First day of school

Well it happened. I let Jack go to kindergarten. And guess what? He LOVED it! He loved it so much that when he woke up the next morning with STREP he cried b/c he couldn't go back. Yes, my sweet guy got very sick and missed day 2 and 3 of kindergarten. Luckily, we had Labor Day weekend after that and he had time to get better! 

Jack and his mini-VA

 The Three Musketeers

 Jack and his teacher, Mrs. R

 The girls started pre-school on Tuesday and it was a glorious day!! ALL of us were very excited!

So thankful for these sweet kids, a great summer and back to school!

Dear Jack

Dear Jack,

Tomorrow you start kindergarten. As I type these words, my eyes fill with tears. I don’t wonder where the time has gone, b/c the last 5 years have certainly been full of adventure for our family. You are my first born and in your first year you taught me so much about life, sacrifice and what it means to love unconditionally. I couldn't imagine how each year could get even better. You were a light from the beginning. Even during the terrible twos you were a joy! As we added two little girls to our family, you loved them, tolerated them and became a great role model for them. 

No, I do not wonder where the time has gone but I do wonder how your life will change as you leave my side on a daily basis and enter “the world.” I will be honest in saying that the doors you will walk through tomorrow were not where I envisioned you starting kindergarten. We are new to the area and we don’t know any one going to kindergarten with you. I don’t get to stand with my mommy friends and watch you walk to your classroom. I will probably have to be dragged out by your dad while I am doing the ugly cry. But I need to remember this is not about me. This is ALL about you.

And you, Jack Councill, will be awesome! You were born with a light that never seems to dim. You have the best attitude about everything. Your joy is infectious and your enthusiasm is undaunted. I pray that this continues. I pray that you will never question your instincts. If it feels right, then it probably is and if it feels wrong, then you are right about that too. You are a leader. People naturally follow you. Not because you ask them to but because they want to be with you and be like you. Your dad and I do not take responsibility for this. You were born this way and it has been a blessing to watch you mature into the person you are.

We have family time every Monday night where we sit on the same blanket and we sing songs, have family prayer and Dad or I share something with you and your sisters. It may be a story from the scriptures or it may be a little lesson about life. Recently, the topic was sharing. Daddy asked you what you could share with others. You quickly responded, “I could share my legos and my transformers and my friendship and my encouragement.” We were speechless. Jack, you are so kind and have such a tender spirit. I pray that the “world” does not dim your sweet light and that you can continue to love others as you do.

I am so excited for you, Jack. I know tomorrow is just the beginning of a wonderful chapter. Oh I know there will be forms and homework and lost books and forgotten lunches. But I can’t wait to do book reports on dinosaurs and science projects on volcanoes and be a chaperone for your field trips. Your dad and I loved school and learning and we pray you will have that same enthusiasm for this new adventure.

Your teacher and friends are waiting to meet you Jack Councill! They are so lucky to have you in their class! And we are so blessed to have you in our family!

We love you!

Mom and Dad

Jack's first lost tooth!

Jack lost his first tooth Thursday morning! He has been waiting and waiting for a loose tooth and discovered it last Saturday while we were at the Y! He was so excited and wiggled it every day making my stomach a little woozy! Thursday he came running into the kitchen exclaiming "my tooth fell out!" A very excited moment for Jack and bittersweet for Mom. My little boy is growing up! The tooth fairy left a silver dollar just like she did for Clay. Now Madeline swears her tooth is loose :)

Strawberry Shortcake Party

Madeline's friend Emma Grace had a Strawberry Shortcake party yesterday and the girls had a blast!

First up, they made playdough with strawberry extract to it smelled delicious!

Virginia Ann loved the strawberry glasses!

Surprise! Strawberry Shortcake came to the party! She did face painting, 

balloon animals and a magic show.

 Strawberry and the birthday girl, Emma Grace

 Virginia Ann was not afraid to climb up in SS's lap!

 Madeline and Strawberry

(If SS looks familiar, it is bc she also played the part of Rapunzel at Mad's party! She is multi talented!)

Mad and Isabella had the same SS shirts on (thanks Old Navy!). I am pretty sure I had the same shirt in 1980!

roadtrip!

We took a mega road trip the first week in July. Our final destination was my cousin Dan's wedding in Philadelphia. We decided to make a week of it and make a few stops to see family. It 80% fun and 20% misery. Riding in the car with Madeline caused most of that misery. Let's just say the girl does not like wearing a seatbelt! 

Clay came home for work with these goodies for our vaca. He has become friends with the sheriff of the town he works in and that sheriff also owns fireworks stores and peach stand (welcome to South Carolina). He gave Clay these fireworks and peaches to enjoy over the 4th of July! And we did just that!

Our first stop was Franklin, VA. Clay took Jack and cousins Greyson and Win fishing and they each caught at least one fish so it was deemed a success!

 Virginia Ann was cutting molars during the trip and ice cream made her happy. I moved her to a big girl carseat before the trip. She was LOVING it!

I took my nieces Bayli and Chandlyr for manicures and pedicures. It was a fun girlie activity. Their dad (Clay's brother), Jay, is deployed in Afghanistan and we pray for his safety and quick return!

                                      

After Franklin we headed to Northern Virginia to visit Clay's brother Jordan and Kristy and baby Davis. On the 4th, we took the Metro into DC and went to the Air and Space Museum. The kids loved the airplanes, well the ones they could actually go in :)

Riding the Metro- I looked over and thought "Wow! They are getting so big!"

Some 4th of July cuteness! My friend Sarah said "those pants are so ridiculous they are awesome!'

Madeline loved reading to Davis (1)!

We stopped at the DC temple and took the kids to the visitor center. Jack walked up to this statue of Jesus and kissed his feet. Madeline followed suit. It was so sweet. 

Next stop- Philly!! It was HOT HOT HOT!! But our hotel was just a few blocks from the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall so we ventured out. 

We also spent a lot of time in the hotel lobby- it was gorgeous and air conditioned! Aunt Maureen read books to Madeline and cousin Ryann.

Jen and Dan!!

Aunt Julia and Uncle Ryan with a not happy Virginia Ann

Happier with Mimi!

 Mischevious Madeline

 The best family pic we could get!

 There are 14 cousins in the Butt (my mom's maiden name) Family. 12 of us were at the wedding (minus Shannon and Kevin) along with our spouses. We have such a FUN family. There was lots of dancing well into the evening!

Virginia Ann was a great traveler! Granted, she is eating a bag of Doritos but that was 350 miles into our drive back which we did in one day! 

We loved seeing so much family over our vacation. It was a ton of work but overall definitely worth it!

New Playground!

In June, I got the opportunity to go back to work :) My old organization KaBOOM! and ESPN joined forces to build a new playground at our Y! It was a great to experience to work with my own community after helping more than 100 other communities build playgrounds. I put my purple shirt back on and dug the infamous pink toolbelt out of the garage. It was an early start!

Here is the before pic of the site:

The Boomers- Dan, me and Ayo- led 250 volunteers throughout the 6 hours to complete the playground, a new garden, benches, arbor and stage!

Before and After!

 A rooftop shot of the new edible garden

 The stage and seatings

The temp rose to 103 but the volunteers stuck it out and we made a huge impact on the Y that will be enjoyed by many for years to come! I loved getting back out on the playground and was pleasantly surprised by how much I remembered about wratchets and allen keys and clamps :)

Musings by Madeline

I feel I should document some of Madeline's antics. She is a challenge from the time she gets up (6am) til the time her head hits the pillow. I am exhausted most days from just parenting her nevermind the other two who are so good, it evens out- mostly. But Madeline is a challenge mainly b/c she is so smart and so verbal for her age. It is almost as though she doesn't know how to channel all her thoughts and energy so she takes it out on me (and sometimes her siblings). 

Some recent interactions:

I took Madeline out for dinner- just us. This is when she is a delight, basking in all the attention. I hear it is tough to be the middle child so Clay and I both try to do one on one things with the kids. We went to the local Mexican restaurant and there was a group of kids going to prom. One girl had on a green dress and Madeline asked me if she was Tinkerbell. I said I didn't think so but she did look like a princess! "Tinkerbell" had a large tattoo across her back but I didn't bring attention to it. A few days later I found Madeline in the playroom drawing on herself. I told her it was not okay to draw on herself, that we don't do that. She replied "Well that princess at the restaurant drew all over her back!" Seriously? 

Out of the blue, Madeline asked me why some Daddies wear earrings. I asked her where she saw a Daddy wearing earrings and she said at the Y. I told her that was a choice that Daddy made but our Daddy does not wear earrings to which she replied "Well maybe we should get him some for Father's Day!"  Hmm, I am sure Clay would love that!

How does the saying go? "Some of our greatest challenges are also our greatest blessings"- Miss Madeline definitely falls into that category! Never a dull moment with her around!

18 months

Virginia Ann reached the 18 month mark last month but being the third child, I am way behind in documenting such milestones. She weighed in at a whopping 21lbs- 10% in weight and 80% in height. Yep, she is tall and skinny. As the doctor said "better than the alternative!" She loves to eat most anything but chicken, beans, yogurt and strawberries are her fave along with cheetos :) She is talking alot these days- many words and some phrases. She calls Madeline "Mo" and loves to yell "JACK!" through the house (apparently I do that alot!). She loves to play hide and seek and "chase" around the house. She squeals with delight when she hears Clay home b/c she knows it means an immediate chase. She yells "i get you" and runs away! I will say it again- baby #3 is magic. Virginia Ann is so sweet natured- she says "good girl" b/c I call her that so much! Easy to take anywhere, friendly and happy- I can't get enough of her! 

Hiking

We are lucky to live close to some great day hikes and we took the kids on a short one recently.

Virginia Ann loved the backpack!

 Happy girl!

 Madeline dressed herself as she does these days. Dress over bathing suit- perfect for a hike!

 Getting a ride from Jack

 Walking through the creek

 Loving the water

 Madeline dancing in the water

 Yes, we have some pretty cute kids! And they all love being outside!

 VA taking a snack break

On a side note, Clay takes the kids to breakfast at Waffle House every Saturday morning and lets me sleep in. Yes, he is wonderful. The morning of the hike we all went to breakfast and when we walked in the waitress yelled "Well, they do have a mom!" Love that my kids are regulars at the WH!