school days

Another summer has come and gone and it is time for school to begin.

For the past two years I have wanted to have a back to school dinner that we could actually sit down, not be rushed, and talk about what goals the boys have for the upcoming school year. This year I was finally able to pull it off. It was not as fancy as this one, but she is the person who inspired me to want to have this special night with the boys.

We had a dinner last year but it was a couple days after school had started and it was a bit rushed because of football practice and work. This year it worked out that I could plan it the Sunday night before they went back to school and I hope to continue that tradition. It was lovely. Justin also gave each of the boys beautiful father's blessings and again I am blown away by the love that a father--both heavenly and earthly--has for their children.

Our menu was:

steak
green beans
herb mashed potatoes
red, white, and blue layered jello
chocolate trifle for desert



It was a fun evening. We talked and joked and the boys are very excited and ready for school to start.

Nick is starting 6th grade which is exciting and frightening to me all at the same time. I can't believe he will be starting junior high next year and I can't think about it too much because it makes me have an anxiety attack. I just have to remmeber that it is still a year away and I will definately have to enjoy every moment of his time left in elementary school. His goals for the year were to understand long division better and to not procrastinate his big assignments. I was grateful for that one and hope he sticks to it because I ended up doing a good portion, if not all, of his major reports last year. Maybe I need to make a goal not to help him so much so he can learn how to manage his time. We'll see.



Andrew will be starting 4th grade this year and he is excited as all get out. I remember my fourth grade teacher telling me on the first day of school that I was not a baby anymore and only had 10 minutes for recess now and that I needed to come in with the first bell. I guess this means that this year Andrew is officially not a baby anymore. His goals were to not rush through his school work, to do his best, and to make new friends.



Luke will be going into 3rd grade. He was excited to find out that his teacher is "nice" and even though he doesn't have his best buddy in his class this year, he figures he can just sit next to him at lunch. Luke wants to not get frustrated with math and to work on his handwriting.





Liam started his new preschool a couple weeks before the boys started school. I was really on top of things this year and waited until the last minute to sign him up. I paid my money and while I was getting all of the paperwork I asked when he starts school. The lady replied: "They started yesterday." Awesome.

He loves it and they have done some really cute projects already and he comes home singing the song that he learned every day. They also learn cute little poems and he has fun reciting those to me as well.

Liam didn't really have any goals for this year but he did say that he wanted to have fun. I think he has already reached his goal. What an overachiever.