Cramming it all in

What a full week!

Dad got here last Sunday night and spent Monday and Tuesday spoiling the kids. He took them to the park, Micky D's, Adventure Landing, and all of us to the hibachi for his birthday (ha!) Izzy was most upset when he left Wednesday morning.

John and I decided to cram as much fun stuff into this last weekend of the summer as possible. Luckily we had great weather in which to cram it all in! Saturday after some light house-cleaning, I set up the tent and made a fire pit, and we had a cook-out. Mary is an old pro at roasting hotdogs/marshmallows and was eager to extend her knowledge to her little brother. Right as we were getting ready to go into the tent, Mary somehow got a bee stuck in her sandal and got stung. The poor thing was so traumatized she decided to sleep in the house. So, Keith and I settled in (Izzy was already GONE by this point, poor, tired thing). Around midnight Keith decided he was "too cold" and went back in the house. Izzy and I stayed through until 6:45 the next morning, with Izzy just waking up occasionally because she had snuggled outside her sleeping bag and got cold. She was pretty tickled that she was the only one who made it in the tent all night!

Sunday John found some cheap tickets to Darien Lake, and after a brief fight with the printer to get our tickets, we headed out. Keith got brave and got on the big, upside-down coaster (a first!), and Mary got on everything she was tall enough to ride. Izzy was pretty patient with her fate as the little one who still has some growing to do before she can get on the big rides. And mom did NOT puke (whew!). I did get a nasty bruise when that coaster tripped me up while I was getting out. Ouch!

Monday was spent sleeping in as late as possible and catching up on more housework. I ran to the store for much-needed lunch and after-school snack items. Mary and Keith packed their lunches, and we got all the backpacks ready for the big first day of school. (And why did the girls both have to catch a cold the day before school started, hmmmm?)

All was smooth getting Mary and Keith up and ready for school (despite Mary not sleeping well due to what I assume were pre-school jitters and her cold). Izzy was a bit groggy, but mainly got up with no problem. Mary and Keith took the bus in. John took Izzy in for her first day. She apparently was so excited about school that she was carrying her backpack around this morning--so that when it was needed as they were heading out the door, John couldn't find it! (He finally found it in her bedroom--stinker!)

It's my first day as a part-timer (but really, is 32 1/2 hours REALLY part-time?), and I'm excited about getting to go home early to pick up the kids (plus two) from school.

Here are some pics. What a great first day!