Back to School!

This year both Grady and Anson are going to school at Five Oaks Academy.  Anson is in the Primary classroom, which includes 3K, 4K, and 5K.  Grady moved up to Lower Elementary, where he is a 1st grader.  Grady went there last year, and we love the school.  However, it was still hard to send them back after summer, especially since they went back so early.

Here is their special first day breakfast - fruit and doughnut holes on a stick!

We also have a tradition where I decorate a cone with their name and so e fun stickers.  I fill it with school supplies and treats and give it to them on the first day.  It is actually a German tradition and several of the German families at their school (there are many!) had them this year too!

Here they are with our special banner, each holding their special sign

This is what the signs said...

Discovering their cones

Out by the palm tree, ready to go!

After we arrived at school

Anson and one of his teachers, Miss Dawn

Camille walking Grady to his classroom

Hugging his teacher, Miss Alissa

With his buddy, Reese

What's a baby sister to do?

The school is great about taking pictures and posting them to their website.  Here are a few cute ones from the first few days...

With Miss Laura, who he just adores

Check the pencil behind his ear

With some church friends who are also school friends!

Grady has already been learning so much!  I can hardly keep up with everything they are doing this year - gardening, sewing, cooking, and crafts, in addition to math, history, geography, and reading.

Anson is already writing numbers, sweeping, and making lots of new friends.  So far they school year is quite a success!

Last Blast of Summer

Grady and Anson started school very early this year, so although we still have plenty of summery weather ahead of us, real summer was ending for us.  I tried to fit in a few more fun things while I could.

We went to a few more parks on our Park Passport.  Here we are at Greer City Park, which we had never visited before.

The fountains "dance" to music and so did the kids!

Batman was on a mission

They played so well with all the kids that were there that day and made many instant friends.

Serious man

The kids have also been wanting to go to Playnation for a while

And then, sadly, Summer 2013 was over just like that :(

Table Rock

We have been trying to take advantage of all of the natural beauty that surrounds us in this part of the country.  There are so many state parks and waterfalls and places to hike that we have never explored.  One weekend recently we headed west, into the mountains, to check out Table Rock State Park, and it was quite amazing.

Ready for a hike!

Checking out the lake - man-made (all lakes in SC are) but still beautiful

There were waterfalls and streams to cross everywhere!

This picture is amusing, but it's a long story!

If anyone tells you it is easy to hike into the wilderness with a 1,3, and 6 year old, don't believe them.  It was a bit challenging.  But we don't let that stop us!  It was a very cool place that we hope to return to repeatedly as the kids get bigger.  There was so much more that we did not get to see!