First day of 1st Grade!

Well, even though I never finished all my postings about our summer, it came to a close anyways! (I barely got my postings about the END of school done!!) Today, we are back to school! Well- Georgia is back to school. Thankfully Lincoln still has two weeks till he starts back, so we (Mommy!) get to ease back into the full school schedule! When I went in to wake Georgia up this morning, she said, "But, mommy- the birds aren't singing yet. I don't like to get up till the birds are singing!" Sorry, Cinderella-girl, but it's back to school and early mornings!! She's so like her momma....

After we all shook out our early morning cobwebs, we were excited about the day and ready to go! Georgia will be in a new school this year- Westminster Academy, a classical Christian school that is starting its first year. Nine of the 10 students are from our church, and the school will be housed in our church, so it definitely has a 'family' feeling! The teachers are both so loving and great educators, and the curriculum an exciting challenge- so we are really looking forward to what this new adventure will bring!

They've gotten SO big since this time last year... 

What?! Am I hugging you too tight? But how did you get to FIRST GRADE already?!!

There may be a FEW early mornings cobwebs hanging around... ;)

Have a GREAT first day, Westminster Academy!!

Hipps at Lido Key

Last weekend we had a very nice end-of-summer treat with a stay at the beach. One of mom's kind friends loaned us her condo at Lido Key, over by Sarasota, FL. The beach was beautiful, the pool was refreshing, St. Armond's circle was very close for dinner... we had a wonderful time! Mom, the kids and I went over on Thursday morning, and Larry joined us after work Friday for the rest of the weekend. It was refreshing to me to also have mom's help with the kids! It's so nice to have extra hands on deck with these three monkeys!
My kids are true beach babies, and love playing in the sand and surf. The waves and riptide were unreal the first two days- double-red flag on the first day!!- so we had to keep the kids out of the big waves those first days, but then they calmed down to our normal, gentle Gulf variety and the kids had a blast on the boogie boards. We usually spent the morning in the sand, lunch by the pool, then swimming in the pool all afternoon while little sister napped. A very fun little trip!!
I, of course, have a bunch of pictures... By Sunday morning, Georgia said, "Mommy- we already took our picture together yesterday, right? So we can just go play??" So- no group picture Sunday! ;)
Thursday:

 Friday:

When folks get cranky at the beach- just give them a lollipop! Renews smiles, every time! ;)

Saturday:

Catching a wave!! 

Georgia: always prepared!! 

 Sunday:

Lincoln saw some bigger boys skim boarding, and tried it out with his boogie board- it didn't quite work the same...

One of my favorites from the weekend- the big kids both do a great job helping little sis!

Getting some boogie board coaching from Daddy!

On Sunday, Georgia finally lost her 2nd tooth! It had been super-wiggly all weekend, but it was nice it waited till Sunday to fall out so the tooth fairy could visit her at home Sunday night! ;)

We tried to get a new family picture- it's always a hard job to get everyone smiling at the same time, especially with the setting sun in your face- but there's usually something that will work!! :)