The Monday 7

We were camping in the wilderness all weekend, so I'm late, but I have lots to report, so I don't want to wait 'til next Saturday.

1. Monday was the long-anticipated first day of school. Lena was beside herself with excitement, literally counting down the hours. Levi said, "I'm excited for the first day, but I know it will be boring after that." Lucy didn't have much to say, but I know she was happy to see her friends again.

Her teacher sent me this one later in the day. The 5th grade class got split into two this year. One teacher has been there since I was there, and one started this year. Lena reeeeeallly wanted Miss Tiesma (the veteran), and was so excited to be put in her class!

2. The first week went well. I asked Levi on Wednesday if he'd been sent to the principal's office yet, and he said so sincerely, "No! I've been really good!" Lol. His teacher told me that the first couple of days he was compliant, but by Wednesday she got to see some of his stubbornness come out. Oh boy. That kid.

His strength is eating and his goal is to "be a bedr spelr." Well-reasoned.

Lena woke up on Wednesday with a sore throat that has evolved into a nasty cold. We were so healthy all summer, but those school germs are no joke I guess!

3. I started my third year in the library (no pic - sorry). It's my third different library space in three years. The first year was in the actual library. The second year was sharing a classroom space with another teacher, and pushing books in on a cart. This year I have my own room, but it's too small for bookshelves, so I'll still be doing the cart. It's actually a bit too small for a full class of kids, too, if you ask my opinion, but it's the only option so we'll make it work. I'm there two days a week and most of my classes were great. Levi's class is the largest and has . . . the biggest personalities. Lol. I'm going to have to do some serious brainstorming to keep them engaged and quiet for 45 minutes every week.

4. This was my first week of working both of my jobs simultaneously. I'm at school two days a week and Once Upon two days a week. I should have Fridays off, but this Friday was the start of Labor Day weekend, so I've yet to have a truly kid-free/work-free day yet. And I'm going to be honest that it was a bit stressful for me. Haha. I've always said I don't know how working moms do it all. I've been a mostly stay-at-home mom since Lena was born and it's without a doubt hard. But now I have to do all the mom stuff and work outside of my home every day. This week was especially rough because I had to pack and grocery shop and prepare for camping on top of regular life. I ended up doing my grocery shopping with the rest of the world on Thursday night, and spent all of Friday morning packing, cooking, and loading my van. I know the work/life balance is not new for most people, but it is for me, and it's going to take some getting used to.

5. The camping itself went pretty well. It will never be my favorite mode of vacation, and I will never understand why people love it so much. But we had beautiful weather, we were able to stay in a cabin again, and the kids adore the campground amenities. Usually, Persephone comes, but she wasn't able to this year, so Lucy was bored all weekend. She brought three books and had them all read by Saturday afternoon! I had a bout of my stomach distress that really had me wishing the cabins had their own bathrooms, but I did not get eaten by a bear as I trekked to the bathroom multiple times in the night, so that's a positive I guess. We do this trip with Justin's extended family. They all live in Grand Rapids, which isn't actually that far away, but not close enough that we see each other often. It's pretty much down to Labor Day and Christmas now, so Lena and Levi enjoy seeing their VK cousins. And I love catching up with everyone.

6. On to pictures:

After swimming/cleaning it out.

Horse-drawn carriage ride

We ran to the beach just before the sun set for a few pictures

I made Lucy get in one with us.

Levi loves to make himself a little cave in the bottom bunk. This year he brought his star projector for light.

Always have to make a trip to the candy store for disgusting weird candies.

Ladderball with Lucy and Levi

Time for turtle races!

I hardly saw Levi this weekend because he was zooming all over on his bike, talking to people, petting dogs, swimming, playing at the playground, and living his best life.

Justin's dad has been hosting turtle races since as long as I've been attending these campouts. The kids catch them in the river, then we put them all in the middle of the circle. Whichever one escapes the circle first wins. This year's match was particularly intense. The prize is always candy cigarettes, but I didn't even get a pic!