First Day of School

Today was Sydney's first day of school! We went last week for open house and met her teachers, and walked around the school. She was very excited!


This morning she woke up at 7:15, and Donnie pointed out that this was her first time up before 9 in three years. It was a little early for her :-)


When I picked her up (after 6 1/2 hours), she was excited to go home. She said school is "awesome," and she made two new friends - "one boy and one girl, but I don't know their names. The little girl had on a pink shirt and a pink and silver skirt with five silver buttons. The little boy had on a green shirt and boy shorts." I guess fashion is more important than names...)


She was very excited about lunch - "a chicken sandwhich, an orange, and a milk in a box," but not so much breakfast - "Umm, I think I ate a pizza."



This morning when I dropped her off, I walked with her into the library (Pre-K through 1st grade meets there before school officially starts). Other parents were in there waiting around, so I grabbed a chair and sat with her. When her teacher came in and called for her class to line up, I followed the other parents.


Sydney and I walked hand-in-hand to her classroom, but when we arrived there, she gave my hand a little squeeze and said, "Okay Mom, I'll see you this afternoon." She hung her bookbag in her cubby (she chose it at open house), and ran to the carpet to sit down. She never looked back.


I made it all the way back to the car without crying, but then I couldn't help it. The crying episode was short lived, however, because Donnie was waiting in the car with Jaxy, and he started laughing at me. then I was too mad to cry.


She loves to learn, and she loves to be around other kids, so we know she'll have a great year!

Jaxy wants in on the action too. We had to buy a bookbag for him, and he wore it all day long - he even napped with it. He was very excited to go to Sydney's school to pick her up this afternoon too.

What we've been up to

We have had a really busy summer! Here are a few snapshots of what we've been doing:

hanging out at Stone Mountain, playing in the sprinklers, visiting the aquarium, and playing in the backyard.

Braves' Game

The BYU Alumni Association hosted a "Mormon Night at the Braves" last night, so we took the whole family to Turner Field to cheer on the home team. Dale Murphy was a special guest last night. He played for the Braves from 1976 until 1990, and quit impressively so. He was a great player and a great guy. His jersey, No. 3, was retired after he retired from baseball in 1994.


We had perfect seats - not necessarily the best seats, but for our family, they were perfect. We sat right beside the Mets bullpen, down the third base line. We were only three rows back, but we were on the inside isle (right against the bullpen), so the kids had a big "play area." They could move around without bothering anyone, and they watched the Mets' relief pitchers alot when the action on field was stalling.

We also had a steady supply of cotton candy, Reese's pieces, and blue slushies going :-) We missed the meet and greet with Dale Murphy, but we made it in time to see him throw the opening pitch. The weather was great (a little overcast so the temperature was not in the 90s like it has been for the past month), the kids were happy, and the Braves won (4 to 1), so it was a great night :-). Even the one thing that started out as a hassle ended up being great...

Sydney needed to go to the bathroom 4 times during the 3 1/2 hour game. The last time I was a little annoyed because it was the 8th inning, and since the Braves were ahead, the game would be over soon. I asked Sydney to try to wait, but she was adamant. Reluctantly, I took her to the bathroom. As we were coming back to our seats, we were walking right by the bullpen wall, and I heard someone whistling. At first I didn't pay it any attention, but after the second whistle, and a "Hey!" I turned to look.

Raul Valdes, one of the relief pitchers, was trying to get our attention so he could give Sydney a baseball from the bullpen. Sydney was so excited! She proceeded to tell us for the next hour (the rest of the game, the walk to the car, and the entire drive home) what a great time she had at the game, and how happy she was to have a real Braves baseball.
Jaxy had fun doing the Tomahawk Chop (especially when the Chick-fil-A cow would do it too), and watching the "fireworks" (for every strike out the Braves pitch, the Atlanta Gas light display shoots a burst of fire into the air). When Chipper Jones hit a home run, they actually shot off real fireworks, so Jaxy liked that too.




The view of home plate from our seats

Left field

Watching the action

Jaxy checking out the Mets' bullpen

Sydney stood at the bullpen wall and watched for a long time.

Sometimes she saw this:

Sometimes she saw this:

Our battery went dead before we could get anymore shots of Sydney with her ball (Valdes is No. 22, or the bald guy in the bullpen picture)

Jaxy pointing out the "fireworks" after a strikeout.

No one wanted to cooperate for a picture; they just wanted the cotton candy guy to hurry it up.

It was so much fun. This was our fourthj game this season, and we are already making plans to go back for a fifth!