Hello, Kindergarten and 3rd Grade!

Here, we are ready to head back to school. The children are excited and a wee bit nervous and I'm happy and sad at the same time. This is the year my little boy enters elementary school as a Kindergartner. It is a big step and lots of change is ahead of us. 

Ready to go to school: 

We did not know who Elliot's teacher was until the middle of the week, hence, the empty/ edited space on the board. 

Both children will be at the same school for the next 3 years :)

As per German tradition, on the child's first day of elementary school, you receive a Schultuete: a cone filled with some goodies, school supplies and sweets. Amelia got a smaller one as a sibling. Doesn't he look so big and ready for school?1?

All excited to see what's in their Schultueten:

And then we had to rush to get to school on time for their first day:

First stop Amelia's classroom to meet her teacher and see her classmates. She was not here while they had Open House last week and so this was the first time meeting everyone. For 3rd grade, she has Mrs. Cowan as a teacher. 

Then I had to bring Elliot to his hallway, where we had to drop off the Kindergartners for half a day while they did some testing. This year, they tried something new and it was't great at all. No one knew what to expect and the children were quite scared. Elliot started crying, so naturally my tears started flowing too. Parents were not allowed to bring them to the room, which they had never seen before nor did they knew the teacher who took their hands. Our brave face:

 And he is off:

 But at pick-up time he was all smiles:

That night, some extra cuddles with mommy were needed:

On Wednesday, we were informed that his teacher will be Mrs. King. And on Thursday, it was time to meet his teacher and some of his classmates. Starting Monday, the Kindergartners will be full-time (7 hours) every day in school. Just this week was an introductory week. Elliot was all smiles and loves his classroom, Superhero theme, and his teacher. 

First picture from lunch:

Elliot had a great day with his class and is already looking forward to Monday, when his entire class of 20 will be together and he can ride the school bus home with his sister. 

This first week is always a blur and a bit hectic. It was even worse this year with having to get two children ready to go. I'm so proud of my big boy but also so sad that he is growing up so fast. On top of that, my girl is turning 8 years old tomorrow. So frankly, I'm emotionally drained and as exhausted as the kids are from these past 5 days. The real highlight though of getting up so early: My morning view at 6am while I prep the lunchboxes.

Today, Elliot and I surprised Amelia for lunch. We brought in cupcakes for her birthday and the class sang to her. She truly enjoyed herself at the center of attention. 

I know they are ready and will have a great time at school learning new things and exploring who they are. And so the first week of school comes to an end while we are starting off the birthday celebrations. 

Visit to the Grandparents in South Carolina

After only a few days at home, the children and Derrick were ready to board another plane to go on a short trip to South Carolina to visit Derrick's parents. We have not seen Grandma and Grandpa in 15 months. Unfortunately, I was not able to go with them as I had to work and take care of the pets at home. All ready to go:

While I was at work, those three had lots of fun. On Tuesday, they went to Cypress Garden, which is a nature preserve. It is a swamp filled with Alligators and a butterfly garden. 

Nature walk in the swamp:

 They found 2 Alligators laying in the sun right by the path:

 Butterfly Garden:

They also went a couple of afternoons to the beach. In the span of only two weeks, those kids swam in the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean. Luckily, they did not encounter any sharks. But Amelia did get stung by a jelly fish on Thursday morning. But by the time their plane landed in the evening, all marks were gone thanks to Daddy putting cream on right away. 

 Sad I missed this view:

It looks like they had a great time at the grandparents house. Even Pops played some Legos with the kids. 

 Grandma and her grandbabies (and Marty):

While they were gone, I worked long hours and also finished some deep cleaning around the house. I shampooed the carpets and scrubbed the bathrooms on Monday night. Luckily, my Tuesday afternoon/ evening was much more enjoyable. First I had a way overdue hair appointment, then went to registration at school and lastly went out to dinner with my friend Bettina. We ate Vietnamese at Vui's Kitchen, which was delicious. Reminded me of California. Afterwards, we went window shopping a bit and ended the night at Cheesecake Factory for dessert. After all, it was National Cheesecake Day :)

Wednesday night was porch time at my friend's Emily house. Nothing better than watching the sunset with a glass of wine, cuddling some adorable kittens and chatting with a friend. 

Despite some fun nights out, I still missed my people. The house was awfully quite without them and I was one happy lady, when I picked them back up at the airport on Thursday evening. Now, my heart and arms are full again!

Friday morning on my way out the door, this was the scene I left behind (not pictured, the guinea pigs which are sitting further to the side): breakfast on the front porch. All are happy to be back home!

It definitely was a fun-filled and eventful summer but now we are ready to go back to school. Goodbye summer break, hello 3rd grade and Kindergarten!!!

4th of July Celebrations

Every year around Independence Day, a local Megachurch hosts their holiday production, which is based on a popular movie in that specific year. Last year, we went to see the Greatest Show (based on the Greatest Showman) and this year, it was Toys Made in America (based on Toy Story 4). We all dressed up in red, white and blue to enjoy this family-friendly event. 

Already the decorations are awesome:

Met Amelia's classmate, Laila, there again this year:

The performers were all volunteers and have put in many, many hours of practice. The singing and dancing was great and one wouldn't know that these were not professionals. 

Finishing the show with confetti and the largest indoor laser and firework show in TN: 

He was a bit afraid of the fireworks:

Meeting the characters after the show: 

One happy little boy as Emperor Zurg let him hold his sword:

Toy Story crew plus 2:

Due to the wet and humid weather conditions here in mid TN, we weren't sure how we would celebrate Independence Day this year. We always have the option of a July 3rd and/or a July 4th  celebration as our neighboring town does theirs always a night early. We usually prefer the 3rd as it is our wedding anniversary and the fireworks remind us of our wedding day in Germany.

I'm married now 9 years to the love of my life. These past years flew by and sometimes I still feel like our wedding day was just yesterday. We are a great team and I can't imagine doing life without him By My (your) Side (our wedding song).

This is one of my most looked at pictures from my wedding day. It has my beloved grandma in it. She past away on our 5th wedding anniversary. Still missing her a lot.

So on our wedding anniversary we opted for a nice dinner and glass of wine at home and then on the Fourth, we went briefly to the local park so that the kids could play in the Firemen Foam. 

Then we just relaxed on the couch in our pajamas and watched the PBS Celebration live from DC. It was a family friendly show with lots of great music and an awesome firework display.

Afterwards we had sparklers in the front yard to celebrate the Fourth. Happy Birthday, America!