maggie taught herself how to swim this summer. She is a determined little girl. We went on an amazing yacht and had a great time just hanging out.

Steven went on two trips during the past two weeks that we didn't go on, but we had fun at home. Maggie went to the zoo with Memaw and Nah Nah. And we went to the Jelly Belly factory with some of Steven's college friends.

So, school starts tomorrow.

I am going to miss our ability to go on a whim. But, Maggie is beyond excited about school starting. She is with her BFF and has the same teacher that she had last year.

Next summer, maybe we should stay home and relax.

Nah....we have more places to see.