Madison's first day of Middle School

Madison started Middle School today and oh boy I was not ready. Elementary school for Madison was very sheltered and that is why I think I love year round school so much. Over a week ago we were able to go register her and walk through her classes with her. It really helped her feel more comfortable but I think it made me more anxious. Why couldn't they have just have one building?

This morning was quite an adjustment. We are not morning people at this house so the early schedule is going to be hard but we will make it through. I am sure glad Madison is the oldest because Allison is way harder to wake up. Madison has always been so easy and cooperative in the morning.

The school bus budget has been cut which means that our bus stop has been cut so Madison has to walk. This morning I drove her and with all my nerves I totally forgot to take our traditional picture on the porch. I was so upset when I realized it but there was nothing that I could do. She would have been late if we went back home. When she got out of the car I was not ready for all the emotions that I was feeling. I never expected this to be so hard. I am glad that I had my phone so I could call Kevin for comfort. I wanted to go with her to make sure that she got everywhere and that no one would be mean to her. Kevin understood how I felt but told me that I couldn't and that I needed to get home to get Allison off to school.

I am so thankful for the best friends ever that talked with me during a hard day. I survived and Madison survived. Actually Madison did better then survived she had a great time and even made a new friend. She had great people to eat with at lunch and has many classes with a friend that she has been with since Kindergarten. When 3:00 came around I was anxiously awaiting Madison to come walking into the house but she didn't. I am so glad that she had a phone so I didn't go crazy waiting. She stopped at got a snow cone at a family friends snow cone shack. It was just the icing on the cake for her. I am so glad she had a good day and let me take pictures when she got home.
I have no idea what I am going to do next year when Ashley goes to school, this was a hard day. I know that everything is going to be ok because Madison is a good girl.

Ashley has found a new independent side while her sisters have been home with her all summer. Today when I went into the kitchen to start to make lunch this is what I found. Ashley decided that she was going to make her own lunch. Yep that is a piece of bread covered in butter like it was peanut butter. Ashley is not a big fan of peanut butter so she has been having butter and jam sandwiches for lunch lately. I don't put as much butter on.

Madison and Grandpa's garden

We just got back from visiting Kevin's parents for the weekend. Madison was very excited to go down and check on her garden. Grandpa has been giving her updates on the progress but there is nothing like seeing it for herself. She was very excited to go out and be able to pick some zucchini's or bikini's as grandpa calls them. She also picked some tomatoes and some green beans. She was hoping that the corn would be ready so we could have some to eat but there was no such luck. Give it another week or so and the corn will be ready. I hope that she will be able to try some of her corn.

We had a great time visiting Kevin's parents and seeing his grandma. I love that they live so close so we can see them. I just wish my parents were closer so we could visit them as often.

Canning

This last week I canned for my first time. I haven't been very impressed with the jams that from the store so I thought I would can my own. I found some strawberries for a good price so strawberry jam it was. It was simpler then I thought it would be. I don't know why I haven't tried it before. Ashley even came in and helped. We made seven jars of freezer jam and then 9 jars of canned jam. I over estimated on strawberries and didn't have enough freezer space so thankfully I had the stuff to can. Thank you mom for handing me down the stuff. I wasn't only surprised at how easy it was but also how good it is. It is shocking how fast homemade jam flies out of the jar. We don't normally eat a lot of jam but at this rate we are going to be out of jam in about 3 months and I was hoping this would last us a year. Before Kevin tried it he ask Madison if it was good and she said "It tastes like strawberries." Kevin said that was what it was supposed to taste like. Madison's response was that the store stuff doesn't taste like strawberries. I am happy that they like it so much. I don't think that we will ever be able to go back to the store bought stuff.

Wellness Challenge

A few weeks ago I finished my first wellness challenge. It was three months long and I really enjoyed doing it. My friend is starting another one September 6th so I am getting the word out. If you are interested http://youcanbethebestyou.blogspot.com I will be doing it again. For me it isn't about losing weight but being a better me. Check it out if you are interested.

Snap

Tonight when I came home Ashley came running up to show me her new trick. She can snap. I love her excitement level. After she showed me I ask her how she learned and she told me that Madison taught her. These two have been so cute together since Allison started school. Madison is such a patient loving person. I am just amazed by her. Ashley has also enjoyed all the extra attention. She just eats it all up. I don't know what I am going to do when Madison goes to school. Ashley always get so bored with me.

Demolition night at the Speedway

I have wanted to go the Meridian Speedway for quite awhile now. Kevin has been really busy with school so I thought it would be nice for us girls to get out of the house and give him some quiet time. On Friday we noticed a car hanging from a crane over the speedway and then noticed that they were having boat races which I had heard were a lot of fun to watch so we gave our friends the Ewing's a call to see if they would like to go. Dawn and Capri were very excited to go along.

I tried to explain to the girls what to expect so they wouldn't be overwhelmed. I also brought ear plugs and stuff to do just in case someone lost interest. The girls were all excited to go. Ashley got it in her head that she was going to be riding in the boat even when I tried to explain differently. I don't think she really knew what to expect.

We got to the speedway and the girls were all chatting excitedly about what they were wanting to see. One girl mentioned that they would like to see them drop the car from the crane. I didn't think they would because I just thought it was for advertising but the girls were hoping. When we found our seats Ashley started acting funny. I ask her if she was ok and she told me that her tummy hurt. I took her down to the bathroom and she said she was feeling better so we went back up. We watched a race but she was still acting funny so I ask her again if everything was ok. She said she still wasn't feeling well and she wanted to go home. I gave Kevin a call and he came up to get her. There goes his quiet night. He got her home and got her comfortable in our bed with a bowl, only to find out that she was feeling fine. She just didn't like the races. I can't believe she played me so well. She was really convincing.

Oh well she missed out on a lot of fun. I grew up watching racing with my dad and brothers so this brought back a lot of fun memories for me and I was hoping that the girls would think that it was fun. They did. Allison really got into the races and cheered right along side Miss Dawn. Madison had fun and enjoyed it too but was not nearly as vocal.
The races were fun to watch and the girls really got into them. We would all pick one to root for. Allison followed her car very closely and asked lots of questions. At one point she was excited because she thought her car was in the lead but Miss Dawn told her that he was about to get lapped. She said oh I have heard of overlapping. It was so great to see her enthusiasm.

In between races is when they did the demolition part of the night. They started first with dropping the car onto a minivan. The girls were right and they were so excited.
Next they had a station wagon jump into a row of Domino cars.
There were several other events but they saved the best for last. The boat races. They were just hilarious. They raced around a wet track trying to keep their boats attached. The winner was the last one left with their boat. The track was a mess when it was all over. To finish off a great night of racing they had a spectacular fireworks show. We really had a great night and the girls are already asking when we are going again. I told them they need to convince Papa to come up and join us. He would love it.
When it was all over they said that we could go down to the track and pits. Allison and the rest really wanted to go so we took a quick look on our way out.
It was really a great night. We will definitely be back if not this year definitely next year.

Sewing 101 part 2

Allison worked on her skirt today. First thing this morning she was ready. Allison was not as nervous as Madison but required more help. She had a lot of fun learning new skills and completing a project.
She did a great job and had fun doing it.