Before School, There Will Be Fun

So, a couple of things happened before school started this year. 

First, Grandma Yoh has started a tradition of taking the girls shopping for their first day of school outfits.  Sometimes they end up coming home with more clothes.  But they always come home having had a lot of fun.  Grandma spoils them and indulges them just as grandmas are supposed to do.  And they love being with her – crafting at her house, shopping at the store, or even helping sort office supplies at CAMO.  These are one of the bonus buys from this year’s shopping trip – pjs to match their dolls!

Second, I try to let the girls pick one or two things they would like to do before school started.  Madison really wanted to go antique shopping.  They both wanted a treat/cupcake from Faithful Little Cupcake.  I took them on Monday, the week before school started.  Sad news for all of us, all the antique stores AND Faithful Little Cupcake were closed on Mondays! Ugh.  Disappointment all around.  We regrouped, checked their hours, and went back on Thursday.  Madison had fun; I enjoyed the first two shops; and Ellie sacrificed a morning for the team.  We all enjoyed the treat that followed – Madison got raspberry lemon cupcake; Ellie chose a cookie dough cupcake; and I had (boring, old) wedding cake cupcake. 

Third, they moved back into a sharred room.  Last summer, we moved their furniture and painted walls to give them each the space they wanted.  This summer, they imagined how cool it would be to share a room and have a special doll corner in a play room.  So, reluctantly, I agreed.  It felt like an overwhelming task to tackle right before school started. (My room at school wasn’t even all put together yet!)  While Jeremy was out of town, we started the process.  I called in Sandy to help move some furniture.  The girls worked hard to move everything out of one room and into the other.  Then, two nights later, they put in more time to actually organize it.  It looks great.  They seem to enjoying sharing a room.  And the playroom has actually been used to play instead of just being a big toybox.  We’ll see what they want next summer…

      

Finally, I always have teacher work days before school starts.  Which means, the girls have to snjoy their last few days with someone else.  One of those days, they split their time between Grandma Yoh and Marianne, David, and Erin’s house.  They had a blast.  Grandma helped them stitch some stuffed bears together in the morning.  Marianne worked with them to make homemade playdoh.  Then, they hung out, road in the UTV with David and Erin to see the monarchs, bluebirds, and corn patches.  The second teacher day, Diane came over to play.  She usually has some adventure or craft for them.  This time they could spend $2 at MCC on treasures.  And they got to go to a new park in Wooster and to Acres of Fun to play.  Both days created such great memories for them.

         

I am so thankful for all the people that invest their time, love and energy into our kids!