First day of school!

A little late, but here are some first day of school pictures! 

Helena loooooooves her new *chambray*. I think this outfit is totally her!

Tempe chose a little dress with deer all over it. Again, so her!

Helena is in afternoon kindergarten but she wanted to wear her backpack when we walked Tempe to school. I love this sweet picture of them holding hands!

I got to go to kindergarten with Helena on the first day. It was exciting!

Last year we started a tradition of having cookies every Friday afternoon. For the first Friday of the year, I made a giant white chocolate macadamia nut cookie that said "Happy first week of school!"
Now we've been in school for almost two full weeks and we are settling into our homework-doing, lunch-making routine. Tempe loves first grade, eating lunch at school, and having three recesses. Helena loves her teacher and the new friends she is making.  Mom loves that Juno naps while the older girls are at school!

Harry Potter back to school dinner

I saw this blog post on Pinterest a few months ago and I knew I just had to start this tradition with my own family. We made it a goal to read the first two Harry Potter books together this summer (we actually made it through the first three!) and I thought it would be really fun to do a Harry Potter themed back to school dinner. Going to school is such a huge deal for Harry, so it fit perfectly!

Now to choose a theme/motto/quote to focus on for the year. That was tough. I am a big admirer of the Harry Potter series and I think it's full of inspiring lessons. I finally settled on this quote from 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire': "We must all make the choice between what is right and what is easy" by Dumbledore. This applies in a lot of situations, but I specifically want to emphasize to my children that sometimes it is easier to sit back and say nothing, but the right choice is to stand up for others (this quote by Edmund Burke fits here as well: "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.")

So, with all that decided, I set out to recreate the start of term feast in the Great Hall of Hogwarts!

I hung white tapers (2/$1 at the Dollar Tree) from the ceiling fan with fishing line. Tempe and Helena were so amazed, they wondered if I really was magic (until they got close enough to see the fishing line).

I drew the Marauder's Map on a big piece of butcher paper for the table runner, then set the table with gold paper plates (also from the Dollar Tree), glass goblets, and some Hogwarts inspired decorations.

Everybody had a handmade menu and a golden snitch (Ferrero Rocher) at their table setting. The menu has an illustration of Hogwarts from the first book that I scanned and added to the top of the menu and I downloaded the Parry Hotter font--I know you can't see those details, but I had to share them!

We managed to not spill too much food on the Marauder's Map, so now it's hanging in our playroom under the stairs!

This quote is now hanging over the girls' backpack pegs in my garage mudroom. Jason taught a little lesson and shared a few scriptures as we talked about our theme for the year. I hope that they will look at the frame each day as they leave for school and remember what we talked about!

The dinner was a huge success! Here they are toasting the new school year.

Our menu was all variations on food mentioned in the books: Chicken and ham pie, roast carrots, raspberry pretzel Jell-O, pumpkin juice (with lightning bolt shaped ice cubes!!), and chocolate eclair cake. But instead of house-elves, I prepared it all myself!

Back to school night!

School starts tomorrow!!

I can't believe how fast the summer has zoomed by. I was wary of having my kids home full time after being used to the routine of school, but it went so smoothly and was such a lovely summer together. We are definitely ready to go back to school, though. Tempe and Helena both thrive on routine (what kid doesn't, really?) and they miss learning, playing, and making new friends.

We went to back to school night last week to "meet" their teachers. Well, we actually know both their teachers quite well (Helena's is the Primary chorister at church and Tempe's was her kindergarten teacher from last year) but it was fun to see their new classrooms.

Helena sitting on the H on the reading rug in her kindergarten classroom.

Helena and her teacher!

Tempe sitting at her big first grade desk! I can't believe she will be at school all day this year! 

 First grade smile with two missing teeth!

I can't wait to see these two come round the corner on their scooters every afternoon!

School lunch basket

I love back to school time!!!

It's so fun and exciting. This year I've got even more to prepare for: Tempe is starting first grade and that means she will be taking a lunch every day!

I'm afraid I'm going to be one of those crazy moms that spends more time on school lunches than on dinner.

Oops, sorry rest of the family.

I've been preparing myself for school lunches all summer: collecting lunch box stuff, making lists of healthy, cheap, fun lunches. And I think I am ready!

To keep all my lunchbox stuff organized, I put everything in a big basket that I keep on top of my fridge. I plan on making Tempe's lunch each night before I go to bed so that our mornings aren't rushed. With everything put together in the basket, it will make packing lunches a breeze!

So here's what I have in my school lunch basket:

• Easy lunch box containers: I knew I wanted reusable divided plastic containers to cut down on plastic bags and I looked in stores for a long time before settling on this set from Amazon. So far I really like them. They are much sturdier feeling than any of the plastic containers I looked at at Wal-Mart and Target. The only problem is that Tempe can't get the lids off yet. Hopefully she will have strong friends...? I've been making her practice every day.
• Plastic straws: they make drinking anything more fun!
• Mason jars: I plan on making smoothies and freezing them in mason jars, then letting them thaw in Tempe's lunch box. The straws are great for this, too, because smoothies are hard to drink!
• Colorful water bottle
• Thermos with collapsible straw: Tempe loves chicken noodle soup and homemade rolls in the winter.
• Mini cookie cutters: the one pictured is a gingerbread man, but I have sets for fall, Christmas, and Valentine's Day. I have found that anything is more fun to eat when it's cut into a shape: cucumber slices, cheese, homemade tortilla chips. 
• Candy eyeballs: I got these from the cake decorating aisle at Wal-Mart. Kind of expensive, but how fun is it to open your lunchbox and see an apple with candy eyes "glued" on??
• Condiment cups (the eyeballs are in one): The easy lunch box containers are not leakproof, so I got a ton of little plastic condiment cups for dips.
• Silicone baking cups: Mostly just for visual appeal and to divide up the larger section of the lunchbox. 
• Printable lunchnotes (not pictured): I made my own, but you can find them all over Pinterest.
• Colored toothpicks (not pictured): Food is more fun to eat when you can pick it up with a toothpick!

It's no fun to eat the same thing day after day, that's why I have all these fun things to make Tempe's lunch a little bit more visually appealing. When she opens her lunchbox, I want it to be a little friendly reminder that I love her and am thinking about her while she's at school!

the end is near!

We are down to just over two weeks left of summer break!
It has gone by so fast. Our summer has been fabulous, thanks in part to my magnetic fridge schedule, lots of fun summer reading opportunities (our summer reading wrap up post is in the works), fun family/neighborhood field trips, and science/art projects nearly every day. I couldn't ask for a more smooth, pleasant summer with all my monkeys home with me!
Well, now that it's August we are starting to think about going back to school. Last year I made a back to school paper chain to count down the days and it was such a hit that I made another this year!
My list of back to school activities has a lot of the same things from last year with an addition of a few more. It focuses on independence skills (using lunchbox, putting on shoes, coats, gloves, etc), reading skills, math skills, social skills, and fine motor skills.
Here's my list!

String beads to make a bracelet or necklace! 
Do a puzzle together! 
Make your own lunch today and pack it in your lunchbox! 
Check out books about going back to school! 
Play alphabet hopscotch on the driveway!
Make a name tag for your backpack!
Make a collage of your favorite healthy foods!
Walk to school and practice crossing the street!
Write a letter to Grandma Lisa--don't forget to sign your name!
Do a getting ready for school obstacle course!
Type a letter on the computer and email it to Daddy at work!
Choose your favorite book and write your name inside the cover!
Crack a secret code!
Go on an alphabet hunt!
Finish your summer reading charts and turn them in!

Even though I'll miss my big girls, I love going back to school and I have a really, really fun back to school family dinner planned for the night before, so stay tuned!

First grade + Kindergarten, here we come!

We may have 6 1/2 weeks of summer left, but we've already started thinking about going back to school at our house!

Our school posted the class lists on July 1st, so we walked over to the school with some friends--even though it was 100 degrees at just 10:30 am!! Yes, I could have just logged onto the website to check, but I like making a big deal out of anything school related to get my kids excited.

Tempe will be in first grade this year, so she'll be gone all day long. I don't know how I will handle it, but I'm sure she will do just fine. This kid was made for school! She learned so much in kindergarten and had a great year. She made tons of friends (I was always bombarded by playdate requests when I volunteered in her class) and picked up reading so fast. She's excited to go back and be able to eat lunch at school and she's especially excited to have her kindergarten teacher again! That's right, her teacher from kindergarten is moving up to first grade and Tempe is in her class. She was so happy to see her name on that list! I liked her teacher a lot, even though she was so disorganized and chaotic (she once took Tempe on a walking field trip that I had not received a permission form for--I didn't even know about it) because she loves the kids and makes school so much fun. The only bad thing is none of her good friends from last year are in her class. I know that this will be an opportunity for her to branch out and make even more friends, plus she'll see the kids she knew from kindergarten at recess and lunch, etc.

Helena is so excited to start school like her big sister! She has been ready all year to go to kindergarten. She learned so much in preschool and doing "homework" with Tempe every night--I think she's even more prepared for kindergarten than Tempe was! She's been practicing on her scooter so that she and Tempe can scooter home every day (Helena is in afternoon kindergarten) and I can't wait to see them round the corner together every day. The Primary chorister in our ward is a kindergarten teacher and Helena has been crossing her fingers that she would have her--and she got her wish! She's so excited to start school, but I am trying to hold on to summer because I love having all three kiddos home with me all day!

Helena is a scootlebug!

Helena started preschool today!!
She has been looking forward to going to preschool for a whole year, ever since Tempe started.
Doesn't she look so grown up in her back-to-school outfit? I sure love her!
Helena had a great time at preschool today and can't wait to go back, learn more, and even do homework. We'll see how long that lasts!

back to school

Yay!

A new school year is here!

I have been blogging about how much I love the beginning of a new school year for the last few months. It's just such an exciting time, full of the promise of new beginnings.

Yesterday was Tempe's first official day of kindergarten!

Her shirt says "Class of '25". Crazy, huh?? My grandpa was born in '25--1925, that is.
The first day of kindergarten here is more of an orientation--parents are invited and it only lasts for about an hour. Tempe was excited to go on a tour of her new school and meet her teacher, but yesterday definitely didn't feel like the first day of school.
Today Tempe went to school for the normal amount of time and without me. I was nervous that she would be sad when I dropped her off, but she didn't even wave goodbye to me as she went into the classroom!
When I picked her up, she was bursting with news about her new best friends (but she can't remember their names) and all her new experiences. She definitely enjoyed school.
To celebrate the beginning of the school year, I welcomed Tempe home with a giant cookie that said "Happy 1st day of school". We invited a couple of our neighbors over to eat it with us (Tim is in this picture) and it was enjoyed by all.

Happy new school year!

one last hurrah

We spent Labor Day weekend at the cabin, having one last hurrah before school started.

We haven't spent much time up there this summer, so we enjoyed ourselves--playing Clue and Yahtzee, riding the ATVs all over the place, swinging, eating, watching Mr. Bean, and even roasting marshmallows over charcoal (no outside fires allowed right now due to drought).

 I asked Jason to give the girls a bath on Sunday morning and when I got out of bed, this is where I found them! Look at those bubbles. Now that's what I call a bubble bath!

 This is Juno's grouchy/ "no no no" face that she has been doing a lot lately. I finally got a picture of it, wahoo! She makes this face and shakes her finger when she gets mad or wants something.

 Jason and I left the girls at the cabin with the many adults who were there and went for a mini date on the ATV. Isn't Jason so handsome? I am a lucky girl.

 Tempe and her cousins all wrote their names on the rocks by the firepit with a charcoal stick.

Cousin Maddy gave Helena a makeover. She really, really liked it. Tempe also got a makeover, but she came to us pouting and said "I look ridiculous" and washed it off. Haha!

hey kid!

Dear Tempe,
Six years ago, I was getting ready to have you. I was excited to hold my baby in my arms after nine long months, but nervous about becoming a mother.
Now my little "baby" has grown up and I'm getting ready to send you off to school. I'm excited to watch you grow and mature, gain knowledge and make friends, but all of this makes me nervous as well. You've always spent almost all of your time with me; you've always looked up to me, taken my word for everything, trusted me. Now I am going to step back and watch my big girl leave me. We'll have less time together and I'll have to trust that you are ready for it. What if your teacher doesn't understand you? What if the other kids tease you? What if you are lonely and miss your mom? Will I still be the biggest influence on your life? Will we still be able to pick up and go do fun things as a family?
I know that letting you go to school is right; I know that you are ready. I also know that after next Tuesday, our lives will never be the same. I will never have all of my little girls home with me all the time again. And I will miss you.
Love, Mom

Easy garage mud room

Do you have little things in your house that just make you smile every single time you see them?

I have a few. The first is my gray and white striped hallway. I can see it from my bed and I love waking up and seeing it every morning! It's been quite a while since I did it, but it still makes me so happy.

With kids going to and from school in my near future, I have been wanting a mud room in the worst way. In Utah, kids walk to elementary school in all kinds of weather--rain, snow, slush, mud. I don't want all that coming in my house!

We don't have a back entryway in our house--the garage opens right into our nice family room--so I decided to create a little mud room in the garage itself.

I started by turning a tall, narrow shelving unit on it's side to create a bench with cubbies. Half of the cubbies are for storing our outdoor toys. I hung a wire shelving unit on the wall for even more storage. The other three cubbies are for my girls to keep their shoes and hats, mittens, scarves, blah blah blah, in. The yellow fabric bins are from Wal-Mart.

Now, I could have just thrown some hooks up on the wall behind the bench, but you know me. I always go overboard. Plus the wall was dented, scratched, covered in holes, and just in all-around bad shape. I still had a couple feet of fence left from when my neighbor's fence blew over last December, so I decided to use that instead. I propped it up behind the bench and then the girls and I went knob shopping at Hobby Lobby.

We bought six knobs to use as hooks. My personal favorite is the light blue one at the far left, although I really love the one right next to it, too. 
So to recap, when the girls come home from school all winter, they can sit on their bench and put their snow boots and snow clothes in their yellow bins and hang their coats and umbrellas on the hooks. And my house can stay clean.

Now going back to things in your house that make you smile every time you see them. While I was rearranging the garage, I found a can of light blue paint that I used when I painted my kids' little playroom--I thought it would be perfect for the garage door. I know it's something that no one will ever really see but me, but it was worth it. I love it so much!

Party plans: Pencil Exchange!

I have always loved back-to-school time.It's such a fun time of year! I think buying school supplies ranked in the top 3 of things-to-look-forward-to as a kid.
Today I want to share an idea for a party I've been mulling over for a while now: a pencil exchange.
(It's not as nerdy as it sounds)
This would be a great party to celebrate an early fall birthday or just as a fun back-to-school celebration!
The inspiration behind this is everything that makes you think of going back to school: apples, pencils, notebook paper.

To throw this party, you would want an even dozen party guests, including your own children. On the invitation, ask each guest to bring 12 pencils of their choice to share. The dollar spot at Target is a great place to find packs of cute pencils--glitter, rainbow, all kinds of patterns. Jason thinks I'm a nerd because I always want to buy them.
Once all the guests have arrived, have everyone exchange their pencils. At the end of the exchange, everyone should have a dozen different cute pencils to use at school!
Here are some other fun back-to-school activities you could do at this party.

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I hope I've gotten some ideas rolling for some fun back-to-school celebration! I'm gonna give my girls a few more years before I really start pushing the pencil exchange :)
How do you celebrate a new school year?