Back to School Feast 2018

our back to school feast was exactly a week ago and it already feels like it was a month ago! we're in full school mode over and it is making me really happy. our routine and schedule is nice right now...but kendall starts preschool next week so we'll see how i'm feeling then!

our back to school feast this year was very easy, simple, and maybe my favorite to date! 

on the menu:

rotisserie chicken

roasted red potatoes

green beans

peas

corn on the cob

tabouli w/feta

sparkling pink lemonade

crumbl cookies for dessert

this menu was also the easiest i've ever done! picked up the chicken from costco, all the veggies were frozen from trader joe's (so i just heated them up), the girls husked the corn, the tabouli was also from trader joe's, the girls picked out the lemonade, and james picked up the cookies. so easy!

the table was sprinkled with some summer memories, and flowers from trader joe's. again, very simple!

plus, it was all things my girls love and will eat and that was the goal! minus the tabouli, they didn't care for that. it was a great meal to share together as a family. during dinner, i asked the girls their favorite summer memories, and what they loved most about summer. it was fun to reminisce and admittedly made me a tiny bit sad! summer was so good to us! we really have no regrets and lived it up to the fullest.

the theme for this year was quite a process. james and i usually agree pretty quickly, but this year, we went through a lot until we found the one that felt right for this school year. i love it! and my sister kayla designed it for us so last second and did a great job. it looks so nice sitting on the piano.

the girls could hardly wait for dinner to be over because they were so anxious for the fashion show. james and i always love it too! we get a kick out of them strutting down the runway to music, showing us there school clothes and their moves! adi loved joining them and mostly lugging around their backpacks.

we did our traditional back to school matching jammies (that were delivered that day!) and they always love matching and coming down the runway together in those!

we finished the night off with father's blessings for everyone, including me. brooklyn is always touched and very emotional during hers, and kendall and adi loved getting a turn as well. these girls are so lucky to have james as their dad!

brooklyn was up nice and early the next and so so excited for school. our morning wasn't too chaotic, thank heavens, and we all made it up to the school in time for the flag raising ceremony. we sure miss having brooklyn with us all day, but i'm so grateful she loves going to school...even if it's mostly for the social life!

we love you brookie!

back to school feast 2017

our back to school feast came with much anticipation this year! i love love love that my girls remember and look forward to the traditions i have started for our family. this year, however, felt very rushed and not exactly like i had hoped. but that's ok! my girls didn't know, and we did it! that's all that matters right?!

school started on a wednesday this year, and since brooklyn has soccer on tuesday evenings, we decided to do it monday for family home evening. brooklyn got to choose the menu again: mashed potatoes & gravy, chicken, green beans, rolls, and root beer to drink. for dessert, the girls ate little debbie's and james and i had some delicious apple cinnamon cookies. 

i decorated the table with all of our "summer memories" (these horrible phone pics make it very hard to see). things like: movie tickets, the girls' birthday invites, art they did at the gym daycare, the 4th of july neighborhood breakfast flyer, birthday buttons from the disney store, etc. the girls loved it and we all loved reminiscing about our summer.

our theme for the school year comes from a quote by elder joseph b. wirthlin:

we don't have to be perfect today. we don't have to be better than anyone else. all we have to do is the very best we can.

unfortunately, james and i only got video of the fashion show. kendall got very into this year and wanted to model brooklyn's clothes down the runway. brooklyn loved showing her dad some of her new school clothes. and adalyn loved the music and dancing with her sisters!

the back to school jammies they got this year say smart, brave, and strong. i thought they were great for the occasion! 

here they are, putting their hands in the middle to do a little cheer! they were saying things like, "sisters forever!" and "yay!" and "goooo sisters!" it was the cutest to witness!

after all the chaos, it was time for father's blessings. this year, brooklyn cried through hers. it was so sweet! she has definitely grown a very tender heart and quite a testimony over the last year.

kendall smiled ear to ear during hers. she loved having a turn!

james gave adalyn a 5.5 second blessing before she tried to dive off the chair. she might be more excited next year.

i have been so sad to let go of summer and lose my oldest to all day school. i'm so grateful for her excitement or i don't think i'd be surviving. this was such a fun night together as a family and i already have plans up my sleeve for next year! 

First day of 1st grade!

i couldn't really talk much about this day leading up to it. i've been really sad about it all summer. i didn't want to let go. having her gone all day sounded so scary for me. but she was more than excited! she made a countdown chain weeks before the first day of school and has been so looking forward to her social setting again. she made it so much easier on me with her anxiousness and excitement!

the night before, auntie hay came for a sleepover so that she could do brooklyn's hair extra cute. this meant so much to brooklyn and it totally amped up the excitement of the day!

she wanted juice and waffles for breakfast and she really wanted to pack a lunch but she tried school lunch out for the first couple of days. 

auntie hay did her hair really cute, we took some pictures, and then loaded up into the van to take brooklyn to school.

we parked across from the school because they do a big flag ceremony with everyone in the school parking lot, so i got to hold brooklyn's hand and walk across the street with her. i asked her if she was excited and she said, "a lot excited and just a little frightened." it gave me a lump in my throat, but i knew once she got started she wouldn't be scared anymore. when we approached her teacher, she gave brooklyn a huge hug and brooklyn immediately relaxed. then she saw friends from kindergarten and all was right in the world. i waited until i thought she was ok without me and i left. trying really really hard not to cry! and i didn't. got emotional, but i didn't cry!

she had the best first day and every day after that. she loves her school, classmates, and her teacher. she wants to go to school on saturdays and sundays. i'm so glad she loves it! she is going to have such a good year!

the school is doing a harry potter/magical theme this year and you know james is eating that right up!

first week back to school...

the first week of school at our house was exciting! every day brooklyn would wake up, eat her breakfast, make her bed, get dressed, and declare she was ready for school. unfortunately for her, school doesn't start until 12:45 (bless afternoon kindergarten!). she's slowly gotten used to going later now. but she can hardly wait to go every day!

she gets to ride to school with two other friends in our ward. not only that, but these three cute girls get to ride to school in a big red jeep. top down. it's adorable and they think it's the coolest. i'm also lucky enough that brooklyn gets a ride home most days as well. kendall misses her while she's gone, but she likes having the place 'to run' by herself. adalyn is a good little play buddy in that she doesn't take any of her toys, she doesn't boss her around, and she mostly just watches her. kendall loves it!

it's been nice to get back into a nice routine after a crazy summer of having a baby and moving (more on that later). we thrive on routine, and it's been nice to be able to still have our slow mornings for one more year until brooklyn's in full day school. 

our family has entered this next stage of life so fast! i can hardly believe i have a kindergartener! as much as i loved getting new students and learning to love them as their teacher, i prefer to be on this side of the classroom. being a mom and not a teacher is what i dreamed of for years and even though it's hard to send my little girl out into that big scary world without me, i am so excited for her! she's beyond excited, so how can i not be? she has big plans for her little life. she has so much she's looking forward to, and that helps her emotional mother be excited right along with her. 

but it's hard, and scary...

so here's to all the moms out there, sending their little ones out into world to discover and learn on their own. without us. we get to cheer them on from the sidelines and be their biggest fans! and i think the short absence makes our hearts a little fonder for them.