I did it!

Yeah, I did it! I actually dropped both kids off at school and DID NOT have any major breakdowns! I did tear up a bit when I hugged Emma to tell her good-bye and have a good day, but that was it! I was very proud of myself. I think actually I was so preoccupied with trying to get the pictures I wanted AND trying to get Gage to school on time, that I didn't have a chance for a breakdown.

I wasn't exactly sure how the morning was going to go, but it went very smooth. The kids were easy to get up this morning, they ate their breakfast, brushed their teeth and got dressed without any problems. They were ready to go before 8 am! We had to wait a little while to go since school doesn't start until 8:30.

The breakfast of champions.............Rice Krispies and half a peach.

Emma's breakfast for champions consisted of a whole grain waffle with just butter and the other half of Gage's peach.

I'm quite sure that the cat on the table is grossing most people out, but Grus (rhymes with Bruce) can't stand it when there is cereal on the table. He is just waiting for Gage to get distracted and leave the table so he can drink the milk from his bowl before he gets back. Sorry Grusy, it's not going to happen today!

One of our morning routines is to do Emma's hair. She's needing a haircut despite getting a trim a month ago. If you remember, Scott took Emma and Gage to get haircuts while we were in Fargo shopping at the mall. He was very nervous about taking Emma because he knew if he was in charge I would end up being mad because they chopped her hair off. The lady didn't actually take off enough, so we'll have to get it cut again before school picture time. We're growing Emma's bangs out so it's at an annoying point because I can't keep her bangs tight enough in the braids for all day, so we've been styling it a bit different for the past few months.

Look at this determined young man trying to get the shoe tying down pat! He's doing very good with it. The INCENTIVE (Emily's Dad says it's an incentive, not bribery............I like that word much better!) of getting a Star Wars lego set and going to see Clone Wars is working very well! It was funny yesterday when I talked to my sister Kysa on the phone. Colton is in the same boat as Gage in the shoe-tying department, so she told him his "incentive" would be the remote control car he's been wanting. He wanted to learn RIGHT NOW! When Kysa told him that Gage is learning to tie his shoes too, Colton got a very surprised look on his face and replied in complete shock, "What? Gage doesn't know how to tie his shoes and he's going into 5th grade?" LOL!

Gage's first day of 2nd grade. I always take this same picture each year and I enjoy seeing how tall they get each year by seeing where they stand in relation to the siding on the house. I included his picture from last year next so you can see how much he's grown!

First day of 1st grade 2007-2008

Emma's first day of Kindergarten 2008-2009. Wow, I think she's about the same height as Gage was last year at this time! I wish I could line these photos up side-by-side on here so you could see the difference a little easier.

Emma's first day of Jr. Kindergarten 2007-2008. Wow! Emma has grown ALOT over the past year!

I know I am biased, but these are 2 good-looking kids! :-) Don't they resemble their mother? HA HA!

Gage 7 years old - 2nd Grade

Emma 5 years old - Kindergarten

Off to school we go! They didn't have the bike rack at school yet, so hopefully they'll get one soon. Another kid we know, who lives just one block east of us, rode his bike too, so there is a need for the bike rack.

I almost forgot to take these pictures of the kids on their bikes, so we had to stop half way down the block for pictures. Gage is like, "C'mon already Mom!"

Welcome to Northridge Kindergarten Center!

I dropped Emma off at school first since she's on our way to Northridge. Shannon suggested I do the opposite so in case I breakdown, I could just go home from there instead of then having to take Gage to school. That was a good idea, however, I'm glad I did it this way because there were SO MANY kids all over the place at Northridge that it would have been very chaotic trying to get Emma through all of that on her bicycle. Above Emma's backpack is a cubby for their blanket and stuffed animal. There was a note in Emma's papers saying they would have a rest period right after the lunch recess. Emma hasn't "rested" like this in about 3 years, so I'll be interested to hear how it goes. When we talked about it she was like, "What will I do Mom?" I told her that rest time means you lay down and rest quietly. This could be the most difficult thing she has to do today!

I took Emma upstairs to her classroom for a few pictures. Mrs. Just said she could either play quietly with blocks until the bell rang, and then the kids would have to go back outside to line up again, or she could go out and play on the playground. Emma wanted to go back outside to the playground, so that's what we did.

My little girl is growing up!

She saw a couple of girls that went to Jr. Kindergarten with her last year out on the playground, Kaylee and Makenzie.

Gage and I were off to his school. There were kids EVERYWHERE! It was a bit confusing about where they were to line up, but I'm sure they'll all have it figured out by tomorrow. Gage found his 2 friends, Ethan and Reynold, who are both in his class. This is Ethan's first year at Northridge, so I'm sure he was glad to see a familiar face when Gage and I arrived. He looked a little lost and confused (who wouldn't in this big bunch of kids!?).

Ethan, Gage and Reynold on their way into the school.

I'm so thankful my kids are so eager for school. I'm also very thankful that they aren't scared of new things and are eager to go off on their own. I would be a mess if they were scared and clinging to me and not wanting me to leave.

Have a great day Gage!

Hmmm.....................now what? What am I going to do with myself all day? I rode my bike back home to drop my camera off and then decided today was as good a day as any to get started on some sort of exercise routine. I decided I was going to ride my bike to the YMCA and ride around the Tom O'Leery path which is about 2.4 miles. I was wondering to myself, "Hmmm, I wonder how many times I should make the loop?" I hopped on my bike and headed for the path. After I got to the Y and started along the path I was trying to figure out my gears because it's been set in a gear that when I get going too fast, my pedaling is out of control because there is no resistance. I finally get the gear set in what I think is the right position and away I go. I have walked around this path many, many times and thought that it would be much easier on the bicycle, so thought I should go around at least twice. HA HA! Yeah, right! I got to the first hill and had to change my gears back into the previous position to get up the hill. Then going down, I had to change gears back because my pedaling was out of control. I was also huffing and puffing quite a bit. That was a tough hill. However, that was nothing compared to the next one. I do get out of breath walking these hills, and when I'm walking with a friend, it is hard for me to do alot of talking up the hills because I'm so out of shape. Okay, so here I go, starting up the next hill. I absolutely couldn't make it! My legs were like Jell-O and I couldn't even stand up on the pedals to use my weight to pedal my fat butt up the hill! I had to stop and walk my bike up the hill. On the way up an older lady coming down from the opposite direction said, "Aren't these hills tough?" As I'm panting with my face as red as a beet, I can barely reply, "Yeah, this sucks!" LOL! As I'm walking my bike and nearly to the top of the hill, I met my friend Kara. She and another friend were walking in the opposite direction. (Maybe I should have ridden the other direction? I'm not sure if it would be easier that way or not?) We chatted a second or two and compared drop-offs of kids to their first day of school. I was a bit embarrassed that I had to walk my bike up the hill, but there's no way I could have made it. I hop (well, actually hop isn't quite the word, maybe it was more like drag myself) back onto my bike and slowly trek along. Once again I had to walk up another hill. I decided right then and there that I was not going to make more than one lap. My new goal was to just make it around one time without having to walk my bike up the hills. YIKES! I was very glad to make it home, rubber-legs and all. It was fun logging those minutes into the Wii Fit and I did a few of the aerobics exercises on it as well.

Three hours have passed since I dropped the kids off. I'm excited about not having to make lunch for anyone but myself. I've got 3 1/2 hours until I pick the kids up and I haven't decided yet what I'm going to do. I think I am going to try to get my scrapbook stuff organized and take up scrapbooking full time! :-)