First Day of School!

This year we had 3 different start days for school!  Here's all 5 kids on Kate, Owen and Maris' first day! Notice all the crocs lol.

Cutie Maris starting 3rd grade!  Her teacher is Mrs. Prisbey, new to the school but an experienced teacher. She has a had a good year academically so far!

Emma just HAD to take a picture holding up a K, since she would start school in a week!

Katelyn made herself a sign since she doesn't have 11 fingers lol. A Junior in High School!!! She is fine with wearing uniforms in HS, but it sure is fun to liven things up with her large collection of colorful socks! Also this was a big day because it was her first time driving to school!!  She has had a lot of fun with that.  I still take the kids every other morning when she has early improv class, and she has had rehearsals after school more than 50% of the school days this year so I still picked the kids up all those times. BUT she does get to bring them home sometimes.  I love that she gets to have that extra time with her siblings.

All 3 ready for their first day!

And Owen starting 5th grade! Holy Cow he is really growing up!  So mature and responsible. He and Maris take turns picking Emma up from Kindergarten. His teachers Mrs Larson and Mrs Hernandez are really good.

Two days later it was Whitney's turn!!  9th grade- a Freshman!!  It was her first day at Salem Hills High School (first class), first day at Salem Jr. High(the rest of her classes), first time taking Seminary, and first time not wearing uniforms to school!!

And I just had to take a picture the 2nd day, because the soccer team dresses up for home games and they had one that day-- she looked so beautiful!

One more of the kids being sad saying goodbye to Emma.  The last year she will be left at home alone!

 And finally the joyful day arrived!!  Emma was ready hours early haha. Plenty of time for a photo shoot!

Insert here two opposing pics- Emma being so grown up, starting to learn piano for the first time in Let's Play Music!  Next to- Emma falling asleep in the car on the way to Owen's soccer game the first week of school. She has always been the sleepiest child and it's not over yet! So big but still little, thank goodness.

THIS was adorable, holding hands walking to the car.  Sadly Emma only did it the first couple of weeks, and then she was too independent to keep holding hands!

Holding hands and wearing matching dresses?  Okay adorable.

She was just being so adorable before I took her to school that first day!

So big, smart, beautiful and talented!  She was ready for school in every way. 

Official front door kindergarten pictures. Can we just appreciate her hair for a minute?  When she was a baby I legitimately thought "if she can just have enough hair to not look like a baby by the time she goes to school, I will be alright" haha.  I definitely prayed for her hair! And the last year and a half it finally grew and got a little thicker, yay!  She wanted it down and straightened for her first day.  It still curls quite a bit if we don't do anything to it.  

Last pics with mom, at home and outside the kindergarten gate. I was so excited for her, I thought I would be fine.  But right after I dropped her off I just felt the WEIGHT of it, that it's the first step in the end of raising my kids!  Never again will they be home with me all day every day. And I cried, called Eric, cried some more.  It's okay, I'm glad I could live in it for a minute and feel it.  But I'm so so GRATEFUL that I was (and am) able to be a stay at home mom!  Greatest blessing of my life!

I haven't had a spare minute to feel lonely though, what with picking up Whitney 1 1/2 to 2 hours after dropping off Emma. It's barely enough time to go to the store or exercise+shower. Or go to the temple!  So for now, I'm enjoying this half day kindergarten year.