OMG!! Where does time go?

Almost six years ago we made the move from Germantown to Frederick...

almost six years ago we made new friends...friends we will have for a lifetime...

almost six years ago I gave birth to the most independent, beautiful (inside and out), funny, lovely baby girl...

and TODAY SHE STARTED KINDERGARTEN...OMG!!

She smiled at Bob and I and went on her merry way. I, on the other hand, turned away and cried...not because she's not ready...Lord knows she's ready. Not because I was worried about her...she can take care of herself and everyone else for that matter. Not because I didn't know what to expect...she has the same teacher Jake had and I LOVE her. But because she's IT...the end of the first day of kindergarten trips to school...my baby girl. It was just amazing how hard it hit me.

Here she is walking from the parking lot to school.
Here she is in front of her new school.

My teammate, Faith went to see her at lunchtime. She saw Kate eating and said to her, "Why isn't there any crust on that bread?" Kate said, "Because I don't like crust." Faith asked her who made her sandwich and Kate told her "her daddy made it"...Faith told her she was spoiled...I told Faith that her Daddy would have put pink glitter on it for her if she'd asked...he's such a good Daddy and she has him SO wrapped! Isn't life grand when you're almost six? Know what she said to me while she was telling me all about her day? "I expected school to be a lot harder, Mom. It's not hard. It wasn't real math, Mom, it was play math...we just played with connecting blocks!" And then she smiled....like she had figured it all out. Isn't life grand when you're almost six? Tonight we're having a "First Day of School Feast"...know what she requested? Steak, fish, mashed potatoes, and rice...and guess what..."her Daddy" has it all ready for her. Isn't life grand when you're almost six?

Oh, yeah...let's not forget...my boys :-)...

They started school yesterday and both had excellent days...

here is my very responsible 7th grader...

and my very grown up 4th grader...

Where does time go?

I owe a blog about last week while my kids were at "Camp Granny and Pop"...but that will have to wait...because today is all about my girl. Good night.

soccer dudes, dancing queen, guitar hero, and the Orioles...

So...it's been a fun, busy week around the Wills' household! Connor, Jake, my Godson, Matt, and my nephew, Francis have been at soccer camp all week...they LOVED it...Connor was awarded camper of the day on Monday, and Jake's team won the championship on Friday...fun was had by all! Connor has attended this camp since he was five! This was his seventh year and they all can't wait to go back next year!

While they were gone each day, Kate was attending 1/2 day dance camp!

She, too, loved her camp (I think she'd spend every day at the studio if they'd let her!), and ended the week with a show for parents...I love watching Kate dance...enjoy.

Anyone wonder where she gets her love of being on the stage?!

Every morning, while all three lovelies were at camp, my Goddaughter, Megan and I were in my classroom...she was a tremendous help and I think I'm ready for next week!

Another thing that has kept us busy this week is Guitar Hero World Tour...Jake asked for money for his birthday and got quite a lot! He bought GHWT with his birthday money...the kids have already gotten their money's worth out of it just this week. Enjoy this funny clip of the "Wills Family Band" (never heard of them?...I don't know why not?!)

We ended our week with a trip to the Orioles game thanks to Pop-Pop and Granny! Connor spent his time keeping score, while Jake and Francis watched the game or walked around the stadium with Lisa. It was a very humid evening, so I just sat as still as possible...and still sweated like crazy...Lisa and I spent a lot of the time wondering how we could sit still and sweat while the young, small woman in front of us had to put a jacket on...go figure :-)!!

Tonight we are headed to "The Woods" for a 40th Anniversary of Woodstock party at my aunt's house...should be a great time...I will share pictures sometime next week.

'til then...

HOLY MOLY...look at this fort!

So...while I was blogging I told Megan and Kate to go make a fort...thinking they'd head to the basement...holy moly...they are the "Fort Queens" (and please don't confuse that with the "Fart Queens"...those are their brothers!)

My favorite pictures from summer...

I know we all think that our children are beautiful...but really...can you get over how good looking my kids are?!?!

Most of my favorite pictures need no captions...

A few pictures need captions...

This picture is so peaceful to me...
they had to work together to get where they wanted to go...
and they did.

"Watch me, Mom!"

How a lot of kids feel about going back to school

in less than two weeks!

Where on Earth do I begin?!?! Part Two

On Saturday evening, Wes and Mandy headed home and the rest of my family headed to the beach house to be with Pop, Granny, Lisa, and little Francis (Big Francis had to work.) This is an annual trip that we all look forward to! Sunday was kind of cloudy and rainy, and we were exhausted from the night before (we got in at 1am), so we had a laid back day and went to the movies...G Force was the movie of choice...HOLLA!...we came back to the beach house and had a delicious dinner of rockfish (remember those big fish on the dock?!?!) The kids rode bikes and we all hung out...just happy to be together. Monday we spent the whole day on the beach... and hit the boardwalk in the evening (Robert's old stomping grounds)...

On Tuesday we had to say goodbye to Robert and Kim...but not before they BOTH got the golf ball on the tee!! If you've ever been to the beach house and tried this, I know you are amazed right now!! We miss them a lot and can't wait to be together again.

Later that morning, we headed to the beach to hang with the Hags...we try very hard to spend one day a summer on the beach together...it's always a highlight and we had a great day...the kids (and the dads) swam, dug a HUGE hole, and shared Grottos pizzas! On Wednesday we headed to "the Shallow Beach"...it's the bay beach at Henlopen State Park...we love this beach...we caught a zillion hermit crabs and snails...the boys fished, and we walked REALLY far out as the tide went out...nothing like that place...if you're a kayaker you'd love it (Robert, you'll have to bring your kayak next time and we'll go there!!)On Thursday we took a day off from the beach and went SHOPPING...now most of you are probably thinking, Karen really liked that day!! Hello?! I was shopping with my kids! :-) The kids got shoes for school, some school supplies, and we hit a couple of sales...they were actually very well behaved for a full day of shopping...we headed into Rehoboth to Nicola's for dinner...
can you say YUM?!

Nicobolis are probably the next best thing to God.

Just kidding...family is...oh yeah, and then friends...but they're a close third.

Friday was back to the beach for Lisa, the 4 kids, and I...we went to Rehoboth later in the day and stayed past the time when the lifeguards go home...why, you ask?

BECAUSE YOU CAN SKIM BOARD...DUH.

The kids love skim boarding...and they also dug another HUGE HOLE that they were very proud (and protective) of!

Kate buried her legs and I turned her into a beautiful mermaid...she was very pleased!

We ended our evening with Granny's famous spaghetti and meatballs...YUM again!

We had to head home on Saturday...but not before a trip to the pool! It was another beautiful day and my parents took the kids to the pool (Lisa and I got to hit the outlets for an hour...an hour is not long, but I'm not complaining...most people come to Delaware for tax free shopping...I had KID FREE shopping for an hour...it was delightful!)

Here are a couple of beautiful pictures we took down by the water near the beach house...

Thank you, Granny and Pop Pop, for an amazing beach vacation!!

So vacation has ended...what now?

The kids are actually getting excited for school, and so am I! While they're all at camp next week, I'm headed into the classroom to get it ready for my new friends. And the week after that, it's back to work...but you know what? It's been an awesome summer and I'm OK with going back soon.

Coming soon...my favorite pix from vacation!

'til then...

Where on Earth do I begin?!?!

We had the most amazing 10 days...let me start first by saying that we LOVED being with Robert and Kim for a week...it's never long enough, but we made the most of every moment!!

I don't think it's even possible to cover how great our trip was on this blog...but I will try!

We (Bob, me, Connor, Jake, Kate, Robert, Kim, Wes, and Mandy) started our vacation with Pat and Chip at their cottage on the Northern Neck in Virginia.

Let's see...how can I sum it up?

fishing

boatingfishingtubingfishingwatching beautiful sunsetsfishingswimmingfishing eating great food fishingand no tv...it was heaven!

Every morning Chip, Bob, Connor, and different others on different days, would get up at 5 am to go fishing...some mornings they caught a lot...others, not so much...but from what I'm told...if you love fishing, it doesn't matter if you catch anything (fyi...it totally matters to me)! Every morning there was a big breakfast around nine or ten (thank you, Pat and Chip!) and then lots more fishing off the dock...and then at around 7pm...another fishing trip...look what the first evening fishing trip brought in...Can you say Holy Moly?!

It's a cottage tradition to "kiss the fish"...and the Wills don't like to break with tradition...

Did I mention that fishing makes you VERY tired? :-)
After breakfast we would head out to Shark Tooth Island and go tubing...I'll let you decide if you think the kids (little and big) enjoyed tubing!

We were fortunate to have great weather...well, except for when we were on Shark Tooth Island and the storm hit...unfortunately, it was the only time we asked Chip to drop us off and he had returned home...the rain was blowing so hard, and then it started hailing...we headed to the water to escape the pain!!

(I, of course, endured the rain and hail to get this very important picture!)

By the time Chip came back for us (I called and sent out an SOS) the storm was over...on the island...but not at the cottage, so we had to wait on the boat until it passed...watching lightning across the bay (there was no lightning when we were in the water, by the way) was pretty scary...Mandy was practically hyperventilating thinking about the movie "the Perfect Storm"...we got a kick out of her!! :-) Once we waited out the storm, we headed back to the cottage...then it was nice out...but it was a good thing we went back...another storm hit a little while later...I can speak for all of us when I say that it was an experience none of us would like to repeat! We are a happy group when the sun is shining down on us! When we weren't fishing or outside, we spent a lot of time playing cards and sitting around laughing...it was a wonderful time together.

Thank you, Pat and Chip for a WONDERFUL vacation!!

On Saturday evening, Wes and Mandy headed home and the rest of my family headed to the beach house...to be continued....