Ready for 1st Grade

We went yesterday and got Noah all registered for 1st grade at Foothills Elementary School. He is very excited to start school and make new friends. Yesterday was registration and tomorrow is Open House where we will get to tour the school and also find out who his teacher will be. We took him to pick up his school supplies a couple of days ago and he was very happy to find a Star Wars Clone Wars backpack at Target to carry his things in. I love how excited he is to be starting back to school and back to learning. We have been reviewing what he learned in Kindergarten to be sure he hasn't forgotten much and he seems to have retained all his sight words and all the basics. We also checked out a preschool for Rachel at a local Methodist church and were pleased with what we found there. We have her on a list to be contacted when an there is an opening for her. She will attend 2 days a week from 9 to 2 and she also seems excited about the prospect of going to school. Kate is doing well and growing everyday. I can't believe how much she has grown just since we have been in Tennessee. She is weighing around 13 pounds now and is on the brink of rolling over from her back to her belly. She is a happy baby and smiles all the time now. =)

Dollywood

Noah letting you know that he had just gone on his first roller coaster -ever. The Thunderhead at Dollywood. He was soooo excited!

The Mystery Mine

Doug, Rachel and Kate waiting patiently on us to go on the Mystery Mine.

Mystery Mine Coaster

Photo of Darla (Grammy), Noah (with his 'scared to death' look on his face) and me happily screaming on the Mystery Mine... man, I love roller coasters! When the ride pulled in afterwards Noah said "That was AWESOME!!!". That's my boy!

Noah and Rachel playing at the splash pad in Dreamland Forest in Dollywood.

Rachel and Kate sporting new sun shades.

Noah and Grammy riding the ferris wheel.

Doug and Rachel riding the ferris wheel.

The five of us =)

In front of the Mystery Mine.

Noah very excited after riding the Mystery Mine.

More splash pad in Dreamland Forest.

Baby Kate waiting patiently at the splash pad for the kids to play. She had an awesome day - it could not have gone any better with her! =)

Grammy and the girls.

Noah and I riding on these flying boat swingy things...

The train ride at the end of the day. It was an awesome day. The kids did so good. I think it was everything we thought it could be. We hope to head back and enjoy it again soon.

Day at Grammy & Papa's House

The kids have a lot of fun playing over at their Papa and Grammy's house. Papa lowered the basketball goal to 8 feet and Noah has been really loving shooting and making baskets. He might have finally found his niche in sports as far as what he loves doing. His daddy couldn't be happier about it either - Doug loves basketball to and would love to see Noah grow to love it. He has really improved since he first picked up the basketball Easter weekend. Rachel enjoys riding her bike and the pedal BMW. It is such a blessing to be able to pick up and go see grandparents whenever we or they call... It has been a long time coming and the kids are loving seeing their family often. I'm so glad we were able to give them that and also that they will grow up with that being the 'norm'. It is truely a blessing to have our family back so close in our lives.

Old Friends and New Friends at the Splash Pad

We met up with a good friend of mine from highschool today to play at the Splash Pad with her daughter Alexandria (Alex). Chris, Emma, Chloe, Noah, Rachel, Kate and I all loaded up into the explorer and headed over to meet Alex and Renee and the kids played in the water for a while before we headed over to McDonald's (can't these kids ever pick anywhere else to eat? I mean, really?) for lunch. Alex is just as cute as she can be and I know the kids enjoyed playing with her. I wish our kids hadn't been so tired from staying up so late last night while having an impomptu sleepover while the old(er) [ha ha] folks played cards. The two middle girls didn't play too long - they were so tired and they wanted to sit all wrapped up in their towels. Noah, Emma and Alex seemed to really enjoy playing in the water and with the water cannons. Kate slept through most of our day. It was great to catch up with Renee and meet Alex - I hope we'll see more of them very soon!