Kindergarten

In just over a week my baby starts Kindergarten. I'm thrilled and excited for her, but that means she isn't my baby anymore. I know, I know, she'll always be my baby, but in her little mind, she's going off to school like a big girl and then, before you know it, she'll be a teenager, who hates her mom. Doesn't it always work that way? I know how I was as a teenager, and if she is anything close to what I was....Lord help me! She will be going to The Sunshine Kids Center instead of the "normal" Kindergarten. She is already going there for daycare, and already loves her teacher, so it won't be a big adjustment for her. The good news is that she is only one of maybe 10 kids. The last time I looked on the list there were only 5 kids signed up for Kindergarten. She will get lots of one on one time with the teacher which will be great and I don't have to worry about how she will get to and from school.

We went school shopping today. I have been looking forward to this day since before she was born! I know, that's probably a little weird, but hey, I'm weird. School shopping with my grandma every year was one of my favorite memories. Not because she spoiled me every year, but it was great quality time with her. And it was fun to see her reaction to the things that I wanted. Of course, the stuff that I wore then, isn't even close to the things kids are wearing these days. ( I hope the teenagers get a little more modest by the time mine gets there) Spending that time with my grandma made the start of the school year that much more special. I hope to be able to the same for my daughter each year. We made a great day out of it today. We went to Kohl's (awesome deals!!), ShopKo, Payless, and Wal-Mart. I had already been Target earlier in the week. Around lunch time, I treated her to her favorite place in the world to eat.... Donald's! That's McDonald's to the rest of us. Happy meal--Cheeseburger, no pickles and apples. She was a happy kid.

Here is some of her loot from the day.
She's a happy little girl that got really spoiled today. Now to decide on what to wear on that infamous first day!!!

Rockstar in the Making

Last week was spirit week at Victoria's daycare. Thursday was crazy hair day and this is what we came up with. She looks like such the rockstar! If you look closely you can see my blackberry in her hand. I don't know how many rockstars carry a stuffed puppy wherever they go, but hey that's why she's in training.

Round Lake Fishing

Mark, Lexie, Tori and I went to Round Lake today to go fishing. Lexie LOVES to fish. Hopefully she will be able to continue to go fishing when she gets back to North Carolina. The first picture was actually taken just as we were about to leave. Mark spotted that huge bees nest and grabbed my camera to get some shots. That thing was HUGE and Lexie hates bees, so she wasn't thrilled with it and gets nervous just looking at the picture. The second picture is Mark, fishing with Victoria's fishing pole and catching a small bass. He's not to manly to fish with a pink barbie pole. The third picture is Lexie kind of amazed at how long that worm was. That next picture was not of the fishing trip, but I thought it was cute. Lexie and Tori were coloring together last night. Pretty cute. Oh and of course Chachi needed to be in the shot. Finally, we have my beautiful daughter, Tori, bringing the worms to Lexie. She loves to help..even if it involves worms.

A Place of Peace

Living in North Idaho definitely has its advantages. This is one my favorite spots here in North Idaho. It's called Green Bay and it's on Lake Pend Orielle. I do love the sandy beaches of North Carolina, but we went camping here last weekend and when I woke to see the sun coming up over the lake, the rocks didn't seem so bad. This is picture of Victoria throwing rocks into the lake, she gave up trying to skip rocks and figured throwing them was much easier. She may have even been trying to hit Mark or Sean. Ya never know...she is 5. Most days this part of Green Bay is pretty busy. Thankfully, it was just us this day. It was so quiet and so peaceful. If I ever leave North Idaho, I am definitely going to miss Green Bay. I'd have to make special trips in the summer to visit Sandpoint and all it has to offer.