Did your table look like this?

the night before the first day of school? Ours did. In the weeks leading up to this event we shopped with all the kids to pick out their school supplies for the year. We also stock up on things like filler paper, notebooks, crayons, pencils, extra markers, etc., because of the great deals you can get. You just can't beat a pencil box for a penny!

So in typical Sears form we wait till the last minute enjoying every second of our freedom of summer and waited to the night before to get us all organized. We had been at the river for the whole weekend and with the intent to come home just after breakfast on Labor Day we lazed around, talked with family more, and piddled a bit in cleanup before finally getting in the car around 5pm. This put us getting back to our house at 7 pm and then we had baths to take. Once all that was done we put the kids in bed and set out to getting names on all their items and packed in their bookbags for the next day.

As a child I used to love the first day of school.

Now as a mom, I hate it.

It reminds me that my kids are one year older.

It reminds me that my kids are growing up too quickly.

And most of all it reminds me that my summer days with them home all the time is again at an end. {sniffle}

The next morning we were up early and out the door in typical Sears fashion- rush rush rush...

So much that the kids and Dad rushed out of the house without even a first day of school photo. {double sniffle} What was he thinking???

But luckily he remembered that he had his cellphone in his pocket and snapped a quick photo of the kids just before the bus came to pick them up. {whew!}