Last pics of 1st day...

Emma and Addie........Emma was one of her friends from last year. They did not end up in the same class this year. Emma is also a twin with her brother Jackson...
Addie and Asher with their teacher, Mrs. Hicks!
Bay and his best friend Eli. As you can see, they are getting to be too cool for pictures. I think they were embarassed that their moms were doing this.
Bay with his teacher, Mrs. Clothier!

More First Day!

Bay.....look how tall he is. Isn't he just so handsome. This one's definitely going to be a heart breaker. He's so cute, but so shy. So into sports. But, he'll be such a catch. I'm so proud of him because he is such a great kid....smart, funny.....I could go on and on, but I'll share his night before school story. He and his daddy are in the floor reading a story about the night before 1st grade. Next thing I know Jody has his head down laughing. As you know, Bay finally lost a tooth this summer and it is somewhere in the bottom of the lake. Well at open house this year, Bay noticed that there is a tooth chart in his new 1st grade room. His daddy tried to pull his tooth, but Bay said "no," that he was going to pull it the first day of school so that he could be first on the tooth chart. Snort. He is so like me. He looks just like Jody, but he acts just like me. It's all about being first...Ha, Ha, Ha. I love it. He really had to think that through, you know? FYI, the tooth is not cooperating and it's still not out yet despite apples, etc.
Addie with her doll.....the things we do to encourage our kids. It is cute though, right? This little thing is in her back pack with her everyday.....
Group shot....

1st Day of School 2009

So, it's been an eventful week and I'm not sure how I feel about it. The kids started back to school on Wednesday....Addie and Asher for their first day of Kindergarten, and Bay a big first grader. They were all excited, but tired as you can tell from the breakfast pic. The night before Addie and Asher heard a story about the first day of kindergarten and Asher said "we still get to go to the playground?" Addie just kept repeating "I can't believe it's here, I can't believe it's here!" She said this even as we said prayers and I tucked her in. Ironic, because these were my thoughts exactly. I can't believe it's here. My babies are five and are big enough to go to school everyday. Ugh. Where has the time gone? They'll never be little again and I'm crying just typing it. They are so proud to go and I am so proud that they are brave enough to do it.......yet, there's that little piece of me that wishes they would need me to hold them forever. I will miss every second of it. Tears, Tears, Tears. If you see me, encourage me.......I need it!

Getting dressed....

Discussing the uniform options......not much choice, but we had to decide on the bow color....Ha!

Last Day of Summer......:(

Well, school started back a couple of days ago......but before I post those pics, a few from our last day of summer! The kids enjoyed Chick-fil-a for breakfast and then I let them decide what they wanted to do on their last day............all three chose putt-putt. Can you believe it? Literally we were the only people at putt-putt on Tuesday. I think Knox Co. started back on Monday, but I'm not joking when I say that the Farragut putt-putt looks the same way it did when we were kids. Sooooo old! No wonder it was empty! But, the kids loved it and we enjoyed having it all to ourselves! Just a couple of pics of the last day of freedom......

Asher with his first catch.....I should mention that, in the end, Asher caught two, Addie three, and Bay was getting so frustrated! Every time a fish would start to bite, he would jerk it so hard the fish would steal his bait. It's those baseball arms!

Bay, FINALLY, with his fish. Jody and I knew that if he didn't catch one things would get ugly. Luckily, he made a catch!!

Pic of Asher Guy.....apparently our big ol' dog knocked Asher over onto the concrete...I had been at a meeting, and when I came home, this is what my baby looked like! It took all I had not to take him to the ER. It was big and ugly, but has now gone away........last day of summer pics coming soon. I'm looking for tissues because the kids start school tomorrow. I don't know what it is about Kindergarten, but I always cry. ALWAYS. Tomorrow will be horrible. My babies are starting school. Gah! I'm old! They're old! Who am I and what am I going to do while they are at school?! Just being real ya'll....

Asher, in a moment of patience.......I'll keep this pic for solidarity and to prove it can happen....Ha!

Addie with her daddy. I love this picture. I just think it's so stinkin' cute to see her fishing with her big pink polka dot bow!

Addie beat both of the boys and was the first to catch a fish. This is a pic of her with the little thing....her very first!!!! She was so excited...I'm not quite sure if the excitement came from catching the fish or from beating out both of her brothers. They were so mad!

Asher touching Addie's fish before it was thrown back in. Gross.

Campin', Fishin', and Fallin'

So, summer is almost over and before I post our last day of summer pics, I thought I'd catch everyone up on what's been going on here at the Griffin house. A couple of weeks ago Jody's dad paid a visit and when he comes to town, that means camping. Now, you all know me...and you know I'm not a camper. So, it takes much for this city girl to put on "hang-out" clothes and sit outside with the bugs. Gah! Anyway, the kids look at it as an adventure, so I enjoy watching them take it all in! This campsite was down in Kingston on the lake. The kids enjoyed the hammock, fishin', homemade pizza, and bug bites. You will notice in this first pic that they created a pull system so that you could make the hammock swing while you are laying down.......note who's doing all the work?!?! Asher Guy seems to be enjoying himself :).

Smiling for mommy and actually trying to flip the hammock.....for some reason the thrill of the fall was exciting to them. No broken bones...yay!

Dinner by the lake....

Fishin' in the hot sun. Obviously Bay didn't catch anything! Check the next post though....lots of fish when the sun went down!

The Sunflower

Random post........the kids and I have been enjoying the beautiful weather that has finally arrived. We have been swimming as much as possible because, as you are probably aware, school starts back next week. Gah! I don't know about other kids, but mine are not very happy about it. It has been a long summer of sleeping in (Bay until 10 or 11) and spending many days just hanging out. I have learned that planning activities for the kids is sometimes too much, and all they really want to do is "hang out" and be kids. So, that has been our agenda. The other day we were enjoying the pool and I happened to be sitting in just the spot to see this beautiful sunflower in our neighbor's yard. Of course I forgot to take a pic the day I saw it and this was taken two days later after one of our many monsoons we've experienced. Never the less, I was amazed by it! It's not everyday you see something so large, so beatiful, growing next door! The first pic shows it over the fence...

A close up shot....the rain killed it, I think. I wish I would have gotten it in all of its glory.........certainly a sign of God's amazing artwork!

Sneaking over to the neighbor's fence, this one shows the height of the sunflower.....don't think I've ever been this close to one.

Asher Guy laughing at me taking a pic....