The kids have been back for a few weeks now and they've been nothing but busy.  This week we started school with Reghan in Second grade, Heath in Kindergarten, Ashlyn in Pre-Kindergarten.  The first day of school pictures are always a challenge but we seemed to get one or two.

 

They got excited earlier in the week at their Ice Cream social where they got to find their classrooms and see their friends they didn't get to see over the summer.  Kindergarten orientation was the next morning and Heath was so anxious to start he was the first on the floor and the first at the front of the line the whole morning.

Since Reghan is a big Second Grader, she doesn't get the cute notes anymore but she's moved up to the big books and is super excited for her thick science book.  After orientation we walked over to the child care and Reghan, our card shark, was cleaning up the table in a mean game of Go Fish.

The kids got roller back packs this year and they certainly came in handy with the long first day walk up the hill to school.

They quickly found their buddies.

It was like a zoo outside Heath's Kindergarten class.

With the lineup of backpacks on the inside "pod" of the adjoining classrooms.

And snapshots of bathroom breaks with their desk partners.  Reghan's happens to be one of her closest friends, Sam.  Let's hope they actually get work done this year.

In the days leading up to it, the kiddos were enjoying the last days of summer.

Days at the ballpark with friends.

Trying to uncover and remove a stow away carnivorous Rock Crab that devoured the fish, crabs, and snails in the fish tank and left carnage floating everywhere.

Fun times at birthday parties.

Reghan posing us and painting new portraits of each of us for the front room.

Slip and Slides slash homemade water slides.

Signs are beginning to pop up on the kids doors.

And the official start of soccer kicked off with the first practice.

With the brothers of the girls reunited.

Above all, there was plenty of snuggle time, Tortilla included.