Back to School Busy

School started last week. It's amazing how different life can feel in the span of 7 days. Last Sunday night, I was mildly worried that I didn't have everything planned for school to start. I went to bed a little late, woke up when the kids did, and took my time getting ready for work, since the kids didn't start back until Tuesday.

Today, I have spent much of the afternoon on my lesson plans, and am now getting ready to pack lunches, set out clothes, and zip up backpacks for the morning. How quickly our lazy summer routine has ended!

The kids have responded fairly well to the morning rush. So far I haven't had to fight any wars with Paige over getting dressed before Mama has to tell her 100 times. Getting shoes on her still isn't easy, but at least the battle isn't over every single item of clothing (yet!) Garrett actually slept until 7:15 the second morning of school, which, as you know, is nearly grounds for calling an ambulance to see if he's still alive. I can probably count on one hand the number of times in his entire life that he has slept past 7:00! Everyone is a little shell-shocked and tired out from the craziness of the first week.

Even with the madness, we are all looking forward to a great year! I have a fantastic class (and they're quiet too--amazing!!), Garrett loves his teacher, and Paige can't stop talking about kindergarten -although mostly about what she's doing during free time. This should be a banner year for us all!

Yesterday we escaped the back to school blues by taking a quick day trip up to the Jemez mountains with the kids and the dog. Sadie loved riding in the back of Dave's truck and sticking her head out the side. Her ears may take a week to settle back into their natural position. After driving quite a ways up into the mountains, we parked and wandered down to the river. The kids and the dog splashed around for awhile before we ambled back to the truck. It was a lovely, relaxed morning, and we got some beautiful pictures! And, even if you didn't want to see them, here they are!! (You really have to look at the one of Sadie shaking the water off herself next to Paige -it's priceless!)

Jemez

Our Last Hurrah

Summer is officially over for me. I start back to work one hour from now (so I better hurry getting this posted!) We decided to have a quick vacation in Durango before we all started back to school, so last weekend we packed up and headed for the hills.

Friday we went to Mesa Verde National Park and enjoyed hiking to the cliff dwellings - that is, until it was time to hike back UP the hill. Then, both kids got tired and hot and complain-y. Dave ended up carrying Paige up the hill on his back, but there is no way either of us could carry our nearly 80-pound, 4'8" boy up the hill. He had to struggle through it on his own!

Saturday morning we drove to Silverton, Colorado, and then took a mountain road (almost a jeep trail!) up to the ghost town of Animas Forks. The kids absolutely loved looking at the old houses and the gigantic mountains. Despite a little rain, we had a great time. Then we drove back to Durango Mountain Resort and took the Alpine Slide. We had to do some sweet-talking to get Paige on the chairlift and the slide, but she ended up loving it! It's a half-mile long slide that you do on little roller cars. She begged to go again, but we only had time for one ride.

Now that we've had our fun, it's time to focus on the back-to-school craziness. I can't believe I will have a second grader and a kindergartener this year! What happened to my little babies? They are so excited for school to start, and I'm ready for them to get back into a schedule. (See last post for reasons why!) Here's some pictures of our adventures, and of Paige's birthday party.