Another Summer with Frog and Toad

William's graduation invitation self portrait. 

I was on the fence about attempting to revive the summer blog this year since the boys are getting older and as Garrett mockingly lovingly reminded me, I was much more creative with our day-to-day summer themes and activities a few years ago. Pirate week? Arrrrrrv course! *pause for laugher... or groaning*

This year is a bit stilted as William's summer began Memorial Day Weekend and Colin is Still. In. School. I mean, seriously. He is finally done this Friday and I know we'll all be thankful. He's been a trooper listening to William detail his many day camp adventures while he still has homework and an 8 am school start. Though we all know his internal alarm clock is unflinchingly set for 6am, 5am when we're "lucky" so its not like we'd be sleeping in anyway.

So, in the immortal words of Inigo Montoya...

After five straight years of daily trips to and from Old Town, our time at St. Paul's Nursery and Day School has ended with William's kindergarten graduation. Excuse me as I grab some tissues to muffle my sniffle-sobbing. I won't even attempt to express what this school, community, family has meant to me. It was a shining beacon of new moms and future confidants for me when I feared I'd never again have friends after the island of isolation, diapers, bottles and spit up. Oh and its been a pretty awesome place for my kids too. Even now, two years after Colin's graduation, his best friends are those he met in Mrs. Land and Mrs. Phippen's class on day one.  Without further {emotional} ado here are a few pictures from the day...

We love us some Via!! 

Namma was the best surprise guest ever! 

Maybe next year Cupcake. #dontstopbeliveing

This year was our fourth annual Memorial Day BBQ and I must admit its getting easier with each year, though the rain made it more interesting. My inner event planner loves a good challenge and planning for 90 degree heat, a tropical storm and plummeting temperatures certainly kept us busy. Because we're both running around so much we hardly ever get any great party pictures but sweet Saint snapped this one. He's taken to getting a picture with Jim and Colin each year. Jim, once again smoked 3 briskets (his best ever!), 12 racks of ribs, pork butts and about 45 links of Kruez's sausage! One of these days the boys can help take over the bbq but until then they're happy to sample Jim's hard work.

10pm smoker check in

Prep work begins... food safety gloves and all!

Breakfast taste test! 

The peonies always bloom just in the nick of time. 

Let the games begin.

While Jim was in Vegas for his annual guys' baseball trip, the boys and I packed up and headed to the Northern Neck for a weekend at Namma's. Dominos, farmers markets, morning walks, learning to needle point (the boys, not me), the Crazy Crab, Chitterchats and Sunday in the pews at St. Mary's. It doesn't get much better than that... 

Its enough to make you pass out nearly the whole way home. 

Till Next Time, 

Mamma Toad

St. Paul's Graduation

We officially kicked off summer with Colin's graduation from St. Paul's. Its lucky (for you) that I'm writing this two months later because I was such a sappy sentimental mess that week this post would have been three times as long regaling countless example of why we love St. Paul's Nursery School and the amazing teachers and administrators who have become like family to us. *sniffle* Ok, I'm going to stop before I digress. 

Just going to post a few pictures from that day. Including two with Mrs. Raue, the beloved 4's teacher and school bus driver who is moving back to England at the end of the summer. I'm not sure who was more upset at her leaving, me or the kids? She is one in a million! 

And a brief thanks to amateur photog, Jim Morrell for the close ups of the boys, including the one of Colin I like to think resembles  JFK's official presidential portrait. Mom bias? I think not. Enjoy... 

 

Till next time, 
Mom to Frog and Toad

PS I'll have them "write" their own post one of these days. 

The First Day of School Arrives!

Will wants to be Han Solo when he grows up and
Colin wants to be a secret spy. 

Well this was a tough morning, I'm not going to lie. I am genuinely excited for the boys to both be in school together and I know how excited they are and I also realize its only three hours a day. Rationally I realize all of this but emotionally it was a little tougher. Didn't we just have these kids? How are they in school already? Luckily, Jim was there to help remind me this is a good thing and I was able to meet a couple of friends for coffee after drop off which all made it a little easier. We are so blessed to have St. Paul's in our lives. It is truly an extension of our family and has made it just a little easier to walk away from the boys knowing they are being given the best first experience with school imaginable. So thank you. 

Silly Faces!

Definitely my favorite of the first day pics! 

Huh. So after all that expelling of emotion its now time to pick up the boys. So that really wasn't much time at all. 

Playing in Mrs. Schafer's office before heading out.

As it turns out (no surprise) the first day was a big hit! Both boys had a wonderful time singing songs, reading stories, playing on the playground and Colin tells me he is starting to learn about sign language! He said that he liked all the new kids but doesn't remember any of their names and Will says he likes all the boys but doesn't really want to play with any of the girls. 

What to do after your first day of school? Why, lunch at chips and salsa of course!

I won't get too sentimental as we're off to the first First Friday of the year at St. Paul's this evening. The boys are looking forward to pizza with Mr. Parkey and I'm looking forward to catching up with friends. 

Till Next Summer, 
Mamma, Daddy, Frog & Toad

The Absolutely Very Truly Last Day of Summer

Super excited to see Mrs. Schafer!

You'd think we might do something exceptional with our last day of summer but no, it was actually pretty uneventful. We started the day off with a trip to St. Paul's to officially register the kids in school and let them get to know their new teachers, Mrs. Land and Mrs. Phippen for Will and Mrs. Smith and Mrs. McVay for Colin. They had a great time playing with their classmates and Colin impressed his teachers by writing "Chicago" down when they asked him to draw a picture about his summer. All this while mamma filled out forms, paid tuition and hugged on all the school staff we've missed seeing every day over the summer. 

Getting their first germ juice of the year from Mrs. Rodenberg.

Afterwards, it was a trip to the grocery store and some serious park time. We spent about three hours at two parks today which I was hoping would totally wear out the boys before taking them to my salon to get their school year hair cuts. Unfortunately, it didn't wear them out enough to forgo fighting about who would have their hair cut first and at one point there was a fight about who had the better chair while waiting. So there was that. 

Ragamuffins before.....

And our dapper little men after!

I think their fall cuts turned out great and we are ready for their first day of school tomorrow. And with the end of summer comes the end of Frog & Toad's summer adventure blog. Never fear, I will post some first day of school pictures but that'll be the last one. It has been such fun documenting all they did this summer. Will wasn't as interested but Colin really enjoys looking at each of the pictures posted and having me read each blog post. Hopefully *IF* we do this again next year he can write some of his own posts. I am just amazed at all he will learn in one year of Kindergarten. I swear it was just a moment ago that we brought him home from the hospital, bleary-eyed and in love. 

Till Tomorrow, 
Mamma, Frog & Toad