Transitions....

Well we are a month into the school year and there are many things a changing…..We have had several transitions happen some smooth others a bit bumpier…..but we are charging forward and taking it all one day at a time……

Brooke –
She has started full days at school and it is running smoother than expected. We have more time in the morning, which is surprising and odd, she never complains about getting dressed, has actually on some occassions started making her own breakfast, and is happy more often than she is not.

She loves her teacher and has started some new things, she loves the writing and reading and has started taking French, so each night at dinner Chris and I are getting schooled on how to say “stapler” and “ruler” in French, things that I am sure will come in handy J But it is exciting to see her recap learning with a smile.
She has started up soccer again, this year she is one of the older ones, however still one of the shortest. She is getting more aggressive, but more often than not she is the kid just running her heart out with a big smile and forgetting about the ball, perhaps we should think about track….
She gets to get a hot lunch one day a week and thinks it’s pretty cool to get her tray of processed slop and sit at the table with her peeps. Mom is still getting used to packing her lunch those other 4 days…….
She got a new grown up room, it is sort of an early birthday gift but she really wanted a loft and a desk and we finally got it up and the room semi put together, I just hope she remembers this was her birthday present when it finally rolls around J

Brady –
Brady has transitioned to his Pre K room at daycare and it freaks me out to think that he possibly will be heading off to elementary school next year, I think that will be a bigger transition for mom than son.
He has also started a new session of gymnastics and swimming lessons so he is enjoying those and has requested that he play soccer or t-ball in the spring……here we go……duo sports with duo kids…….
Brady finally gave up naps this summer, but he still will wave the white flag if we have been going too hard…..

Big news at our house hold is Brady has FINALLY transitioned to undies overnight! This might not seem like a big deal…..but trust me those sheets that have been washed daily and literally only have 2 thread counts left on them think it is a very big deal…….Man it took him a while, but just like that one day he got new Spider man sheets for doing it a couple days in a row and then hasn’t looked back.
He has also recently befriended a boy in the neighborhood who is also super hero obsessed and is breaking out of his shell asking for play dates waiting on driveways until he gets off the bus from school (he is actually in Brooke’s class), constantly asking do you think he is home, can I do that with him and not you mom…. but the two of them are hilarious and he wants to do EVERYTHING with him – so it is nice to see him “initiate” his social surroundings…..

Mom and Dad…….
Dad is helping out assistant coaching Brooke’s team
Dad is a Lions season ticket holder (I know I know I am shaking my head too…)
Mom is picking up two other companies to work for and is quite busy transitioning those.
Mom has started her second annual US Weekly fantasy league (the boys can’t have all the fun!)
Mom and Dad are heading out tomorrow for a trip to Cali and transitioning the Grandparents into their new schedule as I type this!

First day.....First Grade.....

"It was AWESOME and my teacher is GREAT!" were the words that were SCREAMED to me as she came running across the street to greet me when I got home from work.... so the first day came and went like business as usual. Ironically enough this morning we had MORE time to ease into the day than we normally did when she went to daycare prior to her half day.....so actually I don' t think the transition will be bad she was dressed, ate breakfast, teeth brushed, complained about her shoes only 4 times (that's good folks!) with 20 minutes to spare.....and then I heard this for the next 20 minutes....... "can we go now......I think we should leave now......is it time to go yet.......I think school is already starting......... So here are a few pix of Brooke and her first day........

Her Locker......

wasting time before we left.....

Strike a pose...

Her new back pack in tow....

As we lingered  she quickly asked us to leave because the teacher told her to start drawing........what a stickler for the rules- Gheez!

Annual Apple Photo.....

I swear she does these poses on her own........haha.

Her new desk....this was her favorite part.......she said she opened and closed it about 100 times.....


So at dinner I tried to recap the kids first days......Brooke talked for the entire meal, describing every inch of every detail of her day, and when I asked Brady what he did on his first day of his new class he said "I forgot" and that was it........opposite ends of the spectrum.........

Farewell to Summer

We got an opportunity to spend one last day out at the beach over Labor Day and bid Summer goodbye. We were able to do so much this summer and credit the great weather, great family and friends, and two kids who are usually up for anything! It was a great summer but I am actually welcoming the cooler weather and everything that fall has to offer!

Munuth Camping 2010

This was the second annual "Mun"son Dam"uth" family camping trip, hence the Mumuth phrase was born. This is a family that is so fun to travel with, the kids get along amazingly well and it just makes camping, which normally with four children in tow isn't ideal, easy and fun! We lucked out and had a gorgeous weekend, this first picture looks like an oops, however I just wanted to capture what we saw every ounce of every day
Blue as far as the eye can see.......
The Munuth Crew....


We tried out a new campground this year, it had all the fixings, pool, cafe, park, go-carts (really roughing it eh?) But it was nice to keep the kids entertained after they were exhausted from the beach......

We invested in a new smore maker this year.....

This is where we spent the majority of our days.....beautiful Pentwater beach, with barely a soul around, super warm water, dunes to be hiked, and four happy kids!

We played in the sand, wrestled in the water, introduced a new embarrassing game of Miniature Tanks, and took a lot of ridiculous pictures.....

This was Brady post beach/pool/candy store/car ride....poked and prodded at him for a 1/2 before dinner.....the poor guy was spent.....

Here was our campsite, randomly the campground was really vacant so we overtook three sites and got to really spread out!

We enjoyed late night Jiffy pop and sparkler treats!

And back to the beach for our final Hurrah....the kids caught fish in their nets, swam in the waves and took adventures in the dunes.

And the grown up played with our "action" photo setting on our camera......Sports Illustrated we ain't.

Another successful, fun filled, exhausting, sun stroked camping trip with the kids and worth every ounce of sweat and preparation that is involved with it.

Friday.

It is my favorite day, for many reasons:

#1 I don’t work on Fridays. It allows me to have a three day weekend EVERY. SINGLE. WEEKEND and I am grateful beyond words for that!

#2 It is the one day where it is an open slate with me and the kids. We could choose to add 101 activities to the day or stay in our pajamas until noon if we wanted to (which we do quite often)

#3 It gives me a chance to catch up, with my kids, friends, and with all the other things that were put off all week long.

Today however is bitter sweet. It is my last Friday with my Brookie. She has been half days for the last two years so I still got my morning with her. However, she is a big chick on campus this year and will be going full days for 1st grade. So as much as I dislike leaving my boyfriend behind it was a necessary evil to spend the day with my girl. We went school supply shopping, out to breakfast and lunch, picked out bedding and paint for her new room (her requested b-day present) we laughed, we joked, we watched a movie and just enjoyed each other’s one on one company! So Brooke I will miss you on our special day and look forward to June 10, 2011 where we will be reunited and have our Friday back.

One silver lining in this scenario is that for the school year I get all day every Friday with this chunk of goodness and I secretly can’t wait for that either!