Back to School!

Ryder started 1st grade on Monday! It is still so hard for me to believe, and I think one reason is because I can vividly remember being in 1st grade myself. How is it possible that my little man is already that age?? Unlike preschool and kindergarten, where I can only remember snippets here and there, I can still picture my first grade teacher, where I sat in the classroom, who I played with at recess, even the smell of the building--ha! 

Ryder wasn't nervous at all and was actually really excited to get back to school. He got a new bigger backpack and helped me shop for school supplies. We met his teacher the Friday before school started, and he told me later that "she seems really nice" and that he likes how nice and big his classroom is this year. Only one friend from his kindergarten class is in his class this year, but he knows some of his other classmates from seeing them on the playground or in the cafeteria. I think it will take him another week or so before he knows everyone's name, but that doesn't stop him from telling me stories about what happens during the day. I welcome every detail he's willing to share with me! I try not to frustrate him by asking a million questions when I pick him up every afternoon, but I'm so curious to know how his day goes. Harper and I miss him when he's gone all day! One more week and then we will all be back at work and school, so life will get crazy and more structured at the same time.

My happy 1st grader on the first day of school. 😊

On the third day of school he brought this home--what a great start to the year!

One thing I love about Ryder's school is the parent participation. Families are welcomed and encouraged to come have lunch with their student, and there are several picnic tables on campus near the cafeteria. Ryder said he really wanted me and Harper to have lunch with him one day, so we jumped on the opportunity while we're both still at home. We packed our own lunches and followed Ryder through the lunch line since he likes to buy lunch. He got what he wanted to eat and then put two chocolate milks on his tray so Harper could have one too. :)

chugging chocolate milk!

Harper colored this picture one day this week. I couldn't help but think how appropriate it is with everything going on in the world right now. (sigh)

Wrapping up our week

Thursday was our last full day in the mountains, so we asked the kids what they would like to do. Their answer? Not go anywhere! Ryder said, "We need a day off." Ha! Andrew and I looked at each other and started laughing--a day off from what? We're on vacation! Apparently all of the hiking and short excursions away from the house wore them out! It's not like we got up early in the mornings, but once everyone had eaten and gotten dressed we would leave for the day and not come back until late afternoon. The kids just wanted a chance to play around the house, so that's what we did! We had a huge breakfast in an attempt to clean out the refrigerator, made a fire in the fire pit, played around in the backyard, played several Uno games, and then finally took showers and ate a late lunch. Before we knew it, it was 3pm! We did make a trip into town to visit the shops one more time since we told the kids we'd buy them a small souvenir to commemorate their trip to Georgia. We ate our "last supper" on the deck, watched another mountain sunset, and then soaked in the hot tub before bed. What an AMAZING week we had...there were some sad faces when we locked up the cabin to head back home. We're already trying to figure out when we can go back!

Andrew took several Harper pictures during this UNO game since the last ones focused on Ryder.

always willing to pose

Look closely at her face. She has a mosquito bite on her eyelid and dirt smeared on her face from playing outside. :)

showing off her bicycle crash wound

Ryder was covering the cream soda label so I would think he had a beer bottle. Nice try, buddy!

Harper pointed out this tree and told us it had a scary face because of the shadows. 

Harper's "scary face tree" is in the window's reflection. Creepy!

"Ummmm, which card should I play?"

"Awww, shucks!"

"You've got to be kidding me!"

Yes, that's Harper climbing up the side of the house. She didn't come up with this idea on her own though. In all of the hands of UNO we played together, Andrew hadn't won a game in quite a while. When he finally did, he jumped up from the table, turned around, and started climbing up the house. The kids were too busy looking through their leftover cards, so I had to say, "Hey guys, look what your dad is doing." When they turned around and saw him on the side of the house, they laughed hysterically! That became the new joke each time someone won, hence this picture of Harper. 

So sad that vacation is over :(

Happy that we had such a great week together! :)

Day 5: Three states!

On Day 5 we decided to do a triangular road trip, going up into North Carolina, over to Tennessee, and back down to Georgia. The whole trip was only about 1.5 hours, but we spent a couple of hours in Murphy, NC just strolling through the downtown area and eating some lunch. We planned to go to the Cherokee Historical Museum so the kids could see some arrowheads and other pioneer artifacts, but when we got to the entrance the door was locked and there was a handwritten 'Out to Lunch' sign. This is when we decided to grab a bite to eat too, but when we checked back an hour later the sign was still there. Oh well! This was definitely the sign of a small town where employees can make their own hours. :)

I loved all of the moose and bear decorations in the house this week--so woodsy!

Working on their summer journals

Harper wanted to write the same sentence Ryder did, so he helped her spell every word. It was about taking a trip to the mountains. (Garcia just observed!)

posing by the only black bear we saw all week!

Andrew and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary on Wednesday, so we all went out to dinner at the Blue Ridge Brewery. They have a nice patio area out back, so we sat outside so the kids could play. There was no live music that night, so the kids (Harper especially) took over the stage.

Harper yelled, "Mom, take my picture!" and then proceeded to pose like this. Oh my.

our delicious appetizer!

our dancing girl!

For some reason, Harper decided to lay down right in the rocks beside the stage. Ha!

Ryder was busy gathering rocks and leaves.

After dinner we walked a few blocks to the playground we had visited earlier in the week so the kids could run off some energy!

Day 4: Lake Blue Ridge

And for today's brief geography lesson... 😉

Lake Blue Ridge was formed in the 1930's when the Blue Ridge Dam was built on the Toccoa River. The water is a crystal clear blue-green like the Gulf waters we are used to, and it covers 3,290 acres. There are walking/hiking trails, boat ramps, and a sectioned off swimming area.

We started at one of the access points with the intention of leisurely riding our bicycles on a paved path. There was just enough of an incline at the beginning that it was a struggle for the kids (and me!) to get up it. Just as we all made it up and started to enjoy the plateau, we began steadily going downhill. This wouldn't have been a problem except Harper seemed to forget how to brake. Andrew was behind her yelling, "Brake! Use your brakes!" Ryder and I were ahead of her, so I stopped my bicycle and turned around to see her zooming towards me, her eyes wide. While holding my bicycle between my legs, I leaned over and grabbed onto her bike before she could crash into me or fly off the path. Even though her bicycle stopped, she still fell off pretty hard. Thankfully she walked away with only a little road rash on her left arm. She's one tough cookie! Needless to say she was done bike riding for the day, so we headed back to the car to load them back onto the bike rack. We grabbed our water bottles and went for a short circuit hike through the woods before hopping back in the car and going to the access point with the swimming area.

I had packed a picnic lunch, so we claimed a table right near the edge of the lake so we could eat before the kids played in the water. Yet again we had beautiful weather, so it was a perfect day to spend outside. Andrew hung one of our hammocks between two trees, and we enjoyed a relaxing day at the lake!

tiptoeing into the water

The water wasn't as cold as we thought it would be. What the kids had to get used to the most was the rocky clay bottom!

I enjoyed stretching out in the hammock.

Andrew passed the time by building rock towers on the shore. 

When the kids came over to see what Andrew was up to, they said, "Wow! How did you do that?" Andrew's response: "One must become one with the rock." 

Ryder was proud of his creation. :)

Harper had fun scooping clay mud off the bottom and showing me. I told her it looked an awful lot like something I used to find in her baby diapers. Ha! 🤣