Happy New Year

This is a pic of all the children at the bus stop.... from left to right we have Allison, Lauren (kindergarten), Hannah (2nd grade with Katie), Megan (kindergarten), Brett (1st grade), Katie, and Brooke (kindergarten). This is a nice change- to have a big group.... when Katie was in kindergarten she was the only kid, and it was sooo boring for her.

Happy New Year... as I read once that every mother knows that the new year "really" starts in September. I believe that. Last Wednesday marked the start of the 2007-2008 school year. Kathryn starting 2nd grade and Allison is a brand new kindergartner. In the picture above Katie and Allison are all dolled up for the first day. I think Katie really enjoyed being the "big" kid and helping her little sister. Allison was really excited... she didn't seem to have any apprehensions at all.
As it seems standard for me... these pics are out of order. The pics above and below are of her getting off the the bus on the first day. I was sooo happy when she got off the bus smiling!!
In the morning... my neighbors and I put together a "New Years" party for the kids. We met about 1/2 hour before the bus came and had fresh bagels and juice. There were party hats, and my neighbor even provided the entertainment by making balloon animals. It was a great send off... the kids loved it. My camera battery died just before the bus came (thanks to Taylor... the day before I got great videos and photos from the aquarium). My Dad had his camera, thank goodness, all the photos of her getting on the bus are on his camera.

Allison on her first day with her HUGE backpack.
Allie and Kate's backpacks... side by side.
This is a pic of the bus stop on Wednesday morning. We had quite the group. Allison is so lucky to have so much family local. Besides myself and Rich (who took the day off) we had my Dad who traveled from PA, Rich's Dad, Uncle Freddy, Uncle Bob and Aunt Gretchen and even Jill, Christopher and Natalie (their first day wasn't until Thursday).