First Day of Kindergarten!!

 Today was the first day of Kindergarten!  Ella and Emma were so excited, they were ready for school about 20 minutes early.  That gave us plenty of time to take first day of school pictures.

Emma:

 Ella:

 Backpacks packed and school supplies ready:

 Heading inside:

 Daddy went with us this morning.  The excitement turned to nervousness as we went inside and saw all the people.  Lots of parents helping their kiddos made for a sea of legs for our girls to try to get through.  I helped Emma find her class.

 Daddy helped Ella find her class.

No tears for Ella, but Emma did shed a few as we walked out her classroom door.

Daddy took me home and let me cry a bit before he headed off to work.  I cried and prayed for about hour, then went on about my day.  At about their recess time, I decided I could stand it no longer- I had to know that they were ok.  So, I may have gone and parked across the street from the playground and used the telephoto lens on the camera to check on my girls.  Once both classes were out there, it did not take them long to find each other.  They played with each other some and with other kids some, which is how it should be.  At the end of recess, they found each other in line and had a great big hug before going with their respective classes inside- a very sweet moment for me.  (You can almost see them hugging in the second picture, partially blocked by the big pine tree.)  And yes, I was prepared to tell any officer who might wonder why I was taking pictures from far away with my camera, that I am a kindergarten mom, who just had to check on my kids.

 Time for pick up:

Both girls report having a great first day of school.  I hope and pray for a wonderful year full of learning and fun.

Meet the Teacher Night

Tonight was Meet the Teacher at the girls' new school, and we were all so excited to get to meet our kindergarten teachers for this year!  The girls' were equally excited to find their classrooms.  Lots of people were there for Meet the Teachers, which led to some nervousness, but the excitement prevailed. Ella is in Ms. Fowlkes room, and Emma is in Mrs. Norris.  We are looking forward to a GREAT year!

Mommy/ Daughters Fun Day

Ella, Emma, and I had a mommy/ daughters fun day today.  A great way to spend time with my girls before they are gone to school each day.  We started out at the zoo.

 This bird was a real talker.  He had the girls really laughing and mimicking him the rest of the day.

 They loved playing the the misters:

 Petting the goats:

 Their favorite part of the zoo is the playground:

 After the zoo, we went to a nearby park for a picnic lunch.  This gave the girls their first opportunity to use their new lunch boxes and containers.

My Beautiful Daughters
Ella:

 Emma:

We had a great day together!  I'm so glad we had this time today before school starts.

Back to School Blessing

Our wonderful church family takes one Sunday night before school starts to pray for and encourage our kids.  Even though our girls have been in preschool for 2 years, this is their first year to participate in this particular event.  They did such a good job sitting on the stage with the other elementary students and listening as one of our elders said some encouraging words to them and prayed for them.  After the service was over, we had ice cream, cookies, and games.  This momma teared up a bit seeing her big kindergarten girls being blessed.

New, Short Haircut

I decided it was time for the girls to get a haircut.  Seeing as how they are a bit nervous about having someone else cut their hair, I did it once again.  I did a pretty good job on Ella's, but then when I did Emma's one side was shorter than the other side.  By the time I evened it up, it was a bit shorter than I had planned.  I told Ella, hers would be a bit longer than Emma's, but she insisted I trim some more off of hers to get it shorter also.  Here's the results:

Daddy/ Daughters Backyard Campout

Daddy, Ella and Emma decided they needed a campout before school starts.  So, Daddy set up the tent, they ate marshmallows while watching a movie on the iPad, and they spent the night in the tent. (Well, Ella and Emma slept in the tent.  Daddy ended up on back in the house on the couch.)

 Tent Assembly Overseers:

The Greatest Show on Earth

We took the girls to see the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus.  We were only allowed to take pictures before the actual circus began.  We loved seeing all the acts and eating cotton candy.  Some favorites were the trampoline act, high wire, motorcycles and animals.

 Emma trying on a costume:

 Ella in costume: