Happy Birthday Josh and Brennan

Today the boys are 17 years old...just in case you wondered why they are holding up 17 fingers cummuatively. It was a pretty low-key birthday as far as celebrations go, we are still recovering from last year's all-nighter and preparing for next year's celebration when they turn 18. Mag adds so much fun to every birthday. She just loves them, whether they are hers or someone else's is insignificant to her...She just loves to celebrate, so she had a great time picking out presents, cupcakes, cards, etc. When they got home today, she just could not refrain from telling them what she got them.....It just came pouring out in all her excitement. So, we celebrate Josh and Brenn today. They had a rocky start, but they are awesome big guys today. Oh, and the picture of Josh's back is of his attempt to shield Brennan from seeing what they had gotten from "Gammie and Scott". Every year, it seems, that one will get a card and the other will get his a day or two later...this year Brennan's is late, but it varies every year from whom and to whom the card is late. Oh, and Brennan is modeling his North Georgia College T-shirt, guess who that was from....

Daddy/Daughter Day Out

On Saturday Mark and Maggie headed out for a day on the town. As strange as it may seem, I just needed a day alone. It would seem that with sending Hayden off to college I wouldn't want to be alone, but my emotions were just drained, and I needed a day to recharge. So while the boys worked, Mark and Maggie spent some awesome Daddy/Daughter time together. They went to Imagine It (one of Mag's favorite places) then they went over to Centennial Park for Mag to play in the water fountains. With the unrelenting heat here, the fountains were real crowd pleasers. They ate at Chic Filet and then they got her some new soccer cleats, a new soccer ball, and a pink underarmor t-shirt. She is set. Tonight is her first soccer practice of this season. With Mark and the boys coaching her team, she will have a blast. So will they.

MAG'S SINGING DEBUT

In addition to Hayden going to college today, Maggie had her singing debut. Her Sunday school class along with a few other classes were scheduled to sing in church this morning. We had a few tears before we left for church, and then we had A LOT after we dropped her off in her class. She apprehensively walked into the auditorium and took her place on the stage. Despite the fact that she new all the words and accompanying hand motions, she looked like a deer caught in the headlights...at one point she put her little hands up to her eyes and wiped away a few stray tears. I took everything within me not to walk up there, put my arms around her, and take her off the stage...Nonetheless, she made it through both songs. She didn't sing, but she didn't cry either, and she didn't walk off the stage like Hayden did the first time she "performed" in big church. So we are proud of Maggie's accomplishment. All in all, this was a REALLY BIG DAY for all involved. Oh, if you can launch the video, note that they stuck Mag in between the "groove" brothers, so her performance, or lack thereof, is even more noteworthy.

Hayden's First Day of School

"Come mothers and fathers all over this land
And don't criticize what you can't understand
Your sons and your daughter are beyond your command
Your old role is rapidly aging
Please get out of the new one if you can't lend a hand
For the times they are a changing...
Bob Dylan: The Times They are a Changing

Well, it is finally here...the day I have been dreading...we packed the car and drove Hayden to college. She did great. I can't stop crying. It is like breaking up with someone that you thought you were going to marry.....I can't picture what life is going to look like with her not in it day in and day out.....I don't even know how I will make it to bed tonight, because I have to pass her empty room, and the thought of her not in it opens the floodgate of tears. I know this should be a happy occasion because this is what we have raised her for, but I can't help thinking about what I may have forgotten to tell her, does she know how much I love her, will she be safe, did I do everything I could possibly do?

On a lighter note, things sure have changed since I moved into my dorm room 25 years ago. Every room is equipped with Internet connectivity, they have a t.v., a refrigerator, and, of course, cell phones. The dorm had "IT" guys on hand to help the kids get their computers configured to work with the North Georgia System. Maybe the biggest difference was that each girl had a "goody bag" waiting for them on their beds...one of the things included in it was, well to put it delicately, "something intended to preclude someone from getting pregnant." We will just leave it at that. THE TIMES THEY ARE A CHANGING!!!! And on an even lighter note, I have to give Hayden "snaps" for wearing her peace shirt to the military college. That is my girl... Maggie starts preschool in T minus 17 days. Arghhhhhhh!!!!! I am not ready for all this change.

First Day of Ballet

Finally, after all summer, today is the day that ballet started again. Even bigger yet, Maggie's friend, Lia, got to join her. Lia waited all spring to be able to join the class....of course, Lia was much in control of that. She had to be potty-trained before she could join in. And unfortunately, Lia had her own time frame for potty-training, and it didn't quite sync up with the time frame that ballet was still in session. Soooooooo, several months later, the girls are finally off to ballet together.

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

Today is the first time since Hayden started kindergarten (and the boys were still preschoolers) that the three big kids haven't set out for the first day of school together. So we had our traditional breakfast casserole, which they ate alone, and then headed out for the annual first day of school pictures. AND, hip hip hooray, the boys are DRIVING to school for the FIRST TIME!!!!! After the past 3 years of the big kids fighting every morning over who sits in front, what time to leave, etc., the boys are in the driver's seat, literally. Well, actually just Josh is in the driver's seat, Brenn is still waiting to get the appropriate GPA in order to get his license. And as they are quick to point out, they are finally UPPER CLASSMEN. Stay tuned....Hayden leaves in 6 days and counting for her "first day of school." And then in 23 days, little Mag heads off for her first day of preschool. Life as we know it is about to change...

Playgroup Photo shoot

Today the some of the moms and little girls from our playgroup got together for a photo shoot to commemorate the end of summer. We tried to get the 4 and 5 year olds together for the occasion. It has been a remarkably temperate summer, but these past 2 weeks have been brutally hot. Today, with the heat index, it is between 105 and 110 degrees, and this is the day we picked to take the girls pictures. It is remarkable that any of them were smiling. By the end all that could be heard was the refrain, "Mom, I'm hot....mom, I'm hot, mom, I'm burning up." We made it through with no tears though, so all in all, it was a success.