The End Has Passed, The Beginning Has Now Begun

Yes, we have had quite a crazy past couple of weeks.  I have a lot to write about but not so much time to capture my thoughts with precise words, but I'll try to begin with today and recap a few highlights later this week.

Track out came to a close late last night when the last little Colony member finally gave up and went to sleep at nearly 10pm last night.  (Jude gives a whole new meaning to persistent!)

It's funny to see how differently the kids have reacted to going back to school.

Areyna broke down crying 3 times yesterday just thinking about beginning 5th grade.  It's the stigma.  FIFTH just sounds so much more intimidating and scary.

Zeke was so antsy.  Only nervous because it was the first day, but not his normal dread and fear that usually overtakes him.  That's progress!  He finally gets to move "up stairs" to second grade this year!  We are SO proud of his progress last year and if we didn't have confirmation enough that we made the right decision to hold him back last year...

His teachers literally cried when they saw this progress!

Alethia was super excited to see her friend Madison and go to school.  There was no hesitation from this girl to tackle another year!

Cai wasn't looking forward to school, but as soon as we got to his class to drop him off and he saw his friend, Jordan, he refused to come back for a goodbye hug from us, ha!

Jude walked the halls with his little book bag on wondering which class would be the lucky one to have him:(  Poor guy is gonna be stuck with mama for another year.

There were no tears at all this morning, except when Cai was scouring the house for his infamous green jacket and long sleeved shirts, ha!

Jude helped me get started on the grass mowing but eventually came on inside and made himself lunch.  It consisted of a nectarine, blueberry coconut yogurt and my mom's homemade hot chocolate mix (in a bowl of course).  Hey, it was mostly nutritious AND I didn't have to fix it or clean it up (he's pretty good about putting his dishes in the sink)...that's considered a WIN in my book!

Now we are sitting here anxiously awaiting the return of "the kids", as Jude refers to the other Colony members in bulk, to see how their first day was.