Second Grade is Now in Session

These photos are from the Open House last week.  I can't believe Katelyn is going to be in 2nd grade.  It really blows my mind!  I also cannot believe that the summer is over.  It seems like yesterday we were driving by Poppy's house and I was admiring the spring apple blossoms.  How is it September now?  We did have some good times this summer, but wow it went way too fast.  

Katelyn was ready to go to school today.  She was a little nervous, but I think meeting her teacher, Mrs. Rich at open house last week calmed her nerves.  She has many old friends in her classroom, most notably Nathan and Anna.  I am sure she'll make lots of new friends as well.  She is kind of a social butterfly that way.  Her teacher seems very sweet, and I think Katelyn is going to really fit well in her classroom.  

Our Katelyn is really growing both physically and emotionally.  She has blossomed into being a great big sister to Emma Mei.  I hear myself in her a lot when she is telling Emma things.  She'll explain to Emma that we are going to the zoo, but that we have to go to the store first.  It is funny to listen to them play and talk.  We have had a lot of the normal girl ups and downs.  We did have a week of "reform" school here at home where we were writing down things we were thankful for and memorizing a couple of verses in hopes of correcting some bad attitudes.   I felt like the super nanny or something.  But things turned around and the last couple of weeks have been great.   She is such a sweet girl, and I love watching her grow.  It is an honor to be her Mom.  She is a pretty special kiddo.   I will miss her when she is away at school, but I am happy for her because she loves it so much.   

I have been meaning to brag on Katelyn for her giving to the orphanage project, which Mom is still trying to raise the funds for.  She decided on her own that she wanted to give some of her birthday money towards the incubator.  It was neat, because she had saved up some money all winter for a bike, and the bike ended up being on sale.  She saved exactly the amount of money on her bike that she was giving towards the project.  Talk about seeing quick rewards for her generosity.  It made me proud that she was willing to give from her own money to something besides her own self.  

For her birthday, we were up north and we used some free passes that we had to go to the water park in Mackinac.    We all loved the lazy river, especially Emma, who called herself a little froggie and hopped through the lazy river with her frog life jacket on.  Katelyn made me ride all of the slides with her, but she and Dad went down the humongous speed slide!    The video of it is hilarious.   Josh wasn't too sure on his first time down!   Crazy Emma girl loved the wave pool too.  She would just get on the tube and let the waves knock her over, and then she would just laugh and do it again.   The water park made for a good birthday event for our family.  We didn't really have a big party, just lots of little celebrations here and there with family and friends. 

For the American Girl doll lovers, Katelyn used her birthday money to buy the Kit doll.  Mom loves the Kit doll, so it makes me happy too!  Gosh, I would have the whole collection if I could!  We loved the Kit movie this summer.  It is such a great film to help kids understand how it was in the Great Depression.  It was neat, because I was able to tell Katelyn how her great grandpa caught a train out west with his brothers when he was only 11 or 12 to go work on a ranch, because they didn't have enough money.  Papa told us a little bit more about that story when we asked him about it this summer.  It was such a hard time in our nation's history, but the stories that come out of the hardship are so amazing to me.  

That is my "All about Kate" post for now.  I will share pics from this morning if I can ever find my card reader!  By the way, we are still using our weekly organizer for clothes.  It helps the mornings go so much better!