Oh man, there’s a lot of pre-first-day-lead-up stuff I want to remember, but for now I’m just going to sneak these pics in before all the weekend hoopla gets crazy around here.
The first day came and went.
And it made me a little mad, and also a little glad, and a little sad all at the same time (I wrote about that back HERE).  
I hate that school has to start so early.  I think that last week of summer I told Dave 800 times last week how GRATEFUL I was that we got to say up late and snuggle up in our bed and talk or watch something or hang with teenagers in the kitchen or play cards with Lucy until irresponsibly late.  It’s been a good summer.  
But I’m telling you what: part of this new schedule dealio (aside from the initial ring of the alarm clock in the morning) is actually feeling pretty good despite my moaning and complaining:)  

First out the door was Grace…after sleeping through her alarm (here it goes again), and a scramble to get her to sit down and eat rainbow pancakes with us.

She missed our two minutes of scriptures.

But honestly, have I mentioned how much I adore having that girl home?  Seriously I love it so much and now I may never let her leave again.

Then it was time for these girls to take off…

A little side-note I want to remember about clothes: Claire was so happy to find that shirt with Grace the day before school started (on a shopping trip with Grace’s brand-spanking-new drivers license).

And I literally jumped through hoops to sweet-talk Lucy into trying on that new shirt I grabbed in desperation to find something at Target.  It is so difficult to find clothes for that child.  They have to fit her decently AND they have to be soft as soft can be for her to approve.  She gets set on the clothes she has and does not like when I try to get her to wear anything new, even when she desperately needs it.  She thanks me profusely on her birthdays or holidays when I don’t buy her clothes as gifts.

She’s funny.

But I want to remember that I had to do some fancy talking to get her to try that sucker on.  And once she did, she was in love.

Parenting is such an interesting journey.

Ok so before Claire left, a big group of friends came over and I took their pictures.  I guess the gathering of her friends here on important school mornings is becoming a tradition.

After that pic a few more came so we moved locations to be able to fit them all in.  HA!

 That sure is a heck of a lot of 8th grade girls I tell you!

 (those eight fingers they’re all holding up is for 8th grade)

Something about having that many girls and them being in 8th grade is a recipe for a little drama every now and again but they sure are great girls…hope they can all help each other out through the years.

Then it was time for this girl to head out.

 Braces and all.

We took the tandem bike to school and dropped her off in a sea full of kids.

I got no pictures of the rainbow pancakes or of the after-school-cookie-chat, but here they are right before dinner, ready to spill out the beans about their day.

We had our own little family dinner for the first time in forever and there’s something about it that felt so so so good.

Sometimes life just needs a little routine.

Here we go again.

Ok, and really quick important thing:  anyone who still may be enjoying the non-routine of summer loving and wants a road trip, (OR who wants to visit National Parks in the future…which we ALL do, right?), click HERE for an amazing National Parks guide my sister whipped up after her awesome road trip last summer.

It is FREE for a limited time so check it out!

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19 Comments

  1. I'm over here giggling because I'm pretty sure I would have worn Claire's first day outfit when I was her age. My, how styles come back around… so fun.

    I had a random idea on clothing for Lucy. When she likes something, and it fits well – buy it in all the colors and sizes (within reason). Just switch it with the next size up when she out grows one. Saves you having to look anytime soon, she doesn't have to get them for a gift, and you know she likes it.

    Reply

    1. Yes this is a good idea and does work sometimes especially if she finds that she likes something a lot after wearing it a few times. But she is in the largest child size now, so I have to start branching up to adult sizes and most of them are really not made for a ten-year-old. Sure hoping I can find some good styles…I'm always open for advice!

      Reply

    2. I recently started shopping at Justice for Lauren. Have you tried there? They sell plus sizes for almost all clothes in the store. Lauren is in the largest size in the kid section at most stores but Justice plus sizes will buy us some time before we have to jump to the women's section. I'm not sure if the fabrics will be soft enough but it's worth a try. They do have plus size jean shorts and pants that are pretty soft.

      Reply

  3. The way you described Lucy and her clothes is exactly my son. It is torture for all involved to find him clothes when he absolutely needs them! Our saving grace has been the Freedom Board Shop shirts! We don't even live in AZ but have family there and my son wore a shirt of his cousins and fell in love with the softness. We now buy as many as possible every time we are there and sometimes we even have family ship some more to us! So, thank you for saving us on this one!

    Reply

    1. We LOVE Freedom Board Shop! 🙂

      I wish Lu would wear those as every-day shirts but she will only wear them as PJs. She's one particular girl I tell you! For a boy those shirts are so perfect!

      Reply

  4. I was thinking how cute Lucy looked in her Back to School outfit. And then I read your comment on her "must be soft" criteria. So funny. I hope you went back and bought that shirt in every color. She looks fab and happy!

    Reply

    1. I sure did! 🙂 She took forever and a day to talk into trying them on, and then once she did she mostly just liked this one (the other colors aren't quite as soft), but hey, she was so happy so that makes me happy too!

      Reply

  5. I LOVE your photography so much! You have inspired me (in countless ways ha) but especially in the photo area! My goal is to document my children's lives like you do. Such darling girls! And bummer Lucy and my Olivia didn't get the same teacher this year!

    Reply

    1. It's called a GizmoGadget from Verizon and it's awesome because she can call us from it and we can call her if we need her. Makes me feel so much safer as she's venturing out more and more. Thanks for your kind words.
      xoxo

      Reply

  7. My 10 year old also just transitioned to women's sizes and is particular about fabrics, fit, etc. Marine Layer has great SUPER SOFT shirts. We have also had good luck at Old Navy, Target and JCrew Factory.

    Reply

  10. Hi Shawni! While I was reading your post, I had a thought when it comes to Lucy's clothing. Do you know the brand LuLaRoe? You can not buy it in a store, but from consultants (mostly stay at home moms, who want to make some money on the side). I am not a consultant, but I can tell you that I have never found that soft fabric anywhere. Also, most of their styles are super flow-y. And they come in so many different colours, patterns, even with cute prints (dogs, trees, unicorns, but also solid or stripes, etc.). Maybe worth looking into. All my best! Sabine

    Reply

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