Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Tomorrow I will be mom to a 5th Grader

Yep, my baby girl is about to start her last year of elementary school. Wow! It's bittersweet really. The past 5 years have been a dream. My baby girl will be one of the kids I looked at in Kindergarten, thinking it would be ages before my baby was THAT big. Well, here we are, it happened in the blink of an eye.
This is a big year for Miss Ash. Not only is she starting her last year of elementary, she's starting a new school and leaving all of her friends behind. She's so brave! I think I'm more touchy about it than she is. She's a tad nervous, but more excited at what lies ahead for her. She's just such an easy child, always has been. She hasn't complained a bit because she knows this move is positive and that's what she chooses to focus on. I am so proud of her! I know she will do well.

Trip to Alabama!

The trip to Alabama was waaay too short, but oh so much fun! We were nervous about making the trip without Ashley in the back to help entertain Alex, but somehow we manged to have a fairly laid back trip. We hit a "boulder", as Mark would say, around Waco and ended up having flat. It wasn't all that bad though, daddy was our superhero and we made it to Alabama safe and sound. By the time we got there Frank, Nicola and Wilbur had already arrived and we were greeted by the whole crew. Grannie Frannie, Papa Jack, Mamaw, Both uncle Franks, Nicola and our sweet Sissy!! It was soooo good to see miss Ash after a whole week of being away from her. Alex would NOT stop hugging and kissing her, he hung off her leg like a little monkey. It was precious!
This was our first time to see the property in the summertime, it was so different! Gorgeous! The trees were lush and shaded so much more of the property than I realized they would. The trails seemed so far away from civilization with all the cover. It reminded me a little of the trails we hiked at Devils Den in Arkansas. We got to see all the new ducklings and a flock of traveling geese. Dudley and Sadie had so much fun tormenting the geese and wading in the pond, it almost seemed a little cruel to bring them back to our small yard. The kids had so much fun hanging out with everyone. Ashley is still telling Papa Jack stories, which we have found so intriguing that we all agree he should write a book...or two.
The last day we were there we talked with Mamaw quite a bit about her childhood and then some about her raising kids in a small town. I just loved talking to her and hearing about how things were back in her time and how it was to have so many siblings growing up with a family store. I loved listening to her talk. I wish we could have talked more, her stories were more interesting than many books I've read. We'll have to make a point to continue those conversations another time. :)
Fran's cooking was OUTSTANDING as always and I managed to make it home with two new recipes! We had such a relaxing time just hanging out enjoy the presence of family.