Charlie Goes to a Big Boy School

Well, it's that time of year again... Back To School. I can't believe summer has already come and gone! But, it has and here we are sending Charlie off to his first real school - McKinney Academy.

McKinney is a private school that goes from Jr.K to 5th grade. No more church preschool for this big boy! Next year he'll even have to wear a uniform. (I hope they have trucks on those uniforms!)

On Tuesday, we took Charlie to Open House so that he could meet his teacher and see his classroom. He really seemed to enjoy it... well, the train table anyway. He never left that area to venture out into any other part of the room. Trust me. We tried to get him to check out the rest of the place, but he was glued to the train table. If only we had a train table at home. He would probably love that. Oh, wait. WE DO!

Anyway, Open House was successful in that it got Charlie excited for school. So, when Thursday came and it was time to get up early, eat breakfast and get out the door - all before 7:50 a.m. - we were met with little resistance. Hooray! Charlie was even willing to take a few pictures! Oh, happy day for Mama!

Once we got to school, he confidently strolled into his classroom, hung up his backpack and followed Mrs. Moske's instructions. I was so proud of him! What a big boy.

Here are a few photos of Open House and the First Day of School.

Open House

This is Charlie's seat at the desk. The cute little card said
"O-FISH-al welcome to Mrs. Moske's class."

Charlie was in love with the train table. He stayed there the entire time.

Don't you just love school signage?

So festive!

This is Charlie checking out the trains in the foreground and Mrs. Moske in the background.

Charlie is one of the table helpers (whatever that means).

Roll call. Cute!

Their daily schedule. Love!

Doesn't Charlie look so big? (The little girl to the left in this picture
is the sister of Charlie's classmate. Just in case you were wondering.)

He's going to a big boy school now!

And now for the First Day of School...

I gave Charlie a card and two kisses on the first day of school -
one kiss from Mama and one from Daddy.

Doesn't he look confident and ready to go?

Don't you just love his cute little shirt?
I just had to have it!
The sign says "First Day of Pre-K."
I printed it off of the internet (there wasn't one that said Jr. K) and
then I glued it to a red ruler. Love it!

Isn't he adorable?!

He looks ready to go!

Mrs. Moske is showing him what to do when he arrives in the morning.

Doesn't it look so festive in his class?

Now it's time for us to leave. Want to know what he said?
"Dada, go!"
YEAH!  He's confident and happy. (I just hope this doesn't mean he wants me to drop
him off at the corner from now on so no one will see me with him.)

Happy Back To School!

P U D D L E S !

A gloomy, rainy Sunday morning might seem like a downer at first... but, not when you're the mother of my two little ones! It's a play-in-the-mud, splash-in-the-puddles, get-as-dirty-as-possible paradise for my boys!

We pulled on our rain boots, grabbed a few trucks (and my camera) and headed outdoors. The only issue we had was dodging golfers. I thought for sure we'd have the golf course to ourselves, but that wasn't the case. But, we made do. Every time we saw a golf cart drive up, we made a bee line for the woods. It was kind of fun... and stealth-like. The boys got a kick out of it.

Here are a few photos from our rainy day puddle adventure!

Look how dirty Chase is. He's in heaven.

Digging in the mud and slime. Heaven.

Big brother trying to help little brother up the hill.

And how do you clean up two mud-covered little boys?

C A R   W A S H !

(Well, our version of a car wash anyway.) 

Naked big wheel riding on the deck. Come on. We've all done it, right?

Playing in the puddles and mud AND running through the man-made car wash?
Priceless.

Road Trip!

A couple of weekends ago, my good friend, Erin, and I decided to take our boys to the beach for the weekend. So, we packed up all of our stuff, grabbed our four boys - all under the age of five, I might add - and piled into my car (affectionately known as "the bus.")

We were greatly outnumbered. Me and Erin and four energetic boys. Four against two. I don't know what go into us.

But, we made it to Ocean Isle all in one piece and with very few tantrums. The boys did great!

They had such an awesome time on the beach. It was so fun to watch them interact with each other. Charlie was like a pied piper to the littlest boys. Whatever Charlie did, Chase and Max were sure to follow. Colby, the oldest, was a whiz at fishing and even tried to catch a few waves on a surfboard.

Erin and I did have to play referee a few times, but for the most part, the boys played very well together. Chase only had one MAJOR meltdown, but it was a doozy, so he didn't disappoint. I got sympathetic stares from all of the other mothers on the beach, but frankly, I was ready to grab Colby's surfboard and paddle out to sea. After 45-minutes of non-stop screaming, Chase eventually pulled it together and we salvaged the day. I'm just glad Erin didn't pack up and leave us there. I probably would have!

After his crazed, manic, ear piercing screaming session, Chase was wonderful. He adored the water and the waves and played non-stop. (Don't ask me what was wrong with him in the first place. I really couldn't tell ya.)

At nighttime, Charlie, Chase and Colby were roomies. What fun! But, then morning came and Chase was up at the crack of dawn as usual. No rest for this weary Mama, that's for sure!

Anyway, here are several CUTE photos from our road trip to Ocean Isle.

Enjoy!

Isn't this the sweetest picture? Max LOVED Charlie. 

This is Chase in "time out." This is where he had to sit out
his screaming session. I just left him there and walked away. (I didn't go far. I was within earshot.
But, then again, so was most of North Carolina.)
Sort of pitiful, isn't he?

Miss Erin with Max and Charlie.
(Notice Chase isn't anywhere to be found?)

Ahh, we've pulled it together. Chase is back among the sane people!

These three boys had the best time together!

What fun!

A happy Chase!

Look at the fun Max is having. Does a heart good to see such happy boys!

Love that smile!

Pure joy!

Chase learned to love the waves.

Follow the leader...

Fun in the pool!

Love this picture!

Chase did an AWESOME job swimming. Notice how I'm not holding onto him?
He didn't need any help in the water. He swam totally by himself the entire time!

F U N !

Day two. 

Pied Piper... back to work!

Cool picture.

We brake for lunch...
...but that doesn't mean we have to get out of the water.

Look at sweet Max patting Chase's back.

So sweet!

Max had the best time!

We stayed at Erin's father-in-law's beach house during our trip.
This was our way of saying thanks.
See the word "THANKS" in the sand?
This was pretty much the level of cooperation we could get from the boys.
They're sort of smiling and waving. Not bad.

"Hey, check out the wheels on that truck!"