First Day of Kindergarten

We are attempting our first year of homeschooling!!  *YIKES*  I can't believe this is where life has led me and each time I think this is something I cannot do, I remind myself that I never in my wildest dreams could have imagined being a stay at home mom! Today was our first day and everything went fine.  We started a little after 8 and were finished within an hour.  My dad thinks J must be a very quick learner ; ) but that time did not include a snack or recess or lunch!  I tried to make today a special day like so many of my friends with children starting "real" school because it was still his first day of school.  The only unexpected today was Andrew.  He is usually so content in front of the television, and that was my plan for this morning, but he did not think the same!  It was a battle for about 20 minutes, but he finally resigned himself to PBS.

On our front porch, "1" for his first day.

Our work area

He still gets away with too much just because he's cute!

He kept telling me, "I want to play that game!".

Finishing the day with our special day plate because it was his special day!!

Popo's 70th

Saturday, August 14th, we celebrated Bill's father's 70th birthday.  He's not one for gala affairs so it was an intimate gathering with the family in the upstairs room of the Boardroom.  It was a great evening with good food and a good cake!

Popo and 3 of 5

What an awesome cake!

Hot in Atlanta!

If you haven't figured it out yet, I'm tired!!  We have gone & done so much this summer trying to give the girls a good experience, but it has worn me down!  (Not to mention my house is a wreck!)  We had one week overlap of the Russian girl and the French girl so we chose that week to visit a "city".  Originally, I thought I'd be fine with my boys and the girls alone, but in the end I enlisted the help of a local teacher friend so it wouldn't be me alone with the kids!  We had a great condo in downtown - we could walk everywhere.  We did a lot of walking and the boys did surprisingly well even though the heat/humidity was almost too much for me.  In two days, we visited Coke World, the Georgia Aquarium, CNN center, Centennial Park, Turner Field, and finally, Atlantic Station for a little shopping.  The toughest part was the 330 mile drive!

JT was in Coke paradise - I let him drink as much as he wanted!  I think Solène tried all 41 flavors.

At Centennial Park

This was a real aquarium behind us with live coral.  Although the GA Aquarium is expensive, I would strongly recommend it.

July - just a lot of water!

Our summer has been very busy with trips to the waterpark, lake, and beach.  It was a very hot/humid July and the only way to cool off was in the water!  Luckily, the boys seem to love it as much as we do!

p.s. I am playing catch up on all my photos for the next few weeks!

As the family photographer, I have to occasionally ask Bill to "get me in one" so in the future, we'll know I was there!

Freeze pops are a summer must at our house!

Yes, that's Bill on the rope swing at Belews Lake.

*Trying* to broaden their palette!

Welcome Solène

We continued our summer short term exchange experience with the addition of Solène from France on July 24.  JT asked me today who he will play with after everyone is gone.  Our boys have truly enjoyed these additions to our family!

Face Paint

The Panther

The tiger

Yes, we own face paint is all I can say.