Westport

Ethan was missing his daddy and Mike had to work so Ethan decided he would rather stay home than to go to Westport with mama and the rest of the family.  SO I took Chezney and Cohen with me, and Danissa went with Grandma and Grandpa a few days earlier, so she could go out on the charter fishing boats.  She caught LOTS of fish, and had a great time.  She got a little sick at first, as did Breanna and Evan, but soon they all had their sea legs and were off catching their quotas.

A Little Flash Back

Below is a picture of Danissas first day of Kinder-prep when she was 5 years old. 

 Ethan- then 2- was obviously pretty mad that he wasn't allowed to be in the picture.

SOOO in commemoration of the past, we decided to do another first day of school picture

of these two in the same spots as before.  My how they have grown... LOL

Hidden Lake

We set off for another hike- this time at the Bygone Byways- but soon realized that Bygone Byways is nothing more than about a quarter mile loop trail-... no hike at all.  

So after completing that, we drove as we debated where to go now.  We ended up at Hidden Lake Trailhead.  That was a gorgeous hike and is only about 1.5 miles in.  Its a great destination but once you get there, space is limited to just one side of the lake so if there are many people up there, it can get crowded.  The kids had a blast, though, and it was such a beautiful location... one I will definitely want to do again!

Icicle Ridge

Toward the end of August we took the kids on a hike to Icicle Ridge.  It was a good chance to see what they were able to do and what they weren't.  They had a blast exploring!  We made them each carry their own packs (with basically nothing in them but water) and for the most part- they walked the whole way.  It really wasn't that far... about 4 miles, but with the exploring, climbing, stopping, eating and picture taking we did- it took about 4 hours!

Once Again

I've started a new "cooking" blog.  It's not really for anyone to enjoy- per say- but just a way for me to remember what I've fed my family, if it turned out ok, and then hopefully remember it as a successful cheap crock pot dinner for my now working and busy family.
If you are interested, it's at  www.familycircussixdinners.blogspot.com

And it begins...

I'm off and running at my new job... or really off and sitting...
It's been a LOT of computer training for the past two days, but I look forward to standing up and walking around a bit tomorrow.  Maybe.  Hopefully.
Other than the sitting- it hasn't been too bad.  The kids are adjusting fairly well, with the occasional tears or "mommy... I don't want to miss you" (from Cohen).  It's so hard to leave them but I feel much better about it now that all of them are gone till 2:45 or later each day anyway.
Here's to getting down a routine and figuring out this whole "working mama" thing!

Causing Trouble Already

We have a way of causing trouble before we even realize that we've done it.  This was the case last week- and I was informed of it just this afternoon.

Last week, we (the twins and I) were at the elementary school enrolling them in their new Kindergarten class.  After turning in the necessary paperwork, we started off for home, which is only a few houses away.  Feeling somewhat playful, and taking advantage of the nice weather, we decided to race home.  Cohen was in the lead, followed by me and Chezney.

Apparently this doesn't look so good on the property of an elementary school- as I later discovered.  A passing parent thought it looked more like a double child abduction and called to report this to the school.  After a school lock down and roll call, they determined that no children were missing and realized that I had been the culprit. 

How's that to the start of a new school?!

Changes

So many changes are in the works for
 this family of 6! 

Danissa has started 5th grade.  

Ethan started 3rd grade- and with that- his first year of Latin.  

The twins started a Young 5s class at St. Pauls

I got a new full time job at the clinic so that meant changes for the WHOLE family.

*tears*

We then decided to move Chezney and Cohen to Lee Elementary to be in Kindergarten instead, so our start to school was a week and a half later than everyone else.  

*more tears*

Today was by far the hardest day- their first day of public school.  So many kids, so much chaos, but I also think- so many great teachers.  I'm sure it's a great choice... it just takes this mama some adjusting and today was a BIG adjustment!