I brought our parachute from school for the kids to play with. The adults had fun, too!

Here is my big kindergartner. All smiles~ as usual!

Carrie brought her tug-of-war rope from her school. So much fun!

Drew had fun with the balls. He said this is his "before" picture.

And here he is "after." Yes, he works in a middle school and yes, he is stuck at age 13!

Kelly, David, Jonathan and Jarrett. Jarrett will start kindergarten this year and Jonathan will be in 4th grade. They will both go to Kelly's school where she is the counselor.

Carrie, Matthew, Landri, Taryn and Kian. Taryn will start kindergarten at Carrie's school. Carrie is the PE teacher at her school. Matthew is teaching science at a local Jr. High. I don't see him with any balls stuck up his shirt! Maybe after a couple of years with Jr. High kids he will lose all his senses and join his older brother in his shenanigans!

Me, Drew, Bryson, Addison and Jackson. Jackson will be in kindergarten and Bryson will start 4th grade. They will both go to school with me. I am the PE teacher at our school. (We had some field day shirts left over from a couple of years ago, so I borrowed them for our picture! Don't we look like Skittles?!)

Gram and Papaw with the grand kids. Cheryl teaches at a school in our district. Thanks, Cheryl and Dick for a fun evening! Let's do it again soon!

Bryson (9), Jonathan (10), Jarrett (6), Jackson (5), Taryn (5), Landri (3), Addison (2), Kian (23 months) Don't we have the cutest set of cousins in the whole world?!

Cheryl, Drew's mom, had everyone over today for a back to school bash at her house. We ate hamburgers and hot dogs and played some games with the kids. We don't get together very often, so it was fun to be able to talk about the coming year and let the kids play together. We really should make a better effort to get together more often. We all live within about 15 miles of each other and only see each other 4-5 times a year. That's sad. Our kids are all cousins and I would really like them to have close relationships. I will try to work on this this year. Anyway, the kids played together real well and had a good time.

I am looking forward to the year starting so we can get back to a routine. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE summer vacation, but my kids do much better with a regular schedule. I am a happier person when I have a routine, also. The year will be busy. I will wish for time off. I will want things to slow down. But I am looking forward to a fresh start and a new beginning. (Plus, it gets me one step closer to retirement!!!) I would be lying if I said I didn't think about it often!!!

I will try to post as much as possible and hopefully with fun and cute stories. Here's to a GREAT school year!