Lily Goes to 1st Grade!

And just like that......Lily has started first grade!  Today was the day and this little lady was practically bursting with anticipation! All morning she kept asking me, "Mommy, is it time to go to school yet?" I have to admit, I LOVE watching my girls grow up and open new chapters.  I LOVE IT!  This little girl was ready......so was her Momma!

I feel like first grade is a really big year for a kid.  Its funny that I say that because I cannot for the life of me remember my first grade teacher, but its big. It's the bottom of this big ladder of learning and it just feels really significant and important.  She has so much to learn and so much knowledge to gain. Knowledge is power....great power and this is the beginning of all that.  It all matters now.........No pressure kid.

Lily's personality is every bit as big and bold and daring as it ever has been, but Lily Lou is cautious.  She wants to do well, but doesn't leap without knowing how things could go.  The kid is fearless, but she is calculating.  She is bold, but must choose to be so.  Her heart is brave, but she needs affirmation.  She is determined......and when she sets her mind on something.....that's it.  Gosh her life is going to be so full of adventure but perhaps with a few less broken bones than her sister.

There is no doubt that it is time for school to start.  My girls are amazing playmates, but they are also excellent sparing partners.  The summer has been long....and short......and then long again.  They need a break from each other and are so happy to be getting back to their own posse's of friends.  

We all walked Miss Lily to school this morning and I will admit that I couldn't wipe the smile off my face.  People keep telling me that "It just goes by so fast."  Okay....I get it, but when your children are screaming and fighting and you are exhausted from refereeing all day, the start of school and new chapters is like a shining beacon reminding you that maturity is a beautiful thing.  I love that my girls are growing up.  It does go fast, but it also goes miserably slow and I for one embrace every chance to move forward.  Life is SO worth living and doing!

Lily walked right in to the crowded playground and found her friend crew.  There was no hesitation or fear.  She is ready and wants her time to go.  Little Evie found herself a sad lip this morning.  She would walk right into first grade too.  Don't worry wee giant.....your time is coming.

Lily, I am so proud of you little girl.  I am so excited for the year ahead of you and for the things that you are going to learn and do.  You are amazing and special.  Jesus created and incredible being in you.  You are full of love and compassion.  You understand injustice and push against it.  When I look at you I see the best parts of me and the best parts of Daddy all wrapped up in a special dose of Lily Grace.

You little girl are brave, bold and fearless.  You are a world changer and destined to do great BIG things.

You are Lily Grace Longmire........go and do you kid. (And don't forget me when you travel to China ;))

Happy first day of First Grade!

Memories on Myrtle

AHHHHH, Myrtle Beach.  What a fun, incredible and memorable few days.  We drove the 3 hours down to South Carolina with a car full of excited kids and adults.  Grandma Lynn and Grandpa Bob met us and were greeted with hugs and so much joy I still am not sure who was more excited!  We raced up to our lovely 10th floor condo, dropped all of our bags and got to the ocean as fast as possible.  My Lily Grace was practically floating with anticipation and she and Grandma raced to the water.

This little girl should have been born with fins (oh how she would have loved to have been a mermaid!).  The water is her second home and she just loves it.  The waves were crashing and Lily was simply squealing with joy.  

Evie, Jess and Nathan were not far behind.  Evie was ready and willing to go anywhere in that water as long as she had an anchor to hold.  Jess and Nathan had to warm up to the water a bit, but soon enough all of us were soaking up the salt water and smiling.......making memories to last forever.

We only took a short break from the water in order to build a castle and bury a few precocious little girls.  Everyone had their jobs from the engineers, to the water carriers, to the hole diggers and of course the ones there to make trouble (Starts with E, rhymes with Peevy.)  Everyone had a blast!

Uncle Bob was amazing and spent the majority of his first night playing with each of the kids in the waves.  Any fear any of them had was easily erased when Uncle Bob took them for some wave surfing.

I love this picture above because I managed to get everyone (except me and Brent-who wasn't there yet) in it.  We all traded between water and land.  The first night was a BIG hit.

To top it off, Grandma made her famous spaghetti which is like GOLD around our house so my kids were in heaven.  Everyone ate and we all found our beds.......more playing to do tomorrow!

We were up bright and early with anxious beach kids who couldn't wait to get back at it.  We enjoyed our legos, ate breakfast, and readied the wagons for the next trek to the beach.  Grandma Lynn and I decided the kids needed some boogie boards so we made a Target trip.  I am so glad we did because they LOVED THEM!  

This picture tells you all about Lily's day.  This kid was non stop.  She got to the beach at 8:30 and did not leave until 5.  All of the other kids were up and down from the condo.  They were in and out of the pool, but not this girly.  From sun up to sun down she did the ocean.  In the middle of the day when all of the other kids were going to go up the the condo for lunch and a rest her question was, "Why?" Why in the world would anyone waste time on those endeavors when there were waves to surf?  The kid is a stud.

The big highlight was the Banana Boat ride.  Oh man were all the kids excited.  Granpa splurged on us and we all went on this grand adventure.

Nobody fell off and the consensus was, "Lets do that again!"

Lily ended up so sunburned and exhausted and hot.  The poor kid even blistered her ear.  At night when bed time happened she ended up like this because Evie was being to squirmy and refusing to leave her alone.  Geez.....you know she was tired to choose that set up over that bed!

Our time was filled with fellowship, family and fun.   We built castles and played in every water we could find.

On our last day, Grandma pulled out the AMAZING NASA kite and the wind was just perfect for it.  All of the kids flew a kite and I won't tell you how many of us found ourselves singing, "Let's go fly a kit! Up to the highest heights!"

For a final Hoorah, Grandpa, Bob and Brent wrangled all of the kids to the ice cream shop for a sweet treat to top off the trip.

Brent and I ended up in only a handful of pictures, but I promise, we were there too!  Myrtle Beach was the stuff of memories and goodbyes were filled with smiles and tears.  Family is truly a special thing and our time together was very sweet.