Another First Day

Kindergarten

I can't say that I am fond of staggered start, but at least for Nor I got to pick the day. So she started today and goes the rest of the week. She had a successful first day, although I am wondering what she will think when the whole class is there tomorrow. Should be interesting. I have a VERY tired little girl on my hands tonight. I can't say she is in the best of moods just because she is so tired. I think we'll back the bedtime up another 30 minutes. Even I am ready to get in bed by 8:30. Thank goodness it's getting darker earlier.
Check out my BIG kids on the front porch. They were raring and ready to go this morning. Tug was very worried about Nor finding her way around without him, Mommy or Daddy but she did great. I wish I could freeze time.............they are such a fun age!!!!

2nd Grader

Fun Friend Time

We ALWAYS love it when Miss R comes to visit. She arrived on Friday, we got massages. ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Then met T and the kids for pizza before the 1st official football game of the season. We went to *Brooklyn Boys.* R said the pizza was good but T and I wouldn't know. I ordered a pizza that never came. Poor T.......after that neither one of us felt like eating. So we headed to the football game and had to park in the back 40. We stayed about an hour. It was fun for R and I to observe the hs students. Saturday morning we had decided we wanted to CHILL. We had a big b'fast and then Miss R came up with a treasure hunt. She drew a map and everything. All the red dots indicate 'treasure.' She knows my house better than I do. Then we had Mexican for lunch and a trip to Target. A nice, restful weekend before hitting the grind. A crazy week to come for sure. The kids get to meet their teachers tomorrow. Ready for them to start school even if I am not. :)

Summer Movie Review

This has been the summer of movies!!!!! We went to our last summer movie this morning since I will be going back to work in 2 days. I thought I might compile a list with a few comments along the way. These are in no particular order. (Also a disclaimer in case you wondered if I had to take a loan out to afford the movies since it is so EXPENSIVE...........many of these were the free offerings from the S'ville and M'ville theatres.) Love that free summer program.

1. Kung Fu Panda 2: the first of the summer and just as good as the first one.
2. Cars 2: Also a good sequel. Although I was surprised that it didn't seem to follow any sort of plot from part 1. And everyone loves Tow-mater.
3. Muppets Take Manhattan: this is an oldie but a goodie..........I remember going to the theatre and seeing this when I was a kid. Who doesn't love the muppets?
4. Nanny McPhee 2: Love these movies!!! I am a big Emma Thompson fan. I love everything she is in on top of the fact that I didn't realize until the movie credits that she is responsible for writing them.
5. Ramona & Beezus: a great movie...............the kids really enjoyed the antics of Ramona. And there are a few teary parts along the way.
6. Judy Moody & the not Bummer Summer: Tug and Nor got to see this with one of their favorite people, Miss R. They are still quoting lines from this one. Action packed no doubt.
7. Pirates of the Caribbean 4: of course this was a Tug favorite. Anything with pirates, high seas and fighting is right up his alley. I personally thought this one was better than parts 2 and 3.
8. Harry Potter 7.2: by far my favorite of the summer and bitter sweet. It's over...........I have read all the books and watched all the movies. It was a great ending. I would advise anyone to read the books first, which I did.
9. Shrek 4: all of these are great and this one was no exception. Now we are ready for Puss in Boots to enter theatres around Thanksgiving.
10. Smurfs: I remember watching this cartoon growing up. The movie was ok........not one of the top 5 but certainly family-friendly.
11. Mr. Popper's Penguins: again pretty much love anything Jim Carey does (except the Dumber series). This was a good family movie with a great theme.
12. The Guardian of the Legend: didn't go to see this one with the kids...T took them to see this one while I helped with senior pictures at the school. The kids said it was good so I'll just take their word for it.
13. Megamind: did not realize this was the voice of Will Ferrell. I good movie about good vs. evil. There were some laugh-out-loud moments in this movie.

Hiking LKN

First of all, I didn't realize I was over 300 posts. Wow! I think sometimes we forget how much fun we can have right out our backdoors. After our shopping excursion to Aldi on Saturday (I will really have to do a separate post soon on how much I love this store, their fit and active brand, and the savings) we decided to go on a hike. Back last fall Tug went on a hike with his cub scout troop. We were going to re-enact. It wasn't too hot on Saturday.There is a path in Lake Norman State Park called the Lakeshore trail. It's 5 miles long, but with two small kids there is no way that was going to happen. We took towels and put them in swimsuits. Tug told us about this little beach area we could hang out on. Of course I forogt my camera and missed some great photo opportunities. We hiked probably 3/4 of a mile to a really nice beach area. They swam, we'll have to remember life jackets next time. Then we headed back. Next time I hope to stay longer and really make a day of it. It helped to get some of their energy out. Which brings me to my next point..................

I am OVER summer. Anyone who knows me knows I am not fond of increased temperatures. I never complain in the cold months. Bring on the fall. I am sick of the heat and I am sick of my kids driving me crazy. They have spent entirely TOO much time together this summer. They have been up 30 minutes this morning and they are already fighting. August 18th and back to school cannot get here fast enough.