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The first week of school is never fun!!  The big kids are tired from going and going all day and not sleeping well at night from nerves/full minds, and Sam is a mess because he is home all day with boring mommy and no siblings to play with.  Thankfully Sam starts school next week (hallelujah, amen) and we will, hopefully, all be in more of a comfortable routine! 

Abby started back up with gymnastics this week and Max's baseball games start up next week.  We had a swim parent meet, an AP Human Geography meeting (I had no idea Madison could possibly get college credit from this class...woo hoo) and Open House for Sam.  It's been go, go, go! 

Unlike the summer, I didn't do a good job of picking up my camera, but I did get a few fun first day of school photos...

*and, of course, one with brother

* and she's off...


Normally, Madison would be bussed to the Natatorium for swim at the end of the day and then Matt would pick her up on his way home. But, the first week they just stayed at the school, so I got to pick her up this week!

* I was trying to be incognito! ;)

We picked Madison up at 2:55 and then Max and Abby's bus was supposed to get to our stop at 3:45. I knew it wouldn't be on time, especially the first day but we started watching for it then just in case! Well, it showed up at 4:35. That was a hot hour to be in and out of the house every few minutes in the 100 degree heat. But, it was worth it!
 

* waiting Matt got home just before the bus got there so after Sam ran into his arms, Madison thought she'd be funny and do the same. I didn't have my camera settings ready so the picture is blown...but hilarious!!!
 

Finally, the bus arrived and the Koceich family was reunited again. Hugs all around!!!

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Our final week of summer. CAN'T...EVEN...BELIEVE...IT! I guess I'm ready for school to start back in some ways (it's nice to hear my own thoughts sometimes), but I can honestly say this has been one of the most enjoyable summers with my crew!! Now, I did enlist "the stay at least 3 feet away from mommy at all times" rule today for a little bit...what can I say, I was at Costco and overstimulated as it was! But, most of the summer moments have been lots of fun!! It's true...time flies when you're having fun!! Prepare yourself for photo-overload! We started this week off with one of my most favorite summer memories...dinner, swimming and back to school prayer time over our kids/teachers with dear friends!! These people spur me on and bless my life abundantly!!

On Monday Daddy went back to work so I knew it was going to be imperative to keep us all busy. We headed to the park and had it almost to ourselves. We had a great time swinging (for the record I can swing above the bar...I know, try not to be jealous) and we took a long walk on the linear trail.

Daddy's birthday was Tuesday. Abby had fun dressing up like him to surprise him when he came home from work. The kids make a peanut butter and chocolate chip bundt cake for him and I made rigatoni...YUM!!! We LOVE Daddy!!!

*surprising him at the front door...

This week I also had the brilliant idea of having the kids deep clean some of my most neglected tasks. This was called operation "make the kids so tired of doing chores that they can't wait to go back to school". Brilliant, I tell ya!! They pulled everything out of the frig and cleaned the shelves and drawers, the scrubbed our chairs with Mr. Clean erasers, and cleaned all of the trashcans and bathroom shelf bins in the house. If only I had time to put them on window washing duty!!

*day 2...can you tell! :)

* this is how they feel about said chores...


We also got creative this week. I bought Abby this plain pink lunch bag because it was one of the washable ones (a must in our family). But the words plain and Abby just don't go together. So we headed to Michael's and found some iron on flowers. Y'all, I can't even handle the cuteness that is this lunch bag!! A one of a kind, original! Now, we pray that the flowers last through the wear and tear of fourth grade!

Thursday was meet the teacher night. After fun in the sun at Hawaiian Falls with Nani, we headed home and changed and enjoyed "Kids eat free" night at the On The Border (my favorite). Then it was off to meet the teachers. Max has Mrs. Brothers and Abby has Mrs. Lewis. Madison has 8 teachers and I spared her the embarrassment of taking pictures of her with her teachers (LOL). I'm still in denial about Madison going to high school. Not even able to comprehend that!! So...moving on!

* our last stop (two hours of teacher meeting is exhausting)


Friday was Sam's four year check up! He is doing great! The shots were not so fun, but the sucker and Spiderman stickers made it all better!