First Day of School

I'm always sad when the kids go back to school. This year was especially sad as Grace will now go to pre-school every day (1/2 days). Grace was very excited to go to her new school, Brookfield Academy. We all went to new family orientation where she was able to see the school and meet her teacher, Mrs. Van Nest. She was very happy to learn they have a class pet - a guinea pig named S'more. I thought this was particularly appropriate given that she enjoyed s'mores this summer while camping with Grandma. Isabella had a great time visiting her old school and seeing the teachers. They were all amazed by how much she had grown. Grace was all set when the first day of school arrived there were no tears she bounced right in (literally).

Isabella was a bit nervous yet excited to go to school. She knows most of the kids in her class but wasn't sure about the teacher. We were sad to find out though that our favorite bus driver, Mrs. Candy is not her driver this year.

This is Grace waving goodbye to Isabella as the bus drove away. She was sad to see Isabella go and as she waved she said "Goodbye Bella, I'll miss you".

I could hardly wait for them both to return home to hear all about their days. When I went to pick Grace up she was on the playground having a ball. As we drove out she asked "Why aren't you supposed to talk in school?" I laughed picturing her talking and the teachers telling her she needed to be quiet and listen. She loves recess and was thrilled that S'more was able to come out of his cage and meet the class. When she arrived home she showed us how to roll and unroll a mat to do your work. She also showed us the proper way to walk around the mat and how you are not to step on it.

Isabella had a great day as well. She loves her teacher, Mrs. Clay. She spent time talking to the class about bullying and also played games so the class could get to know each other as well as their new teacher. Each person had to say something interesting they did on the summer break. Isabella's was that she visited 5 states (Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Georgia, Maryland) and 1 other country (Canada).

They are both off to a great start.

Cheerleading

Isabella took on a new sport this year - cheerleading. This is new for all of us and I must say we are learning a lot. The first two weeks she had practice Monday through Friday from 5:15 - 8PM. Then they moved to 3 days a week. There are games every Saturday through the end of October and then she has a competition. We weren't sure how she would like this but, sure enough she loves it. She is really good too!

There are 4 squads within the league that are broken out by grade (K - 8). The cheer squads cheer for the football team that is the same age. There are 22 girls on her team. Here is a video of her at the second game.

More Boating

We have had a fun summer with the boat despite the lack of hot days. I think it only hit 90 a few times all summer. The picture below is of Isabella and her cousin Emily and friend Alexa. This is Grace and her friend Jack (Alexa's brother) in their jetski and airplane floaties. Dad's are standing by hoping this will occupy them for a while.

Boat trip to Canada

We took a trip on the boat across Lake Saint Clair to a Marina in Canda named Cove Marina. We had a fantastic time. There was a nice restaurant on site that had a patio where we had dinner and breakfast. The night we arrived we danced up a storm with the girls thanks to a live band that played in the restaurant. We also had a campfire that night boatside. Here is a picture of the boat in the slip where we kept it.The next day we took advantage of all the marina had to offer. We went swimming in the pool, played minature golf (Bella beat everyone) and played on the play ground. It was a fantastic trip and we are definately going back next year.