Tonight was Back To School Night for Eli, so Eric picked up the kids and met me there.  We were excited to find out that a few of his teammates will be in his class, so hopefully that will make the transition easier! Plus, we were blessed with Mr. Pate as a teacher.  He goes to church with us, so Eli already thinks he's awesome. Eli was able to play in the classroom while we filled out paperwork and listened to the Mr. Pate talk about the upcoming school year.  Then it was time to head to the cafeteria for dinner provided by our church.  We enjoyed BBQ and visiting with Griffin!  Again, all the familiar faces helped ease our minds. After eating we sped to Wal-Mart with every other family in Warren County to pick up school supplies.  Then it was home just in time for baths and bed.  With Back To School Night, The First Day of School, and a birthday, we're in for a busy week!

One of the things on our Summer Bucket list was to play on the Slip 'N Slide.  Our dog mutilated ours, so on the way home from church, we stopped by the Dollar Store and picked up a new one for Eli.  We splurged a little and got the one that made a kickball diamond.  Eli LOVED it…for five minutes.  Then he wanted in the pull.  Ha!  I think next year we will have to get a group of friends together and play a game of baseball using it.  It was a fun little Sunday afternoon treat for the kids, and a great way to spend time together as a family before school starts this week.  Ya'll, I'm about to have a kindergartner!?!

Our church has hosted Vacation Bible School this week, and we have had such a fun time with the kids.  Our theme was "Weird Animals," so you can imagine all the creative things  OTHER teachers came up with.  I am so, not creative.  Anyway, last night was the big celebration, and my kids had a blast.  There was Hawiain Ice, Cotton Candy, Funnel Cakes, and Bouncy Houses.   As you can see, Ellie was a fan of the sweet treats while Eli was content to play with Griffin.  It was a wonderful and exhausting night which meant easy bedtimes.  Yay!

Despite Eli's expression of pure torture in this picture, these two cuties would like to wish a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Poppa and Granny.  It's a great day to celebrate!

My idea of the perfect summer treat is playing outside with these two babies… but I think that they would disagree.  They seem to have it in their heads that a popsicle is the best way to end an evening of fun.   I'm good with that as long as they have the same color.  If they get different flavors, my picturesque night turns into World War Three.  Ha!

Today was United Way's Day of Caring here in Bowling Green.  It's a city-wide initiative to volunteer and give back to the community.  My workplace had two projects, and I was blessed to help serve at one of our schools.  We painted bathrooms and stenciled cute, little paw prints (they're the Jaguars) on the floor. It was such a fun morning with my co-workers, and I feel so blessed to work with such caring, giving folks.  Tonight I get to teach at church and next week is Bible School.  With two little people running around, it's hard to regularly volunteer and help, so I am excited for these little opportunities when they come along, and I look forward to doing more and more in the future with my family!

I'm trying to soak in every last second of this summer, so after dinner each night I'm leaving dishes in the sink and toys in the floor, so that I can head outside for some one on one time with the kids. On the one hand, the mess drives my Type-A self bonkers, but on the other hand I know that these days are fleeting. Summer's warmth will give way to Winter's chill, babies will grow and life will keeping on moving, so I'm taking in every last drop because dishes can wait.  Tonight we went swimming.  Eli is braving the pool without floats, and Ellie loves to squeal and splash around.  These two are a delight, and I'm pretty sure that they get their love of water from me! Ha! Of course no summer night is complete without a popsicle, so we have to indulge every night before heading inside for baths…cause, why not?!