All Day KINDERGARTEN has Arrived!

There was no way to put it off but I'm happy to say we are all surviving and doing pretty well. This week will be a good test as it is her first official week. They have staggered starting for kindergarten here so only a third of the class goes each day for the 1st 3. Last week she had her 1st day on Tuesday and then I had her home again for 2 and then she was back with the entire class on Friday. I'm thankful for our slow transition into the whole thing. Ky's been pretty nervous but has handled everything really well. I can't believe how old she is. I thought I'd sum up our overall feelings and then maybe share a few details.

KYLEE: Overall thinks it's kinda fun but wishes the days weren't so long. "I'm excited when I know its time to go home"
ME: I've finally stopped crying but wish I could be a fly on the wall giving her an extra hug or encouragement when she needs it. I just can't get over that for 5 years she's been with me and now all of a sudden she is spending the majority of her waking hours with someone else.

ALEXIS: "Where'd Kyie go" She's on the bus "I bus too" Every time I say lets go bye bye (to run errands) her reply is "Get Kyie" in the most excited voice.

I can't believe I've entered the phase of packing lunches, filling out endless school paperwork, waiting for the bus and getting up to the sound of an alarm. I feel like my Mom...am I really old enough for all of this. My girls finally learned how to sleep in a little over the fun summer months and now I have to wake Ky up in the morning. Isn't there a rule against waking up a child. The bus comes at 7:15! I get dressed, lunch packed and shake ready and then wake Ky up at 7. We've got getting ready fast down. My non-breakfast eater drinks her favorite meal shakes while I do her hair and so far it is working out well. You should all be proud of me the new Cheryl is up and dressed by 7. We'll see how long it lasts before I walk out to the bus in my PJ's. I do still lay in bed with Lexi and get what ever cuddles I can. I miss our hour long wake up period in Mom's bed but will now cherish Saturday mornings.

I've told Ky I'll drive her so she can get some extra sleep till her body adjusts but she is set on riding the bus. Sky did drive her the first day but now we are all bus. Amazing how much kids love this adventure. Look at those sleepy eyes. Mind you she was sound asleep in her bed 10 minutes earlier. She has some great neighbor girls to ride the bus with and the one in yellow has made Ky's transition so much easier. Our publicly shy girl is doing great and I love hearing about her adventures when she comes home. We are very pleased with her teacher and think the school district did a great job getting them ready for the year.

If any of you have good snack or lunch ideas please send them my way :)

Alsop Family in Virginia

YES, we did make it to Virginia a month ago! The biggest lesson we learned is that we will never again load a truck, clean a home and unload the truck again all in the same day. By the time we got all of our junk in the truck I was wishing I could have a few days to not have to see it again. It was a long, crazy, tiring day but we made it. We were very thankful for my Mom, Skylar's Dad and the crew waiting for us in Virginia. We made it through all of the good-bye's and Kylee almost got by with packing one of her friends. (Gotta love how much fun you can have with moving boxes!) I don't know if I mentioned or not but we were lucky to find some great renters that were only looking for about a 6 month lease and then we will try to sell again. We still can't believe our awesome place didn't sell and there are so many things we are missing about it or "remembering how fortunate we were" as we live in our current rental. For example: 1st picture- our old bathroom 2nd picture - our current master bathroom.
We never realized how much Kylee appreciated her old place as well. We cracked up over so many of her quotes the first couple days. "Where is my bathroom?" It is right here in the hallway. "Its not attached to my room, man that's weird" The best was listening to her give grandpa a tour of our place. "This is our tiny bathroom, this is Lexi's little room, this is Mom and Dad's closest...it isn't a walk in that we can run around in but at least they can step into it, see I can fit." Now don't get me wrong our place is just great and Kylee is very pleased with her pink walls and to finally have a basement. We have enjoyed our time here so far and are thankful to our GREAT neighbors who made us feel so welcomed. They have a little girl Kylee's age and Ky was already over there eating dinner the first night as the truck got unloaded and me, Lexi and my Mom hadn't arrived yet. The adjustment went smoother than I thought it would as we quickly got involved with swim lessons with an amazing teacher in the ward and it provided something to look forward to each day the 1st 2 weeks. The ward is super friendly, Ky fit right in playing in the backyard with our neighbors and I have someone only 2 doors down that can answer all my questions and has been an amazing resource and friend. Thank you Lexie!
We've been filling our time with:
-swimming
-visiting a little local lake
-getting bit by millions of mosquitoes!!!!!!
-visiting downtown mall for "Friday's after 5" local bands play in the amphitheatre
-meeting ward members at BBQ's
-hanging out with a great new family whose backyard has chicks, a goat, a tiny horse, ducks, etc. and obviously a perfect yard for my girls
-trying new restaurants
-kindergarten camp
-already planning interviews and thinking about the next move (this is just crazy)
-and even Florida for a few days (post later)

Any move comes with its challenges but for the most part we are feeling settled and doing well. I have so much to post about and with time will hopefully get caught up.

8 years ago

Eight years ago today the temperature was close to 100 with tons of humidity and even thunderstorms that rolled in for the early evening to give us a nice scare for the reception. Now, today to help us out on memory lane the temperature is 96 with at least 60% humidity and possible thunderstorms tonight. I can barely stand outside today and am remembering the weight of my dress as we stood outside for pictures and wondered how long we would make it before my cheeks were too red. Thank you again family and friends for withstanding the heat with us and even using those portable fans to help us out!

It was quite the image watching Sky and I trying to fan ourselves off.
Oh how our weather was anything but perfect on that day but the day itself was absolutely amazing. Despite the weather and my usual stress level we had an absolute party at the reception and no one wanted it to end. By that point no one seemed to care that we had all soaked through our clothes with sweat.

I just want to send a quick shout out to Skylar for 8 great years. The journey so far has been awesome with definite ups and downs but I'm thankful to know that we have each other for our never ending journey. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

I love your goofy side and have been extremely thankful for it on several occasions. Thanks for being you. I love these shots and feel they capture the moment better than the posed ones. Now after looking at some of these pictures do you agree we've gotten older or I should say, you have gotten older. Man we were young! Where has the time gone!

I also wanted to officially congratulate Sky on finishing his 4 years of residency. We are so proud of your hard work and determination on this long journey. After 12 years of education post high school we can see the finish line. We are one month into Skylar's final year which is a fellowship in Breast Gynecology Pathology and we are extremely HAPPY and RELIEVED to say that he passed the first half of his BOARDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We all know how much he hates to study. We just got the results last week and headed out as a family for a fun dinner to celebrate.
When we got married in the DC temple I never thought we'd actually live near it and now have been in this temple district for the past 4 years and will continue to be, here in Virginia. I'm glad I got this boy to come back east and now we are eager to see where we will end up.

I know there is a lot of updating that I need to do and in time those posts will come. We made it safely to Charlottesville, are mostly unpacked and are so pleased with how friendly everyone is but of course miss our Hershey friends!