The Beach Trip, The Very First Day of Kindergarten and The Lovely Assistant

Oh it's been too long! I have so much to say!! I realized while I was on vacation that I have a serious problem. I can't stand to be away from my computer. Luckily, my cell phone gets email so I could at least check that (but I refrained from replying since I was on vacation) but the Internet on my cell is worthless and I could barely check my favorite blogs. It seriously took me a few days to adjust to life without my laptop. How sad is that? I missed you all!!! I'm happy to be back!
Our vacation was FABULOUS! It got off to a rocky start though. About 2 hours into our 9+ hour drive I got an email from the owner of the beach house we were renting. Tropical Storm Eduard was heading straight for our little beach and they were considering boarding up and evacuating. We were so disappointed and knew that the kids would be devastated. We decided to head to Frisco to see The Baker's sister (amazing Aunt LaLa) and figure out a new destination. We sat around searching for options online for about 3 hours and finally gave up and decided to fork over way too much money to spend one night at the insanely overpriced (especially if you are calling on the day of check-in) but outrageously fun and kid friendly Great Wolf Lodge. It was kid heaven! They loved it! We went to the one in Kansas City a few years ago but I'm gonna say that Grapevine is better. You should go...but don't call on the day that you want to go.
The next morning we woke up and prepared to head home after playing in the waterpark but we got another email saying that the weather was great and the beach house was open. We threw our stuff together and ran out of that place so fast and hit the rode for Surfside Beach. Our little beach house was so nice and it was such a quite little community. We felt like we were on our own private beach. The weather was perfect and the storm had brought what seemed like a million sea shells onto shore so the kids didn't have to hunt for shells at all. They were everywhere.

The trip was going great until it came time for the famous "get your family dressed up in white clothes and take their picture on the beach" moment. A photogenic family we are not. Nora is the only one I can always count on to take great pictures but she decided that this was the perfect moment to have a meltdown. She was crying, Graham was either closing his eyes or doing weird things with his mouth, Charlie was trying to do the 2 year old bolt, I was trying to keep the hair out of my face due to the tropical storm type winds that suddenly developed during our photo opp and Nathan was usually chasing a child or demanding that someone look happy. So I have waited 8 years to have pictures of my kids dressed in white and looking like little angels on the beach...I guess I will wait a little longer.

Here's the one picture that at least has all three of them looking in the general direction of the camera. I'm learning that with three, that's about all I can hope for.

Today was a really big day! My sweet baby girl Nora started Kindergarten! I can't believe it. It makes me sad to think about how fast time goes by but she was so excited and couldn't wait to get to school today. We are so super excited about her teacher this year and she is so excited that her three favorite girl friends are in her class. She was a little disappointed when she realized her assigned seat was at a table full of boys (nobody puts girly Nora at a boy table) but she held it together and never even thought about shedding a tear. She didn't even notice that I left the room. I know I should be grateful that she didn't cry and chase after me, but still, a little sadness to see me go would have been nice.

Graham is going to have an awesome year. His kindergarten teacher moved to 2nd grade this year and we are beyond thrilled that he gets to have her again this year. Lots of his sweet boys from last year are in his class and he insisted that I NOT walk him to class today. Do mommies become uncool in second grade??

Now for the PaperDoll portion of this blog...

I was stunned, shocked and amazed when I came home to find my inbox overflowing with orders. I have never had so many orders at one time so please bear with me while I try to play catch up. I've had a few people tell me that they emailed while I was away but I didn't get them so if you don't hear back from me in a day or two please resend your email. It may take me a little longer than my normal 7 days to process all these orders so please let me know if you are on a deadline too. Now, I have some exciting news! Starting tomorrow, I am going to have someone to help me! My friend, Kambra, who shall be referred to as The Lovely Assistant is coming tomorrow to learn the ropes. She'll be helping me out a little bit here and there and I AM SO EXCITED!! I desperately need help and she fits all of my assistant requirements! I wanted someone who is all about the details, likes to tie bows and didn't mind being blogged about. She passed the test!

I'm so happy to be back!!!