6th & 3rd grades

Summer has officially ended and back to school time has arrived.  Emily was outwardly excited while Jacob was inwardly.  Today they start 6th and 3rd grades respectively.  I had them take our annual "hold up your fingers" picture as well as with some cute signs I found on a blog.  I also got the annual new shoes pictures.  Emily's are fairly new and still really white while Jacob's shoes are still in pretty good shape and actually still fit from the end of last school year.  I gave Emily a fancy new do for her first day.  Daddy and I drove them to school together and waved goodbye and they were off.  They are ready for a new year full of fun and learning.  We can't wait to see what this new year will bring.

Back to school prep

I love to hang all of the kids artwork up on the kitchen door.  After awhile the door gets pretty full.  With school getting ready to start it was time to remove last year's projects and clear the slate for what they will soon be bringing home.  The start of back to school also means the return of packing lunches.  I am positive that it won't take long for that to get old - a necessary evil!  I also cleaned their backpacks out - in Jacob's I found this little ribbon.  I asked him about it and he said that the kids in his class in 5th grade voted that being a sportscaster is what he will most likely be when he grows up.  They may be on to something.  Maybe one day he can hang this ribbon at his anchor desk!  

Puppity pup pup

Our sweet little Miley loves to cuddle up and rest her head and body on us.  Today she found her resting spot on Daddy's knee.  She really is a cute little dog.

Welcome back SUV

After a little over a year of being a two sedan car family we are happy to have an SUV back!  Today we traded in the Camry for a Rav 4 Sport.  The pretty red color didn't change.  We had been thinking about doing this for awhile and after looking awhile we happened to find a great 2010 certified used car.  We got a fantastic deal and trade in.  This will suit our family very nicely in the coming years and are thankful for it.

Fore

Jacob has been talking a lot lately about golf.  He wants to practice putting, he takes his clubs out in the yard and practices his swings.  Today his Papaw and Mamaw took him to play.  They said he played great - he even beat them!  He is such an athletic little guy!

Say it isn't so

Meijer is following suit with Kroger and ending their double coupon policy.  This couponer is none too pleased with this move.  Couponing has been a great way for our family to save money and pay off bills.  I'm so thankful that I stumbled across a local blog a few years ago as it's been a huge help to me.  Couponing has become a hobby for me.  When I see how much I save on my bill I am thrilled.  I will still coupon, saving the face value is still good, even if unfortunately it's not being doubled.

Sibling love

When I was cleaning dinner up tonight I happened to look over and see the kids sharing the couch so nicely.  There was no yelling or fighting.  Just space sharing and even Emily rubbling Jacob's head while she had her feet resting on his back.  Emily also had the remote!  I quickly captured this moment with my phone so I could remember that they really do love one another during the times when they are bickering and fighting with one another.  Overall we have more of these moments than not getting along with each other which I am very thankful for.

Aunt Jan's summer party

We went to Aunt Jan's this afternoon and evening for their annual summer party.  It was neat to see all of the Mullins' all in one place.  There was good fun, the sweet truck complete with sno cones, funnel cakes, chocolate covered cheesecake and lemon shakers (all so yummy!), and fishing with Grandpa.  It was a fun outing as always.

Frazier kids club night

Just so happened we had tickets on the same night as the kid's Reds Head Frazier figure night.  Frazier also picked the music for the fireworks night and it was a blast.  The kids loved the songs and the fireworks show.  Oh yeah, the baseball game was fun too.

Our little monkeys go to the zoo

On one of our last Tuesday of the summer we ventured out to the Cincinnati Zoo.  It was a beautiful day.  We toured the entire place and saw all of the exhibits.  We had a great day exploring and learning.