New backpacks, all filled & ready to go. I shopped all over the internet and the real world for these three things. I ended up finding ones that were practical and that the girls approved of at: Gymboree (Mallory's), Amazon (Mariah's), and JC Penny (Arissa).
I always start off the school year really good as far as making breakfast (and getting up early) goes. Usually that tapers off to where eventually everyone serves themself cereal. But at least on the first day they get something home-made and warm, guaranteed.
I tried to pretty it up a bit with a nice place-setting, including fresh-cut hydrangeas & fancy doilies on the plates:
I stayed up late the night before making Mormon muffin batter (the traditional recipe plus some secret ingredients + blueberries cause I had to "healthy" it up to make up for the buttermilk).
Then we were out the door.
Got to hug & catch up with our friends:
I love the first day of school, and all fresh starts.
M&M brought hydrangeas for their teachers.
Arissa's teacher kept repeating that they should not be intimidated by all those books.
Maybe she wasn't, but I kind of was.
first day of school
movie night
Some friends of ours invited us over for a movie night in their yard.
They cranked up their industrial strength projector, hung up a sheet, and we all gathered together to watch MegaMind.
On the count of three, everybody say "Pottery Barn Chairs"!!
All the kids had fun, before, during and after the movie:
Arissa made a new friend:
Mmm....I forgot how good STOVE-popped popcorn is.
Popped in lots of canola oil, and sprinkled with plenty of salt afterward. So good.
sea world
Hey, what are YOU doing here??!!
My hair looked the same as this guy's:
Playing around:
Mallory & Arissa went on Shipwreck Rapids several times.....
....while I waited. See what I mean about my hair....
This picture was interesting.....the lighting from the Shamu show highlighted Arissa:
The end!
I {heart} Sea World. It is my favorite place to go in the summer. It's beachy, but without all the sand and seaweed.
a sad day
I got my daily after-school call from the girls yesterday, Arissa is always the one who gets on first, and as soon as I picked up the receiver I heard moaning and wailing in the background.
I could tell it was Mallory and it didn't sound like her usual, thrice a day tantrum crying (although that is pretty wild and loud too). This was sad, sobbing crying.
So I asked Arissa what happened and she told me Mallory's fish had died.
My grandma bought all 3 girls a fish over the summer, which they lovingly named, fed, and watched every day.
But Mallory's fish had completed it's mission on earth apparently, and was called back to the big fish-pond in the sky. But she left behind one sad, mournful little girl.
Nana's promise to buy a new one the very next day, plus a bowl-full of pretzels, helped to cheer her up quite fast.
But there was no way of talking Mallory into letting any of us flush this fish. It was going to have a proper burial if she had to do the whole thing herself.
So we planned a sunset cermony, dressed in our funeral best, and got er done.
Each of the girls said a few words. It was very sweet and somber, until after each speech when they would press one of the pedals on the play-microphone which then played recorded applause or drumbeats. It kinda ruined the moment, but it was pretty hilarious.
Mallory & Mariah wrote their own speeches, and Arissa read us a Bible verse:
And then Mallory rang a bell 3 times, and we had a moment of silence.
Our little guest of honor:
Nana didn't dress in funeral attire, but we still let her attend.
I made little crosses out of hydrangea stems, one for Vanessa The Fish and one for our other sorely-missed friend: Blossom, who she was being burried next to.
I even cut two of my few remaining bloomed hydrangeas for the decedants.
Farewell to our little friend, may she rest in peace.
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