First Day of School...2013!

Today Jaron and Jantzen went back to school. Long gone are the lazy days of sleeping in and playing all day...I'm a little sad about that myself. 

Josh gave all the kids their fathers blessings last night before they went to bed. I love it that my kids can have that every year.   The boys set out their first day of school outfits, then they went to bed.

This morning Jaron and Jantzen woke up bright and early to get ready for school, something I know will soon change as the year goes on.  They ate breakfast as I packed their lunches.  I put a little note in each of their lunches while they weren't looking, just so they knew that I would be thinking about them all day...

 
  After breakfast, and some teeth brushing, we headed out the door to take the boys to school.  I don't have anyone to help take Jantzen to school this year and Jaron's school starts 10 minutes earlier than last year (they start within a half hour of each other), so I hope that we can make it all work smoothly in the mornings.
I made number signs for the boys this year to indicate what grade they're in.  They didn't want the ones that said it was their first day like a lot of other people do, they just wanted a number...I was fine with that.     I took the traditional "1st Day of School" pictures of the boys, here's what I got...          Can you tell how excited they are?!?!
They gave each other a hug for good luck, one of the rare times they do this, so I'm glad I have it documented...     Both Jantzen and Jaron got new backpacks this year.  Jantzen has always gotten the character ones and they fall apart easily, so I told him this year we were done with that.  He seemed to be okay not having a character one anymore, plus I like the new one he chose better.        Jaedyn wanted to have her picture taken with her brothers on their big day.  She was really sad that she wasn't going to preschool today...next week.  She did feel a little better when I packed a lunch for her to take to Jaron's school since I'm volunteering there today.          Like every other first day of school, the drop off was chaotic, but we made it though it.  Jaron walked Jantzen to his classroom so he wouldn't get lost.  I think Jaron really just wanted to say "hi" to Jantzen's teacher because he has Mrs. Norman who Jaron had in 2nd grade.
When we got to Jaron's school, he quickly jumped out of the car so he wouldn't been seen walking in with his "mommy', that would be so embarrassing!  His cousin Sadie didn't seem too embarrassed to stand and talk to me before school started.  Maybe that's because I'm not her mom.     I now volunteer at Jaron's school every Monday and after today I'm regretting my decision on that day.  With it being the first day of school, I was really busy helping kids and parents find their homeroom and other places they needed to get to.  I also helped out in the student store during lunches, which was a little crazy too!  Jaedyn was happy to be able to play on the computer again and she told me it was fun for her to eat lunch there too.
After school, the boys told me it was a great first day.  I hope they keep that attitude all year long!
That night for dinner we had our traditional "1st Day of School Pizza" from Hungry Howies, my kids' favorite pizza place.  They really enjoyed it!     One day down, only 179 more to go!!!