Summer Break has ended....

And school officially began today! In some ways I was ready for Brooke to get back to school so that I could get back into the routine of things. Summer break was so fun and relaxing and my house has been screaming for somebody to take care of it. But, we've just been too busy relaxing and having fun to pay much attention to this dirty house.

The summer was quite eventful for us. Brooke and Connor both learned how to ride their bikes without their training wheels. We started off the summer with Brooke riding her scooter all the time because her bike was so slow with the training wheels. Connor zoomed around on his bike and Brooke could only keep up on her scooter. So, I decided that it was time for Brooke to learn to ride her"big girl" bike. Well, when Dale took her training wheels off Connor declared that he also wanted his off. I really discouraged this thinking that he was much too young but Dale went ahead and removed Connor's as well.

Brooke immediately did a great job and her confidence grew quickly. Connor also did very well as long as he didn't stop once he got going. He pretty much couldn't start himself or turn around. So, if he could just ride straight for forever he would have just been peachy. We quickly realized that he needed a shorter bike so that he could get his feet firmly on the ground. We went and bought a 12" bike and he literally zoomed around the neighborhood on the "ROCKET".

Well, I was out the other night and Dale sent me a text letting me know that Liam was now riding the Rocket (with training wheels of course) and Connor was back on his taller Diego bike. He simply need a week or two of getting really confident on the short bike and now he's back to the "big" bike.

Connor also learned to swim really well while we were in the Keys. Once again, it was just a matter of him needing to build up confidence. It took him about a day on vacation and ever since he has been jumping, diving and swimming all over the pool!

Brooke and I read two of the Little House on the Prairie books along with quite a few princess and fairy books. We finished, "Little House in the Big Woods" and "Farmer Boy". We are now reading "Little House on the Prairie". This has been a special time for us and it has really helped Brooke with her reading. One of the goals for this summer for Brooke was to really improve her reading and she is doing a wonderful job.

So, we dropped her off at 1st grade this morning with a very pregnant teacher. We are hoping that Mrs. MacDonald wants to come back after her maternity leave (that's the plan) but those sweet babies sure can change your mind! But for now, we've heard that Mrs. MacDonald is an awesome teacher and we hope her substitute is just as good. I'll be helping in the class every week so I'll have to let you know what I think. Maybe I should put my name in for substituting...okay, just kidding! I'm not that crazy! Besides, what would I do with my two darling boys?