Schooool!

Yup. It's that time of year again. This summer went much more quickly than I expected, but I think we were all ready for school's return. It's always pretty tough to get back into the routine, even more so when the barfs are involved. NOT how any of us wanted this year to start off.

Pen didn't feel well on Monday morning, but she often has stomach issues so I didn't think too much of it. She didn't tell me that it was different than what she normally experiences. Then Big woke up in the middle of the night on Monday, barfing. Lovely.

So, when Wednesday rolled around and it was time for the first day of school, only Ginger and Bud headed out the door. Pen wasn't going to start school until Thursday, anyway, but I felt so badly that Big was missing the first day of 1st grade. Bummer.

It's hard to believe that Ginger's a 7th grader. Pen was a 7th grader just the other day, it seems. Still love her new haircut!

Bud is so happy to be a 3rd grader. I think he'll love his teacher and that she'll find ways to challenge and encourage him. Plus, he'll enjoy the opera they get to write and perform. So handsome!

On Thursday it was time for Big and Pen to join in on the back-to-school fun. Pen will have a good sophomore year, I'm pretty sure. She's super excited to be doing concurrent enrollment, with the goal of hopefully earning her high school diploma and her associate's degree at the same time. 

It's a good thing Big was feeling lots better, considering how ginormous his backpack was-- full of school supplies galore. We strapped his lunchbox on the back to make the load even bigger.

Speaking of his lunchbox, it's just perfect for him. He loves it.

Even Edith got to have her picture taken. She's bummed she can't go to school like the other kids, but seems mostly content if I let her take her backpack and lunchbox in the car.

What a bunch of cute school kids I have! We're excited to see what this year brings! (No more barfing, hopefully. Add Ginger to the list this morning, and I'm not feeling super hot. I think we'll be glad when the first few weeks of this school year are over!)