Before we knew it, the summer had flown by, and it was time to go back to school. August brought a new school year, our little caboose turning FOUR, the start of another soccer season, and plenty of other fun moments. Here’s the recap:
August 1st was a Sunday, and the kids were excited to see Cici’s new bunny, Clover, after church. I think this was the first time they had met him.
Brooklyn was so excited!
Cici had a “back to school” celebration for the kids with school supplies for the upcoming year. Even Abigail got some stuff!!
Showing off her loot :)
Mrs. Curry sent home an optional packet of worksheets for Savannah to do over the summer if she wanted to. She pulled it out a few times all on her own. My little studious child!
August 2nd was Open House Day at Mill Creek! Brooklyn and Savannah both drew pictures for their new teachers :)
Our time slot was from 3pm-3:45pm, and we ended up walking there with Sarah and her family and locking our stroller up outside the school. We got there a few minutes early, which I was glad about because they opened the doors a few minutes early too. At that point (in the day), masks were still optional, and I’d say about half of parents/students/teachers were wearing them and half were not. We wore ours some of the time, but took them off for pictures and in some of the classrooms.
We met Mrs. Pride first. She seemed so sweet, and her classroom was so cute.
Savannah found her desk, and we got all her supplies sorted and put away. She acted pretty shy and didn’t want to look at Mrs. Pride or talk to her very much, but she did give her the picture she’d drawn. Savannah was excited to see her friend, Lilliana, who is in her class again this year.
Next, we went to Mrs. Prevatt’s room. Brooklyn is excited to be upstairs for the first time ever!! Her room is on the 3rd/4th grade hall…so I guess that makes Brooklyn officially a big kid. My first impression of Mrs. Prevatt was that she seemed very outgoing and a lot of fun. She had books set up all around her room, which is perfect for our little bookworm ;) Both the girls’ teachers were virtual teachers for the entire year last year, so they are both very excited to actually have kids in their classrooms this year.
Ready to be a 3rd grader!!
We had some time to spare, so we hurried to see if we could catch the girls’ teachers from last year too. Brooklyn was excited to give Mrs. Borys a hug. She moved up to teach 3rd grade this year, and we were really hoping Brooklyn would get her again, but it didn’t work out :(
It was so wonderful to see Mrs. Curry too!! She is still teaching kindergarten this year, but had moved to a different classroom.
After Open House, we hurried home to change clothes, and then we ate dinner at Chick-fil-a before driving to Vinemont to hear John Pollard preach in a gospel meeting there. It was a late night getting home. When we got back in the car after the meeting, we had an email saying masks WOULD be required indoors at school starting Wednesday, the first day of school. I understood the rationale with the Delta variant going around, but at the same time, I was really hoping we would have a choice about the girls wearing them or not. Mostly, for Savannah’s sake, I thought it would help her so much to be able to see her teacher and friends’ faces, see their smiles, and facial expressions, and for others to see hers too.
August 3rd was our last day of summer break, and the girls were really hoping to swim one last time at the pool. Obviously, we could keep going to the pool for a while even after school starts back, but it gets much harder with school and soccer practices/games to work around.
We enjoyed our morning there!
August 4th was the first day of school! The girls were excited and a little nervous this morning.
They both picked out new first day of school shirts from Carter’s online. Brooklyn naturally wanted one with wild cats all over it :) She also wanted me to help pick out some shorts for her and told me, “Normally I don’t care about my clothes matching, but I do want them to match for the first day of school.” Haha.
Savannah picked out a shirt with school supplies on it. Pretty perfect for her! She also wanted to wear her hair in two braids today :)
Loved how this one turned out!
Ready for their big day!
Abigail wanted to be in a picture too ;)
We walked to school this morning, and it was a good thing we did because the traffic on Mill Road seemed to be back to pre-pandemic levels…haha.
I liked the welcome sign in front of the school…
Brooklyn wanted to wear her hair in a ponytail like she does every day, so after our pictures in the front yard at home, we put her hair up ;) I’m not sure her friends would recognize her without her ponytail!
We weren’t allowed to walk the girls into school this year (they limited it to only parents of pre-k and kindergarten students), so I asked Brooklyn to walk Savannah to her classroom. Benefits of having a big sister!! :)
The girls both had a great first day! Savannah said they hunted for a raccoon in her classroom today, and the raccoon left them treats…a Hershey kiss! :) Mrs. Pride’s room has a camping theme this year with a big reading tent, and she is calling the class “Mrs. Pride’s Happy Campers”…so cute. Savannah said she was happy to see her friends (Caroline, Lilliana, and Gabriella) in class, and she saw some other friends from last year at recess, and they all played together. She sat with Caroline and Lilliana at lunch, and I was so glad to hear that. This year they actually get to eat in the cafeteria…or at least it started out that way ;) Savannah said they had Spanish class and actually got to go to Senora Powell’s room for it! Savannah said Mrs. Pride was really nice, and she seems excited to be in her class. I was really proud to hear that she spoke up and told Mrs. Pride that she forgot to take her water bottle to the cafeteria for lunch, so Mrs. Pride was able to get her a cup of water instead. She struggled with speaking up and letting Mrs. Curry know what she needed last year, so I thought that was huge for the first day of 1st grade to do something like that!! I asked Savannah if she made any new friends today, and she said, “I think I made a new friend named Annie” :) I think Annie must sit nearby in the classroom.
Brooklyn ran up to me right after school and said, “Mommy, I made 2 new friends today!” No surprise there ;) Her new friends are Makayla and Savannah. I asked Brooklyn how Mrs. Prevatt was, and she said, “She’s really great and just a little strict.” She said she had a great day! She sat with her new friend Savannah at lunch and said they went outside for PE and recess. I was so glad both girls had a great day! Savannah held my hand most of the way home from school and told me all about her day…I’m soaking that up as long as she’ll do it.
I could tell Abigail missed her sisters today. She wanted me to play with her all day ;) We did a puzzle and played “camping” and “school” together.
We also ate lunch outside…
…which gave me a chance to admire how nicely our trees in the backyard are filling in. Abigail kept saying all summer she was going to kindergarten this year…haha…so I told her we would do Mommy homeschool instead. Hopefully she will get used to being home without them again like last year…and I’m sure we’ll find plenty to keep us busy over the course of the year!
Abigail and I walked down to the neighborhood playground on August 5th…
…and it made me happy to see Savannah reading to Abigail that afternoon after school.
I wrote this on August 6th: “The first week of school went well! Savannah was excited to get to sit in the reading tent and read with Annie on Friday. She worked with her group on building a catapult on Thursday, and she said they are sitting on the rug for their morning and afternoon meetings. They are already doing many things they couldn’t do last year because of the virus. So thankful for that. She is playing with old friends at recess, and I’m really glad that it’s going well so far, despite the fact that they are wearing masks. Brooklyn is enjoying her new friends, and she said she played tag with Sydney on Friday. She said Mrs. Prevatt told them on the first day that they wouldn’t have to do any work all week, so I guess next week they’ll start doing actual work instead of only fun stuff ;)”
That night, the girls spent the night with Cici, and Travis and I went on a “date” to Home Depot…haha. I was amused to find a bird roaming the aisles along with us ;)
The next day, Savannah helped me squeeze a lime for a new recipe I was planning to make for Sunday lunch–grilled corn on the cob with cilantro lime butter. It turned out really good!
We thought it was funny that Gabby was snuggling with the big cats on Brooklyn’s floor :)
Totally relaxed!
We met Mikayla at Zen Beri after school on August 9th so we could see her one last time before she went off to college. We enjoyed the frozen yogurt and catching up with her.
Abigail loves to draw and paint these days…
Savannah brought home her first “glow note” from school on August 10th!
A chocolate popsicle mustache and beard ;)
So silly!
We walked/scootered to school on August 12th…
Abigail loves for me to read her a story, and then she likes to “read” it to me afterward. It’s neat to hear how closely she gets the words right on some pages just by listening to me read it first.
August 13th was a Friday this year, and this was such a Friday the 13th thing to have happened. The school nurse called me at about 2:15 PM today saying that Savannah had been deemed a close contact of someone who tested positive for covid in her class. She told me I needed to come pick her up right away and she would have to quarantine away from school for 14 days, returning to school on August 30th. Ugh. Somehow we managed to avoid quarantining for all of last school year, and this year we only made it 8 days. We think it was a result of the seating arrangement at lunch in the cafeteria, but I’m not positive because they can’t give us any information for privacy reasons.
The girls ate a picnic lunch outside on August 14th.
Then, they enjoyed popsicles inside afterward!
Abigail turned FOUR on August 16th, and I put sprinkles in her cereal to celebrate :)
Funny story that is SO Abigail: I started singing “Happy Birthday” to her when she came out of her room that morning, and she exclaimed, “Please stop! Today isn’t my birthday, It’s TOMORROW.” Haha! She kept insisting her birthday wasn’t today even after I explained that it was. Finally, I told her that I guessed we’d have to just take her presents back to the store, and she quickly decided it must be her birthday after all. What a girl!
She got a really fun superhero kit from the Dyess family and was very excited to open it that morning.
August 16th was also the first day of Savannah’s quarantine/homeschool activities, so Abigail played with Playdoh while Savannah worked on schoolwork.
Spelling your name with Playdoh is more fun than writing it :)
One neat thing about Savannah being home from school was that she got to help make Abigail’s birthday cake!
Abigail requested a strawberry cake, and I decided to go with a box mix to make it easier–Funfetti strawberry with vanilla icing.
Of course, they added plenty of unicorn sprinkles to top it off! After lunch, we went on a bike and scooter ride around the neighborhood to get some energy and excitement out.
Mike and Angie also dropped off a sweet surprise for Abigail that afternoon. Mike’s birthday is also August 16th :) This was our first Crumbl cookie, and we are hooked! It was yummy!
The birthday girl was worn out by 4:45 pm from all the excitement ;) I loved her fuzzy sock and sparkly blue shoe combination.
I guess the nap helped her rest up for cake and presents that evening…
She ended up bursting into tears because she couldn’t figure out how to blow out her candles…
Thankfully, her big sisters came to the rescue!
Yum!!
After we finished our supper and cake, we Facetimed with Aunt Jenn and Champ, and Abigail opened her gifts. She got a new box of markers and some drawing paper from Jenn and Chandler, some candy and Pete the Cat books from Mommy and Daddy, and some homemade books from Brooklyn and Savannah.
The girls both made her a “learning book” teaching her letters and numbers and a coloring book. So sweet!
Cici also dropped off a gift (an Ariel nightgown…something she’d been asking for for months!) and some coloring books. Daddy tried to put the Ariel nightgown on, but couldn’t get it over his head ;)
Luckily, it fit Abigail much better!!
Even though Savannah was quarantining from school, Brooklyn still had plenty of company early in the morning. Savannah is our late sleeper of the three, but we can usually count on Abigail to be up early.
Gabby sat with Savannah in the recliner while she was reading a book that afternoon.
Brooklyn had her first soccer practice of the season on August 17th. She was excited to be on Coach Joe’s team again and be reunited with her friends, Harper and Madi, from the spring season.
Another day of quarantine school on August 18th – thankfully, the workload that Mrs. Pride gave us was very manageable.
Abigail liked having her own “work” to do while Savannah was busy. This particular morning, she was tracing letters in the book that Savannah made her :)
I thought this picture was so sweet :)
Savannah left this note for Brooklyn on her pillow that said: “I miss you when you’re gone.” I know she was wishing she could be at school too!
I took Savannah to get a COVID test done on August 18th. By then, it had been 6 days since her exposure at school. She tested negative, which unfortunately didn’t allow her to go back to school any earlier, but it did allow her to participate in her soccer practice later that week.
We drove to drop Brooklyn off for school on August 19th.
Savannah’s activity this morning was making a big number line on the floor and using it to practice addition and subtraction.
I loved her answer to her journal question for that day about “Why do you think people get gray hair?” :)
She also followed a directed drawing video and made this flamingo wearing sunglasses.
On August 20th, we went to the neighborhood playground after Savannah finished her schoolwork.
After the girls played for a few minutes, we kept going on a scooter/bike ride around the neighborhood. Abigail really enjoyed having Savannah around to play with during her quarantine.
Savannah was glad to be able to be at her team’s first practice that evening. She was on Coach Mary Jane’s team again this season with Gabriella, Felicity, and Taylor from her team in the spring.
Brooklyn and Savannah drew pictures and cut them into pieces to make a puzzle for each other to put together. I thought that was a fun idea!
We celebrated Abigail’s birthday at Cici’s on August 22nd.
She recruited some help blowing out her candles again this time ;)
She was excited about these sticky mosaic crafts and a stomp rocket for the backyard.
Abigail wanted to try it out as soon as we got home that afternoon :) It was a hit with all three girls.
On August 23rd, Jacob and Hannah came over after school to play with the girls in our backyard for a few minutes.
Savannah and Abigail did lots of painting and crafts on August 24th after Savannah finished her schoolwork.
Brooklyn had another soccer practice that evening.
On August 25th, Abigail played with Floof at the table while Savannah did her worksheets.
Brooklyn got a book making kit for her birthday (I believe), and she finally finished it, and we sent it off to be “published.” When the finished product came in the mail, she was so excited!! It looked just like what she’d drawn and written on paper but in book form.
I love how they included an “About the Author” section on the back of the book. This was such a neat idea! Savannah is wanting to make one now too.
Abigail and her friends learned about Esau and Jacob in bible class and acted out the story together :) Her teacher, Mrs. Leslie, shared the picture with us.
I took Savannah and Abigail on another bike/scooter ride around the neighborhood on August 26th, which ended up being her last day of quarantine school. She got to go back on school on Friday the 27th!
Brooklyn had soccer practice that evening…
Savannah made this card for her friend, Annie, while she was quarantining at home. I thought it was sweet!
This is how Abigail felt about Savannah going back to school the next morning ;)
At least she still had Gabby to keep her company!
Savannah ran super speed at soccer practice that night!
Both girls had their first soccer games of the season on August 28th. Savannah’s team actually played last Saturday, but Savannah got sick Friday night in the middle of the night with a headache and threw up, so she had to miss the game on 8/21. (She felt fine when she woke up the next morning, so we aren’t sure what was going on other than maybe she didn’t drink enough water at practice). Brooklyn’s game on 8/21 got cancelled because of rain…we got all the way to the field before they cancelled it though. It was one of those days!
This morning, Savannah’s game was at 8 AM, which was early but actually pretty nice because the field was still shady and it wasn’t so hot. Savannah’s team is the Mighty Mermaids again this season. Savannah played great! She told me this morning before we left the house that she was going to score FOUR goals today…haha. She didn’t quite make her goal, but she did score two! The first goal and last goal of the game. She ran super fast and did a great job on offense and defense. Her team scored a bunch of goals and definitely won the game, although I didn’t keep score.
Between Gabriella and Felicity who are pretty aggressive and have strong legs, I think the Mighty Mermaids are going to be pretty ferocious this season ;) The girls definitely earned their popsicles today!
Brooklyn enjoyed hanging out with Avery during Savannah’s game :)
Brooklyn’s team played at 1 PM today. It was HOT. They only have 8 girls on the team, and only 7 were there today, so they had no subs. I was so proud of Brooklyn for trying her best even though I know they were all tired out there by the end. Her team did great and won the game!! I don’t know what the final score was, but it was a definite win. A big deal since Brooklyn’s team didn’t win any games at all in the spring.
Brooklyn came close to scoring a goal and played good defense and made some nice passes today. She’s got several girls on this team who are really good at dribbling and shooting, so I think we’ve got a chance to win several more games if they play like they did today.
Of course, Abigail was practicing her skills on the sideline. She can’t wait to play soccer like her big sisters!
We finally got Savannah a booster seat, and she rode in it for the first time on August 29th. She was excited!
Travis went with Matt to the Coffee and Tea Festival in Huntsville after church, so the girls and I went out to eat with the Loveless crew at Zaxby’s. Love these kiddos!!
Gabby was “helping” me read my bible on August 30th ;)
Savannah came out of school that afternoon wearing a cute hat she’d made.
The girls were busy for a few days setting up another carnival in the playroom upstairs. The first time they tried this several months earlier, things got a little out of control ;) So they came up with a bunch of carnival rules….some of which cracked me up.
Once they explained all the rules to us, it was time for the games to begin!
I didn’t get a picture of us actually doing the activities (I was too busy…haha), but we had fun. Daddy especially enjoyed the back rub part :)
It was a fun way to end the month!
Notes and Quotes from August:
- 8/3/21 – Abigail: “Where’s my notebook?? I thought I just had it!” Me: “Here it is on the couch. You left it right here.” Abigail: “That’s a good eye, Mommy!”
- 8/5/21 – Abigail: “When is it going to be lunchtime? My belly hurts! My belly only has trash and toilet paper in it.”
- 8/6/21 – Abigail informed me tonight that she wants us to start calling her “Ab” instead of Abigail….haha. I think she forgot the next day because I’ve kept on calling her Abigail and she hasn’t corrected me ;)
- 8/8/21 – We were talking about the 17 time periods of the bible because Brooklyn and Savannah are learning the song that goes along with it in bible class. Savannah told me that she knows all the ‘emotions’ that go with the song. I think she meant “hand motions” :)
- 8/9/21 – Abigail calls Fritos “tacos”…she told me to eat all my tacos at lunch today!
- 8/9/21 – We were tucking Savannah in for bed, and she asked, “If I accidentally kiss a boy on the lips, does that mean I’ve married him?” We told her “no”, and she said, “Okay, that’s good. I can kiss you then, Daddy.” (I think she was worried she might kiss his lips by accident and then be married to him…haha!).
- 8/10/21 – The girls got $2 each from Cici for helping wash our van during their sleepover last Friday night. Brooklyn put it together that Abigail had cash lying around, and she decided to write and illustrate some books after school and see if “anyone” wanted to buy them. You could just see the wheels turning in her head. After all the transactions were over, Abigail was thrilled to have 2 little coins left, and I guess she’d given about $1.50 of her cash to Brooklyn in exchange for 2 books. Ha! I think it’s a rite of passage with older and younger siblings ;) Brooklyn is an entrepreneur at heart and always looking for ways to make money. (Travis later told her to return the money and to let Abigail barter with candy if she wanted to buy something).
- 8/11/21 – Brooklyn: “When I grow up, I want to live on a farm and build a little cabin, and own my own bookstore and have a rabbit that lives in the bookstore and a dog that lives in my home. But I’ll always lock the doors so no one can steal my bunny.”
- 8/23/21 – Abigail: “Mommy, how old are you?” Me: “I’m 34.” Abigail lets out a loud gasp. Me: “Is that really old?” Abigail: “That’s like Abraham and Sarah!”
- 8/27/21 – Savannah got to go back to school today for the first time in 2 weeks! She was excited but also said she wanted to keep doing “homeschool” with Abigail and me at home. We told her it was great that she was happy no matter where she does school…she has had a great attitude and been very flexible!! A good lesson for us grownups ;) She did get to do some fun stuff that she wouldn’t have been able to do if she’d been at school…like painting, going to the library, helping make Abigail’s birthday cake, and lots of playtime with Abigail. So there were some perks of quarantine! Her schoolwork was mostly worksheets and videos and a couple of SeeSaw assignments and generally only took an hour or two per day. Not too bad! She was happy to see her friends and Mrs. Pride again today and said it was the best day! She played “mermaids” with two of the girls at recess, and they had a special fruit salad snack too.
- 8/28/21 – Abigail drew a picture of our family, and the people had heads with smiling faces and legs and that was it. I asked her, “Where are our arms?” She said, “Oh, I didn’t draw any arms.” “You didn’t give us any arms??” I asked incredulously. Then Abigail covered her mouth and replied, “I’m SO embarrassed. Let me draw us some arms.” Haha :)
Thanks for reading!
