First Grade Was Awesome; Flying With Four Kids, Not So Much

Lainey's first day of first grade went very well. She came running into the living room on Tuesday morning at about 6:30 and said, "FIRST GRADE!" She was very excited. Lots of pictures were taken before leaving for school so as soon as we get back to WA, I'll get those posted. She has the same teacher that she had last year as well as many of the same students in her class so I think that gave her a little confidence in heading back. She has a good little friend named Abby (she is often referred to as "friend Abby, not sister Abby" so as to avoid confusion) and it was neat to see them reconnect and play together. I catch myself trying to look down the road of time and wondering if they might still be friends in 10-15 years. They're too cute.

Our flight to NC went fairly well. Traveling with 4 kids using any mode of transportation can be an adventure, but when it's an airplane, it's even more so! Abby wasn't too thrilled with flying because it meant staying in one place for a long time, but we managed. Flying with two lap babies definitely made things interesting and I'm sure folks had to smile when Lon and I "traded" children a couple of times. Traded as in "this one's quiet and that one isn't" so let's switch for a while. At any rate, we arrived safely and have enjoyed our visit thus far. I spent part of Thursday cleaning out some of my old stuff from my parents' attic. Wow, what a step back into time that was! I relived a few childhood memories as well as some painfully tacky fashion choices of the 80's and 90's. The good news is that I got rid of a number of boxes and bags of things and opened up a little space up there for them. There are more bags to sort through and as I have more time, I'll get up there again to throw away some more stuff.

Yesterday, we visited with Miss Alma, our dear family friend. She's in a nursing home now so our visit was a bit shorter this time, but I know it delighted her to see our kids. Last night, we had dinner with one of my dear friends from college. She's adopted two kids and I've had three since we'd last seen each other so we had some catching up to do. Dinner with 6 kids (especially my 4 with no naps) did not really lend itself to a lot of visiting, but I did enjoy seeing her.

Today is beach day! We're all headed down to the NC coast in just a few hours for a week of fun. When I was little, we vacationed at the beach quite often and I can't wait to share some of those memories with my kids. We'll be staying at the same beach so many of the things we'll be able to do will be things I did there. I'm most excited about taking them to play miniature golf. I told Lainey about it the other day and she said, "Oh I LOVE golf!" She's never played, but I'm glad to know she's excited! Before they head down to the beach, Lainey and Sarah Grace get to take in a Wake Forest football game with Nana and Kelly. Neither of them have any understanding of football, but I suspect they'll enjoy the mascot, the band, and the atmosphere!

More to follow once I have a view of the ocean!