Little L!

Little Lilah is not so little any more. Starting Miss Bicki (that's how Lilah says Miss Vicki) is a tradition at our house. The first thing on the agenda is back to school night. She knew all about the apple magnet and placemat that you get to make there and boy was she excited! After BTS we went on a special date to get some frozen yogurt. I am so thankful that Lilah has matured over the past year and is really quite like-able now! She is kind and loves to take care of little sis Kate!

On her first day she followed the footprints down to her classroom and didn't skip a beat as she kissed my goodbye and went off to begin her big adventures!

Two big K's!

Kayla and Kindergarten! What a pair. Kayla has waited for this moment! It is the big right of passage, starting at the big school, going every day and best of all NO MORE NAPS! I know, I know I'm the meanest mom on the block but I make my kids take a nap until the big K. Kayla was ready! After watching Neeley for two years, she knows just what to do. And since she got Neeley's K teacher she was really ready. However, when it came to the first day and the bell rang. She stood in line nervously with the rest of the class. When it really came time to step in she started to cry and ran back to me. She kept saying, "I don't know what to do! I don't know what I am supposed to do!" She was terrified because she thought she had to know everything when she walked in. Where to put her backpack, where to sit, how to make the attendance chart, etc... She knew all about it, but not ALL about doing it. She thought she was supposed to know it all. I asked her if she knew how to walk into the class room. She looked at me like I was crazy and said yes. I told her that's it. That's all you need to know. Luckily by then her student teacher came over and took her by the hand and lead her in.

Kayla is my spunky, fashion savvy diva that is full of personality. When you see her you would never guess she was shy. But yes, oh yes, very shy in big social situations. She takes after her daddy on this one. She has a way of shutting right down if things get noisy, busy or big groups of people. I half expected her to react this way but didn't think she would be so panicked. I guess I hoped the excitement of the day would outweigh her fear. A few minutes later her student teacher came back out and said she was fine! This is where I become Mom of the Year! We go home and start the rest of our day. Then my sis in law came and said when does Kayla get home from school. I glanced at the clock and noticed that school had ended five minutes earlier! Yep, I left her there crying and then forgot about picking her up! Luckily I got there before the lineup of cars had left, just in time to hear all about her fabulous day!

Back to School Neeley Style

Being the oldest, Neeley gets to show the rest of the girls the ropes. The night before school started she helped both Kayla and Lilah get their outfits laid out for the next day. I could hear her telling Kayla all about it and being so excited for her to start at the big school with her. It's so exciting for me to see them go off together each morning. I love it that school is still fun for Neeley, but I love it even more that mom is still cool! Each morning before she gets out of the car she gives each of us a kiss. If she forgets, Kate yells, "Love, Love!" after her, but rarely does she forget. As she gets out of the car she looks in as the door shuts and yells, "Bye Mom. I love you so much! Have a good day!" Then she runs up to the school. When she gets half way to the door, she turns back again and yells "Love You!" I know this won't last forever, but each day it does my heart just melts. Maybe, just maybe I can stay cool....at least this year!

Taking the Plunge!

Sammy begging for some help to get out!

My Little monkey!

Me getting the nerve up to jump!

Not as easy as it looks getting out of this!

Janell was the balance beam pro!

Here she is giving Neeley some pointers!

Kate and Daddy

Charlotte getting ready to take to podium!

Cassadie trying to swim out of the foam!

Danny ready to take the plunge!

Hunter, MacKay, Jim and Tye

Ken and Suzy (preference of teams is not endorsed by blog author!)

Jason

Neeley

Kimberly

Garret, Danny, Addi, Ward and Hunter. Garret is giving some advice on how to flip!

Lilah perfecting her jump!

Haleigh, Gavin, Grandpa and Grandma

Kayla perfecting the beam!

Ryan

Tyson

Jer rescuing Kate just after he himself was rescued!

Kimi, Beth and Karl trying to swim out!

Neeley

Every year my sister Janell throws a super fun back to school bash. Usually it involves swimming but this year we tried something new. She rented out a gymnastics studio for a couple of hours and let us all loose. I don't remember seeing a group of all ages enjoy something so much. From Kate to the adults, everyone had a blast! We had a relay race with the adults and kids (my team won of course!), tumbled, vaulted, performed tricks on the balance beam and jumped to our hearts content. The most fun was the foam pit with "diving" board. So realistic I went to plug my nose the first time in! Lilah was the pro of the day with that. By the end she was doing flips into it. Little Kate couldn't have been any happier with it all. Maybe we have some future gymnasts in the family, Neeley sure hopes so!

Our little brave one, Lilah flipping out!

Thanks for all the fun Janell and Jim!