First day of school

Back to school!  Hip, hip, hooray!  We had a wonderful summer, but, boy, things have seriously deteriorated around here the last week or so...and it was time for school!  We were all so grumpy this week I wasn't sure if my kids would make it to school still in one piece.

Here are my little pumpkins this morning, happy as could be.

Here's my Montessori girl!  Mary was so excited to go back to school.  She is especially looking forward to mentoring the younger children.  She even prayed last night that she would be a good teacher.  (Hmmm...she really likes to boss, so we'll see how this goes...)

My first grader!  (By the way, in case you didn't know, I am the nicest mom in the world, and this picture proves it.  I resisted the urge to force my kid to wear a proper polo shirt on the first day of school.  Instead, I let him pick out a brand new shirt and let him go to school as a walking Lego billboard.  True, he is a walking Lego billboard most days, but I thought I might raise my standards for the first day of school.  But then I remembered how lazy nice I am.)

David was not nervous or anxious in the least.  (Is he my child????)  He didn't even want me to walk him to his classroom.  I could see that I was the ONLY mom not to walk her child in, camera in hand.  I just dumped him at the curb and took off.  At his request!  To be perfectly honest, I was relieved.  The clock was ticking:  I still had to get Mary to school extra early in order to be on time for Greg's post-op appointment with the surgeon.  (Yes, we celebrated back-to-school this year in our family with a surgery.  Didn't you?)

Wow.  I love that my kids both returned to the same school they were at last year.  They returned to people and places and routines that are familiar.  I think that might be something we call STABILITY.  It's nice to have a little.

Do We Really Have to Go Home?--Day Three

By Wednesday, our last day, we knew we would have to come back (and next time with our bikes and kayaks).  I think knowing we could return was the only way we could bring ourselves to pack up the car that morning.  But before we drove back home, we had a full day on the peninsula to enjoy.

That morning we drove through Peninsula State Park, checking out on old lighthouse, soaking up the vistas of Green Bay, and making plans for a return.  We then, for the first time, crossed over to the lakeside to visit the Cana Island Lighthouse.  After a low-key pizza lunch in Bailey's Harbor, we finally made Mary's dream come true--a sandy beach!  For a year and a half now she has been making plans to wear her pink flip flops on the beach and build a sand castle.  We all enjoyed obliging Mary.


Peninsula State Park


Highlights included just being there!  Due to the fog that morning, the visibility wasn't stellar, but I think the clouds only added to the peacefulness.  (Supposedly more people pass through this state park than Yellowstone every year--so we were fortunate to experience such a peaceful morning.)  It's a beautiful place!

To keep it real, I should point out that David declared it a boring morning, and both kids thought they might die when we made them get out of the car to see the Eagle Bluff lighthouse and Nicolet Beach.  (If only they knew how lucky they were--we did not make them climb another tower...but we could have.)

Cana Island Lighthouse


Highlights included sunshine and views of Lake Michigan.  Greg and David climbed the lighthouse, while I stayed in the car with a napping Mary.  After Mary woke up, we joined the boys on the island (which you can walk to since the lake level is low enough).

Whitefish Dunes State Park


Highlights included the loveliness of the beach, the hours of relaxing on the sand, Dad the Engineer, and the miracle that our children actually HELPED carry stuff.  They also maintained a really good attitude...despite the 54 degree water.  (Yikes!  That is cold!  I'm not sure if that's normal or not.  We'd been swimming the day before in the very same Lake Michigan and the water was fine.  Go figure.)

Phew!  We were one exhausted (but happy) family on our way home.  Door County was the highlight of our summer.  To be honest, there was plenty of bickering between the kids.  And a fair amount of whining.  But less bickering and whining than usual.  We truly liked being together.  David did a fabulous job of enjoying himself, and Mary was remarkably pleasant despite her sleep deprivation.  Without fail, every time we happened upon a clean, flushing restroom, Mary and David would have to go to the bathroom...twenty minutes later.  But it is a wonderful thing to travel with two fully potty-trained children.  I like my family.

So if you come back from a vacation happy to live in this world and happy to be a part of your family, it doesn't get any better, does it?

What a great way to end the summer...and now if we could only muster the energy to get ready to go back to school....