Back to School, Back to Reality

It's hard to believe that summer vacation has passed us by for another year. Our family had a wonderful few months filled with trips to the beach and trips to spend time with our loved ones who live too far away.

But today, it is time to refocus our attention. The first day of a new school year is always kind of exciting. Ryan is starting 3rd grade, and it will be the start of a different kind of scholastic experience for him. The days of school with parties nearly every month are gone, and this is the first year where he will have End of Grade (EOG) tests. His school supply list no longer includes crayons, or scissors, or glue. This year we sent in folders, and looseleaf paper, and spiral notebooks. And in place of the crayons and markers we sent pencils, red pens (for editing), and highlighters. I know he'll do great--he is a bright, engaging, inquisitive kid.

I try to make the first day of school a special day. We start the morning with a "treat" breakfast. This year, Ryan requested Monkey Bread, so I dragged myself out of bed at 5:45 a.m. to make his special treat. I have to say this was the best monkey bread recipe I've ever tried! And I followed the recommendations of one of the reviewers and baked it in 2 round cake pans instead of the bundt pan, and it cooked much more evenly and in just 20 minutes. The "rest" time in the pan wasn't necessary either. I made a few other adjustments, let me know if you want them and I'll e-mail them to you.

And as further testament to the passing of time, he actually cooperated (for the most part) with my picture taking! Although when I asked him to stand by the tree for an outdoor shot, a bit of his silliness shined through--I love the way the picture turned out, though.





















Thursday is the girls' first day of Kindergarten. Our school does a 'staggered start' for Kindergarteners where the first four days only 4-5 children go to school. It gives the kids and the teachers a chance to ease into the year and get a bit more comfortable before all the kids show up on Friday. So I'll be up bright and early again on Thursday to make their first day special too. Be looking for the photos...