Back To School Party

I am convinced that it is more difficult to get your kids to sleep the 

night before school starts 

than it is on Christmas Eve. Seriously.

They were wired. 

Wrestling...squealing...jumping .

Their adrenaline rush even sent them into a little

love fest, which was fun to capture.

They finally settled down enough to pack their lunches. 

Bryce joined in the fun and packed a lunch to take on his trip to Grandma's the next morning.

I love Bradley's bottom lip. 

In the words of his Aunt Jenny, "He needs a wheelbarrow to haul it around". 

So delicious and squishy. You haven't lived until that boy has given you a kiss on the cheek. 

He lives a tormented life of girls chasing him on the playground, because of it.

While packing lunches, we realized that Bryce has an uncanny resemblance to 

Thomas the Train.

Thanks to Pinterest, I had the teacher gifts ready to go. Apples and Caramel dip. Mmm... 

  

 Tom gave each of the kids a Father's Blessing for their first day of school. 

This is my favorite part of Back to School Eve.

Morning came early. Tom thought the kids would make more friends if they went to school smelling like bacon....so he filled the entire house with bacon smoke. His plan worked and their hair and clothing was saturated with smell of bacon grease. The bonus was that Tom and I also got to smell like bacon when we walked the kids into class. Collectively, I am sure we were quite the stink.

There was also some egg stench thrown into the mix. Tom makes the best eggs...even if they ARE stinky.

Bradley was first to be dropped off.

Oops. I forgot to include something in the picture....

BAM! (Yes...those are the shoes he chose. 

So happy I will never have to worry about losing him in a crowd.

And then Karah. Off to Middle School. 

Pinch me. Is she really that old?

Walking down the Middle School Halls... brave girl.

The day flew by and before I knew it, they were back home telling 

me about all of their first day adventures. 

They were so excited for their back to school dinner party... again, sponsored by Pinterest.

I was so excited to find these adorable Apple napkin rings at Pier 1. 

I got to use my birthday gift certificate that my mama gave me.

The kids loved seeing some of their artwork from previous years.

The fancy dinner was served.

I went to the school cafeteria to buy the milk cartons. 

Why does milk taste so stinking good out of a cardboard box?

This year I decided to stick with a simple dessert of cupcakes with toppers that I made with cake pop sticks and scrapbook "thingys". Can you tell I'm not a scrapbooker?

The kids loved their grade level cupcakes, the best.

It was much easier to get them in bed, that night.

Worn out from their long, exciting day...they were READY for bed.

(Bradley was faking sleep here, I suspect)

Sweet dreams...of the second day.