1st Day of School 2011

Three years ago I watched Alex hop on the school bus for the very first time. Today it was Conner's turn. After waking up to an insanely early alarm, I got going and got breakfast ready and lunches packed. For the first time ever, we had to drag poor Conner out of bed.

We have no idea where that black eye came from. He didn't go to bed with it! Conner soon rallied and got excited for his first day of school.

We really need to work on our routine, because as I'm writing this, it occurs to me that the next step should have involved brushing teeth. There's always tomorrow. We got on shoes and went outside to wait for the bus.

Then the bus appeared, and my three year preschool veteran followed his big brother up onto the bus and headed off to Kindergarten with no hesitation.

And that's when the overwhelming feeling hit me that my tiny little baby boy wasn't a baby anymore, and that my two oldest had just stepped onto the bus and left our home. They have grown up so quickly and the summer break has ended. Life will never be the same again. The emotions were admittedly overwhelming.

Click here for the full photoset from our fun morning.

Allison's 4th Birthday

Allison is 4!  And it's about time.  I am constantly asked if she and Conner are twins.  Here are some pictures from her family party and her Fairy Princess party with her school friends.

Princess (and Prince) Class

This past spring a new children's playspace opened up in the next town over called Jam Time.  Aside from providing an excellent environment for little kids to run around and play, the place offers a set schedule of "classes" that appeal to the 2 - 6 crowd.  When I saw that they had a Princess Class I just couldn't resist signing Allison up.  

Now, Allison is in general a pretty grown-up little girl.  She tends towards a maturity and confidence that exceeds her 4 short years.  Knowing this, I assumed that Allison would enjoy herself in Princess Class while Conner played outside the little class room in the big open playspace full of other kids and a wide range of toys and climbing structures.  Both kids had other plans.  Allison would not stay in the classroom unless I stayed with her, and Conner would not play outside the classroom unless I stayed with him.  That's how we all ended up staying for Princess Class.  

For the 1st 10 or so minutes of the class, the girls were provided with a multitude of fancy costumes, fairy wings, tiaras, jewelry, shoes, wands, etc.  They dressed themselves all up, then the unused costumes were put away and the class was taught some etiquette lesson in a very fun and age appropriate way.  They played some games and listened to stories, then there was a craft to do and finally, a princess tea party with strawberry milk and a treat.  

Conner made it a minute and a half before jumping in.  He helped Allison pick out her costume, participated in the lesson, made a craft, and loved the tea party.  By the end of class I was writing a second check to the owner because Conner was hooked.  They graciously renamed the class Princess and Prince Class, and brought in knight and pirate costumes, but Conner has no interest beyond helping Allison with her attire.  

Here are some ridiculously cute pictures I've taken of the class.

Spring time fun

So many things happened this past Spring and I just had a lovely time going through the pictures.  It's amazing how much the kids change, and how quickly.  I notice a difference even though it's only been a few short months since most of these events happened:

Our nephew Sam had his second birthday.

My mother began the second leg of her battle against breast cancer.

I made too much popcorn.

Paul finally decided to keep me, and made it official by giving me his class ring.

Alex had his art project selected to be put on display at our public library.

Conner lost his first tooth.

And Allison got really really dirty.

Here are a few more pictures from the spring that you may enjoy.

Disney World!

It took months of planning, weeks of packing, and hours of flying, but in February Paul and I managed to successfully take the kids to Florida to vacation with Grandma & Grandpa Hall, visit Great Grandma Russell, visit with my cousin Cyndie and her wonderful family, and in our free time, we all went to Disney World a whole lot.

This was no small feet and there was no small amount of camera action, so witteling the 600+ pictures of vacation perfection down to a reasonable number was...well...beyond my capabilities.  I'm afraid I couldn't get it under 246.  However, you can rest assured that these are 246 of the best pictures you have ever seen in your entire life of the Russells and Halls and Great Grandma in February.  At Disney.  In the year 2011.  Pinky swear!

January 2011

Okay, so I'm way way way behind in posting pictures of the kids to this blog. But, you're in luck! I have dedicated this very evening to catching up and getting you the kid pics you deserve.

So, without any further ado, I dare you to look at the following picture set without smiling.