New school year, old clothes.

Beginning of the school year? Bring it on. 

Hannah started kindergarten this week. It feels like two steps backward from where she was. She used to go to preschool 4 hours a day. Now kindergarten is 2.5 hours. And a very useless 2 hours. She came home from her first day and said, "All we did was sit on the rug. BORING." I have a looming suspicion that school and Hannah will always have a love/hate relationship. I think we're in for a long road, folks. 

Hannah can read quite a bit, do simple math, put on an entire family home evening, do her own hair, sell eggs to the neighbor's without help, bark orders at the household on any given topic, and is allergic to bees. Her favorite show right now is Baby Story. She would watch it for hours if I let her. When the baby comes out, she gets emotional and says, "Isn't it so cute, Mom? I was cuter though." She was asked what she wanted to be when she grew up at kindergarten. Her answer: a delivery nurse. She is desperately trying to do cartwheels, starts her third year of ballet in a few weeks, and (hopefully) will start piano lessons again. She begs me every day for a violin. We lovingly refer to her as "Bossy Pants". 

An exciting announcement: My kids had so many clothes that fit that we didn't go back-to-school shopping. Happy dance! In fact, this outfit that Hannah is wearing represents the same skirt and backpack that Leah wore to her first day of kindergarten, which was three years ago. I know we won't always be so lucky, but I have been cheering about it every day. 

Here's Leah on this first day of third grade, with Hannah photo bombing. She loves school so much and is perfect fit for public education. Listens to the teacher, likes homework, follows rules to a tee, etc. I don't know where she got that. She is good at math, is an excellent reader (currently loves Diary of a Wimpy Kid books). She will continue horseback riding and piano and surprised me all summer with her swim moves. She is into pop music and could listen to "Call Me Maybe" 100 times if I let her. She loves jokes and strawberry freezer jam. She has had a very difficult time making friends and has had a few meltdowns already this year about being lonely at recess. She is meeting with a school counselor (even though she told me today, "I just don't think she's gonna be that helpful") and we've had lots of long talks about how to make and keep friends. It's very sad to watch and is really bringing out her anxiety/distorted thinking issues. Most people don't see that side of her, but I deal with it everyday and honestly, we both need some help. 

Leah is sporting a darling ensemble, thanks to my sister and niece. They brought down some adorable outfits a few months ago and my kids have gotten some great wear out of them. Thank you! We are so grateful. And well dressed.

Here's a random picture of a huge egg. It had two yolks in it. Leah asked if that meant it would have been twins. When I said yes, I got a couple of really long, hard stares from the girls. I said don't worry, we don't have a rooster so it's not bad to eat these eggs. Leah said, "Oh, so they would have to do that thing that parents do to get babies." I nodded my head and walked away.

Here is a reminder that we live in a beautiful place. Because sometimes I need a BIG reminder. This great rainbow pic was taken only a few blocks away from us. 

You are now wondering, How's me? This picture kind of sums it up. I started my second-to-last semester of school on Monday. I'm teaching 6th grade resource math in the morning in Spanish Fork at a GREAT school, an afternoon of piano lessons (only one day a week--all I could muster), 13 credits of classes every Monday for 6 hours, and working with the Young Women in my ward. Plus hauling my own kids around. Plus I crave, inexplicably, soft serve vanilla ice cream cones. Not in a styrofoam dish. 

And no, I'm not dating anyone. You know you were wondering! ("How ARE you?") That would require actually going out on a date. Instead, I took myself to a movie on Saturday night. A fabulous experience! I laughed whenever I wanted without wondering if the person next to me thought it was funny. Seriously, it was a liberating experience that I recommend to all--single or otherwise.