First Week of First Grade (and my sanity has returned)

Well, the first week of first grade is over and done with and both Broderick and I are much happier people. He is excited about making friends and really seems to enjoy his classroom. Camden, Adalynn and I have enjoyed our quiet days. Without Broderick here, there is drastically less fighting, arguing, and unrest. He and Camden were getting very tired of each other towards the end and Broderick was more than ready for school to start. He is still very nervous about riding the bus, so as of now I am taking him each morning and picking him up. It isn't bad though because he doesn't have to be there until 8:45ish and he gets out at 3:30. Camden, Adalynn, and I have been running errands, finishing the final unpacking/decorating while Broderick is gone.

Above is the Night Before First Grade photo and below is on the morning of.

Can you believe the difference in how grown up he looks? The orange shirt photo is the first day of kindergarten. The green is the first day of first grade.

Can't leave Camden out! Here are the boys on Broderick's first day.

He looked so grown up on the first day, but his reaction when we got to the school made me realize that he is still just a baby. He was so scared (you can tell by his expression in one of the photos). But by the afternoon you can tell he felt much better about the whole thing and was very excited to tell me all about his day. I am a little nervous about how/what he is going to do though, once they really get busy. I know it will work out, but with me not being there...well, it worries me. We got a letter from the teacher that they would be "learning to read" this year. Oh no!!! What happens with Broderick while everyone else learns to read? I am sure she will soon find out what an amazing reader he is. Let the enrichment begin!

Here Broderick is before school starts---scared to death!

First day down, lots more to go. Boy is he ever happier though.

On Labor Day, before school started for Broderick, we went to Easton, PA. It was only about a 50 minute drive and very worth it-right on the PA/NJ line. We went to the Crayola Factory and the Canal Museum. We also enjoyed a horse drawn tour around the town of Easton. The boys had a blast at the Crayola Factory and the Canal Museum was very hands-on. Adalynn even enjoyed the day. We had a great time and it was a great official ending to our summer.

Here we are at the Crayola Factory. The kids loved the huge side walk that they could write on and who can go wrong with a huge table of Lincoln Logs.

These pictures are from the carraige ride. Adalynn loved the "big doggies" and feeling the wind on her face. Check out the beautiful smile!

Over the past week, I have also finished the boys' room. We got most everything on the walls and rearranged. Since the bedrooms have no overhead lighting the switch on the wall controls an outlet. We had to make sure we could plug a lamp into the outlet so we weren't forever flipping the switch to nothing. This meant moving things around until a bed wasn't covering that particular outlet. There is also a photo of the upstairs hallway/laundry area. The doors to the right house the washer and dryer. The two doors on the left are the kids' bathroom and a linen closet. Obviously Broderick/Camden's and Adalynn's room are straight ahead. The photo is taken standing in the master bedroom doorway.

Another exciting thing that has happened this week is that the dissertation thing is forever OVER!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! John made all of his corrections after defending right before we left GA and now officially has all of his signatures. He is done. We are so glad that is finally over. I can say it was one of the hardest things "we've" ever done. We plan on traveling back to GA in December so John can officially graduate and become Dr. Frye. Wow! I am married to a Dr. :) Aren't you all jealous????

One last note, please say a prayer for my buddy Ryan back in Georgia. He has been fighting a relapse of neuroblastoma for the past year and a half and his counts just aren't rebounding like they should/they want them to. This rebound determines his course of treatment and he needs lots of prayers that he can make it to New York to finish the treatment he has already started.

Love you all!!! Can't wait to see some of you soon.