Homecoming

We were so happy to welcome home Elder Weston Sundwall today with lunch and attending their ward! We can't wait until it's Hermana Foster's turn!!

Exhaustion

The first week at Mahaffey was amazing for all three Kikuchi girls! Like seriously amazing! But the pure exhaustion set in this weekend!

Getting back in the school routine and waking up early has been an adjustment. I actually turned down Thai food last night to have a quiet night at home. Turns out I have a kidney infection and it is really gettin the best of me this weekend! But Riley was exhausted too and actually curled up on the ottoman last night and went to sleep! That never happens! She has a runny nose so I'm praying it stops there! Keags is just taking full advantage of the situation and playing Minecraft on her iPad a lot more then I would usually allow! 

Here is to hoping those antibiotics kick in soon and that next week goes even better!

Day Two

I think they were just as excited for the second day of school today! I know I was sure excited because it was my first day off and home alone in a long time! I'm so happy I was able to check so many things off my to do list today!

They had another fantastic day and then Riley started back to dance with Mrs Taylor! Keagan is telling everyone who will listen she doesn't want to do dance this year. So I need to figure out a plan B, but Riley loved it today, of course. We filled out our traditional school book interview sheets tonight. Then the girls dad sent them pizza for dinner as a welcome back to school treat which they loved! 

So besides someone telling Keagan that her outfit looked like pajamas, day two was definitely a success!

2nd Graders!

The first day as 2nd graders and the first day at Mahaffey Elementary was a huge success! 

After a clap in ceremony with a real bag piper, my girlies were bursting with excitement! In between all the craziness that was my day working at Mahaffey, I peaked in on both of them. They were happy and working! They both loved PE and lunch (that balances out right?!) and the incredible Miss Granny even came all the way to Mahaffey to help feed Riley! 

Both girls said they made new friends and were very happy but very tired at the end of the day! We all celebrated with big smiles at Tutti Frutti after school and Keagan's comment was "there wasn't a single thing I didn't like!" 

Man I love these girls and it's going to be a fantastic year! So glad to be plaid and thankful the Lord answers prayers! 

On Your Mark, Get Set

Back packs are ready, 1st day outfits laid out, stuffed Scottie dog presents given to each girl, and they are both sleeping in their Mahaffey tshirts! But my absolute favorite thing about getting ready for a new school year is our tradition of priesthood blessings! 

Normally it would be a fathers blessing, but we are incredibly thankful to have Uncle Todd and that he is a righteous priesthood holder who can bless our lives! The Frenchs also join us and it's one big priesthood blessing party! There really is no better way to start out a year! Plus Todd made homemade chocolate cake! Score! 

It's great to hear how each child's blessing is different because they all come from the Lord specifically for them! Riley was blessed to be healthy this year, to bring joy to others, that she will learn and grow to continue to exceed others expectations, and much more! Keagan was blessed to make a lot of new friends, to be comfortable at school, not to worry and to learn what her teachers teach her, etc. 

I'm SO thankful for the priesthood and the power and blessing it is in our lives! And thankful that again tonight we were able to start out this year right! Now we are truly ready for 2nd grade!! 

Glad to be Plaid!

What a week! I worked all week because there was so much to do to get Mahaffey ready for the 1st day of school on Monday! I feel SO incredibly blessed to be at this brand new school! Under the leadership of our beloved principal, Dayna Hernandez it is such a positive environment where the energy is palpable  when you walk in that gorgeous building! I feel like my part time job is like paying a private school tuition! My girls are getting the very best of the best in teachers, technology and teaching at Mahaffey! We are so blessed! 

The girls have been up at the school several times in the last three weeks with me for visits, family lunches, etcetera. They are just as excited as I am! Their excitement skyrocketed after Meet the Teacher on Thursday night. I can't even believe that Riley is getting Mrs Merillat and Mrs Brown as her teachers! They are way over qualified and have the most incredible lesson plans ready for my girl! I have cried twice just hearing from them all that Riley has in store this year! It is going to be amazing! Keagan also has an incredible teacher in Mrs Yancey, and her switch teacher Mrs Noble! They are both amazing so 2nd grade is going to be a fantastic year for all three of us! 

We have lots of loving familiar faces from Brill!

The Motor Lab for Riley's class is amazing! 

Each classroom has great technology and innovative furniture, plus each grade has an awesome collaborative space!

Such amazing teachers!

So all week while I was at work, Kellie was in charge. She got the girls to VBS (vacation bible school) in the Ginn's Ward in the Woodlands! The theme was Joseph in Egypt and playing, learning, signing and worshipping with cousins is the absolute best!!

Gramas also helped with the girls, came to swim lessons and brought the girls to Meet the Teacher! So thankful for her!

Yesterday they had their last day of swim lessons for the summer session and they are begging for more! Mommy is willing but the bank account states otherwise! Riley will miss Mr Cody so much!  And Keagan said she would rather swim then do dance this year! Not sure what aim going to do about that one!

Both girls did amazing in swimming! Keagan was working to earn her White Fin ribbon but she did so well that she earned both her white and her blue fin ribbons! She is a rockstar! Riley also worked really hard and came a long way! Mr Cody wrote the sweetest note on her progress report! 

Today we said goodbye to summer by totally cleaning and organizing the playroom, getting all the new school clothes clean and put away, and then a good old fashioned water balloon fight and sprinklers! Apparently we need goggles for that. 

We are a little sad to see summer 2016 go, but we are more excited to get this school year going! It's impossible not to be excited for Mahaffey! We are already proud Scotties and very glad to be plaid! 

Mommy Sense

I am exhausted! I have been working everyday and working hard as there is SO much to do to get Mahaffey ready for its very first day of school! Like I'm talking SO much to do! Today was a LONG day and I just want to go to bed! But I could tell my Keags needed a little bit of me tonight. Us mommies have super powers, mommy senses, that tell us these things. I don't always listen, and especially not when I'm exhausted! I am also not usually a very patient mom at bed time. But my momma sense told me tonight needed to be different because my baby needed a patient mommy tonight. 

It was hard, but I took a deep breath, said a little prayer, and just talked about and looked at Minecraft for the last 25 minutes! Minecraft isn't my fave, but it sure is one of Keagans. And she is AMAZING at it!! 

The things the girl builds in Minecraft blow me away! She showed me her roller coaster, court room, obstacle course, dog hotel and a whole lot more! She is incredible! So thanks to the mommy sense, I had an incredible little moment with my sweet girl who is growing older by the day! And now I get to fall asleep knowing at least tonight mommy was patient and listened. My mommy sense confirms that's a great thing! 

Masterpieces!

My sister painted with Keags and Rys the other day when Kellie was babysitting. Their final canvases were great representations of them. They are very different from each other but they are both master pieces! 

Speaking of masterpieces, I sure created one yesterday when I dropped a brand new entire gallon of milk on the floor! I didn't cry over spilled milk but I came pretty dang close when Riley pooped on the carpet and then in the shower!! I had to move the fridge AND scrub the carpet and shower all in one night. Mommin is seriously hard sometimes! 

And Keagan created some masterpieces this afternoon! Man that Easy Bake Oven makes the tiniest and cutest cupcakes I ever did see! She was very serious about spreading the frosting with her fingers and placing the sprinkles just right! 

All of this has reminded me this week that my life is a masterpiece indeed! It's messy and it takes a heck of a lot of work! Sometimes we have no clue what we are doing and it includes lots of screw ups! But when we take a step back to survey what we've created, it sure is beautiful! 

Over Scheduled?

All week long my mom and my sister have been teasing me for over scheduling my children. All week I have laughed off their criticism, but today I totally felt it! We are, what we like to call tired-e. Yep maybe that was just a little too much. But at least its the good kind of tired! 

This week the girls had an amazing 4 days of soccer camp at UScore Soccer where they ran and played hard for 3 hours in the afternoon and were sore every night! And the LOVED it! They had two swim lessons that happened to come right after soccer camp, that's where the over scheduling talk started.  This week Keagan also met with her reading tutor for the last time this summer and Riley had therapy of course including some testing for OT that Keags and I helped with. This week Gramas finally came home from her summer in Wyoming and we had a great Family Home Evening dinner at the Frenchs along with the Fosters. This week we also ran typical errands and did all our typical chores and things. In all the remaining hours that were spent awake, Keags was playing and creating with her Legos and Riley was watching "Sid the Science Kid" on Netflix and I was staying up way too late intensely watching the Olympics to cheer on Simone Biles, Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky! 

So does that all sound like too much to you? Even if it does, I am happy with all of it! I'm SO happy we did soccer camp and met such awesome coaches at a great facility! I was so happy to be proud of how Keagan never stopped hustling and trying and how far Riley came in being able to kick the ball!  Keagan was aggressive in her play and loud in her cheering, which was great! And Riley received an award today for having a great attitude! I'm happy they had friends at soccer and made lots of new friends including some of the coaches who were so great! I'm happy they are doing so well in swimming, tutoring and therapy and that all of that is helping them learn and grow! I'm happy we spent good time with those we love. And I'm happy that we are building memories together and creating a wonderful summer! 

So yes, we may have been a little over scheduled this week. But it was a fantastic week full of great opportunities, growth and memory making! So even if I'm tired-e, it's totally worth it! 

Now it's time for bed!