What a Mess!

I started back to work this week; Leslie and I began setting up our classroom...what a mess! Leslie moved to Sherman and we are sharing 'my' old classroom, now 'our' new classroom. Just like me, Leslie is organized with a capital "O"! We began by clearing out the cupboards and reorganizing all of our things as we merged them together. The cupboards look awesome but I'm sure it'll take all year to quit looking where things used to be. Here's our mess after day one...things look so much better already!

While I was at school, Finley spent Wednesday and Thursday at Grandma's. He must've had a lot of fun...so much fun he refused to nap (25 total minutes on Thursday) and cried when I picked him up - that hurts the ego - I was gone all day and he didn't want to come home with me! On Friday, Grandma Lynn spent the day at our house with Finley; he kept her busy by showing her how to open and close the door (100 times), how he plays in his ball pit and likes to throw his drumsticks down our stairs.
Last Sunday, Finley and I attended the annual Mom's & Babies picnic with Auntie and her friends. We had picnic snacks....

...a photoshoot of each mom with her baby (this was not the professional pic; just one Auntie took)...

...the photographer attempted a group shot of the babies; the moms tried to set it up....

...notice which two waited patiently? The group shot didn't go well and we scrapped the idea after many babies were crying.

Once the pictures were over, Finley had permission to get dirty and finally got a chance to swing!

Finley and I spent time with Spencer at Grandma's on Tuesday. Grandpa & Grandma had gotten a new chair that arrived in a huge "fort".

Finley found a new love...the riding mower! Daddy took him around the yard a couple times, then I got nervous it was too loud for his little ears - mom always ruins the fun and Finley let me know as he kicked and screamed when I brought him inside.

On Saturday, we ran up to Hudson; Unlce Ryan isn't feeling well (see Spencer's blog for updates), so Daddy mowed at Spencer's house. While Daddy mowed, we hung out with Grandma, Auntie and Spencer.
There's so much love between Spencer and Finley! It's precious to see how excited they get to see each other.
After Hudson, we headed to Amery for the next Crew Get-Together...first we swam at Amanda's parent's house, the water was perfect, the pool was heated like a bath!
Then we went to Luciana's house for pizza...
...and playing! Luciana has a jungle gym that was a huge hit with the kids!

On Sunday, we helped cousin Nixon celebrate his 3rd birthday!

Finley test-drove Nixon's car...
...then Spencer decided to get in too...
...and we quickly discovered there isn't enough room for two - Fred Flinstone let Barney slide out the bottom of the car! And notice the mom (me) just standing there...not really trying to rescue my Barney at all.
The boys also drew with chalk; this was Finley's first time drawing on the sidewalk!

After working 3.5 days this week, it made me realize how thankful I am to work part-time this fall. It was busy and I hated only seeing Finley for 60-90 minutes awake each day - not enough! We are starting our last full week of summer, I hope we can stay out of the classroom! OK - we're only planning to go in for a few hours on Tuesday.