First Day Of School 2016-2017

The morning of the first day of school went very smooth.  I switched things up this year by 5 minutes and it really has helped SO MUCH!  There schedule is as follows:

                                        6:10 am Rise. Slowly Wake Up.

                                           6:15 am It's time to get dressed.

                                           6:30 am Breakfast/Family Devotional by Daddy/Mommy

                                           6:45 am Brush Teeth

                                           7:00 am Load Book Bag W/ Lunch Box

                                           7:05 am Walk To Bus Stop

                                           7:06 am Get On Bus

                                           7:35 am Arrive School

                                           7:50 am School Starts

                                           2:15 pm School Ends

                                           2:45 pm Bus Drop Off

                                           2:50 pm Hello Hugs & unload Bookbags/Snack/Homework/Free Time

                                           6:00 pm Football or Cheerleading & Dance (M, T, Th)

                                           8:00 pm Dinner (EEEEEEKKKKK)

                                           8:45 pm Bath

                                           9:15 pm Prayers and Lights Out! 

In the years passed, I was allowing them to sleep until the absolute last minute (6:15 am), but this year I have given them a 5 minute wake up warning.  I did this because I know MANY people who NEED their snooze buttons and I wasn't giving them a snooze button.  Ty rises immediately, but Jax needs time.  I was getting ANGRY when they weren't popping right up.  THIS HAS RESOLVED THE ISSUE.  In addition, their outfits are chosen and ironed the night before.  OH MY GOSH. WHY DIDN'T I do that these last few years? It makes the WORLD of difference.

Lilah was excited to embrace the day! She woke up and smiled from ear to ear. She was so smiley it caused Darren to laugh in hysterics. She sported her "L" black, gold, and white glitter dots/stripes book bag.  Her lunch box is the same.  

 Jax sported a Nike, Virginia Tech University Bookbag!

Big brother with Little sister.  I don't think it really hit her until that day that he would NOT be joining her at Fort Lewis Elementary School.  She was sad.

Big brother and Little Brother.

Ty was sporting a STEPHEN CURRY, Under Armor Bookbag.  It's HUGE, but very stylish. His schedule is slightly different:

                                           6:10 am Rise. Slowly Wake Up.

                                           6:15 am Shower. Get dressed.

                                           6:30 am Breakfast/Family Devotional by Daddy/Mommy

                                           6:45 am Brush Teeth

                                           7:00 am Load Book Bag W/ Lunch Box

                                           7:35 am Hitch A Ride To School With Dad

                                           7:50 am Arrive School

                                           8:20 am School Starts

                                           3:20 pm School Ends

                                           4:00 pm Bus Drop Off

                                           4:05 pm Hello Hugs & unload Bookbags/Snack/Homework/Free Time

                                           6:00 pm Football or Cheerleading & Dance (M, T, Th)

                                           8:00 pm Dinner (EEEEEEKKKKK)

                                           8:45 pm Shower

                                           9:30 pm Prayers and Lights Out!  
As you can see above, Ty continues to get up at the same time last year.  We prefer to both start and end our day TOGETHER, as a family, on the same page/schedule.

Daddy walked the kids to the bus stop.  Sadly, the bus was WAY late, like an entire 25 minutes late.  

The kids got acclimated and reunited.

Yay! The bus arrived finally!

And off they go!

We decided to make Ty a car rider, on the first day.  I just couldn't see him arriving 25 minutes late to his first time of middle school.  Since then, he's been a car rider.  I think it's valuable time spent with his daddy anyway.  We do not allow electronics on the ride to school, for that reason. When Darren dropped him off the first day, he felt sick for Ty.  Haha. And Darren said, "Ty was every shade of red imaginable."  I think it was just the fear of the unknowns because since then, that kids has NOT looked back.  He was made for middle school, I swear.  

My slogan for the morning, "You've Got This!" 

Their lunches weren't anything outside of the ordinary, but I did use this fund "reward erasers" and emoji stickers to create some fun lunch box notes.

Can I just tell you HOW AWESOME it is to have a daughter??? She wasn't even fully off the bus and she was thanking me for everything I put in her snack bag and lunch box.  LOL! "You are so nice! Thank you for the note and the juice box.  I wanted them so bad!!"

The twins came home with NOT too much to say.  It usually happens during bed time.  You know, the times when talking is supposed to come to a close.  It's their way of postponing their bedtime.  Grrr! Jax did confirm that Mrs. Green's real name is Billy Jean.  Haha.  The kids come home singing, "Billy Jean is not my lover!" most days.  #truestory

I didn't get to capture Ty getting off of the bus because the bus was so behind I had to keep looking outside, to avoid standing in 100 degree weather for 20 minutes straight.  When I opened the door to check again, the bus had already dropped him off and he was already halfway to the house.  HE WAS SMILING from ear to ear.  HE LOVED his first day!