Surviving week one . . .

I'm happy to report that week one was a success!  June has a week of kindergarten under her belt, and I didn't have any major break-downs.  Nice work Johnsons!  

Here are some highlights:

1.  Due to an overdose of cold medicine, Mom read the time wrong and was a half-hour late to pick June up on her first day.  The office called!  I rushed to the rescue feeling like the world's worst mom, but June told me, "It's okay, you could let me stay here longer if you want to."  At least I really knew she loved school.  But I may never forgive myself.

2.  June LOVES Mrs. McDonald!  We're so glad her broken arm didn't keep her down!  She's the perfect teacher!

3.  June made three friends.  Hannah, Hailey, and she can't remember the other girl's names - but they have already been invited to June's birthday party in March.  June's a planner.

 

4.  Winnie misses her sister.  But she LOVES walking June to school.  And she really loves spending some alone time with Mom.  I forgot how easy it was to run errands with only one child in tow.  

5.  Two and a half hours isn't  long enough to get my chores done.  The drop-off, drive home, drive back, and pick-up make it feel like June goes to school for 15 minutes!  Maybe we'll just start taking a nap in the parking lot!

 

6.  June is loving it!  I just knew she'd get a taste of the good life at school and never look back.  Her days are filled with singing, art projects, shape sorting, story-reading, fun assemblies, yummy snacks, playground time, and making sweet new friends.  Look out med school, here June comes!

So Long, Summer

It's 8:00 in the morning on this, our last day of summer freedom.  This is the first time in over five years that the ending of summer break has been a real bummer.  Probably the biggest bummer of my life.  Tomorrow I have to hand my little Junie over to the public school system.  Kindergarten just snuck right up on us, and I don't feel prepared for this change at all.

It's been a great summer, filled with family reunions, swim parties, barbecues, ball games, and more hot dogs than I'd like to admit to.  Although, if you ask Kolby, his summer vacation was  a joke - two weeks with the family and then back to the grind on July 6th.

But today I have a sick feeling in the pit of my gut.  I'm worried.  My girls are my whole life.  In fact, you could probably count the days we have spent apart on one hand.  I don't know how a parent does this school business.  Everyone keeps telling me to be excited and enjoy the little bit of free time I will have now that June is off to school.  I won't.  I know myself well enough to realize that I'm just going to be a nervous wreck wondering if she is safe going to the bathroom, or in danger on the playground where the kids can be ruthless, and strangers could be lurking.  

June was worried about this day, too.  She was worried until she got to visit her bright, colorful classroom filled with toys, puzzles and art supplies.  And it only took one look at the playground to convince her that school is the place to be.  I know she's going to hop out of the car tomorrow, head for class and never look back.  I know I did.  I loved school!  And I want her to love it, too.  But chances are, I'll be the one lurking in the parking lot, just to make sure she doesn't need me.  June did give me permission to linger.  Yesterday she told me, "Mom, it's okay if you want to sit in your car and cry for a while."  So I think I will. 

Our Little Slugger

June started t-ball when we got home from Utah in June.  She had been practicing in the back yard for months to prepare for her first team sport, and even got in a few training games with Papa Lee while we were visiting, but I just can't believe how well she doing.  

I really love the YMCA sports programs - the kids say an oath before each game and promise to be good sports.  All of the parents are helpers on the field, but the kids do all the work.  It is so nice to watch these little guys have fun, learn to play the game, and not worry about making mistakes.

Here's a little video of June at her game last monday night.

 

never saw it coming . . .

June, good little writer that she is, decided to jot down a quick story about Sea Princess Ariel, and her adventurous discovery of mankind.

Her illustration, however, must be depicting "The Little Mermaid Gone Terribly Wrong," as it is a graphic drawing of an alligator eating a human arm.  She gets this morbidity from her father, I swear!

Independence Day

We made it home from Utah just in time to enjoy the Fourth of July in Oklahoma.  The fourth has always been one of my favorite holidays.  I'm not sure if the color scheme has something to do with it, but I'm sure my pyromania is a contributing factor.  I guess I just love having a real family holiday in the middle of the summer.  My mom sent some very cute and patriotic outfits home for all her kids so we quickly got them all together for a picture before they got ketchup and mustard all over everything.

Our town had an awesome parade.  To be honest, it was a little lengthy, but we lucked out with an overcast, cool day so it wasn't murder by sunshine.

And out of all of the floats, marching bands, and mini-cars buzzing around, this was by far my girls' favorite parade entry.  Rerro Raggy!

Here's a little something we whipped up for our afternoon picnic.   We are so lucky that all of our friends share their pools with us!

We finished the night off with the big fireworks display.  Winn may have gotten over her fear of water this summer, but she sure hasn't warmed up to the idea of booming explosives.  After a major meltdown, she and Daddy enjoyed the fireworks from inside the car, while June, Sofie and I gave Disney princess names to each sparkling blast, based on their shape and color.  Perfect end to a perfect day!

Utah Trip: Part 2

Family Reunion Extravaganza!