morning message courtesy of Nimuae...

Please don't be scared of me. I am not what I seem.

You just have to open your heart. I am awesome !!

Gita Pi turns 7!

Popping in after a long absence from the blog (so so busy) to share some photos from Gita's 7th Birthday. David and I got to visit her school in the morning for a lovely 1st grade production of the "Grouchy Ladybug." It was wonderful to see Gita at school, with all her friends, on her birthday. After the little play, they all sang happy birthday (cha cha cha) to her. Later that afternoon, we picked her up from school to go pick out balloons for her party. Then the neighbors came over for a light supper and cupcakes. On the top of Gita's wishlist was an American Girl doll, which all her loving grandparents chipped in for. We had a wonderful celebration and we very happy to maintain our school night bedtime even with a birthday party thrown into the mix.

Happy Birthday, Gita Pi ~

Edisto Island 2011

Boy oh boy. What a month it has been. 

The school transition is going pretty well. There have certainly been some bumps in the road, but for the most part, it is been smooth. The girls really like their teachers and are making friends. Noah has a pretty easy semester for his freshman year ~ gym, cooking, drafting, and history ~ loves not having much homework and is really enjoying his classes. Thank goodness! Waking up at 5:40am is slowly getting easier ~ and walking Nim through  2 hours of homework is not yet getting easier, but I have my fingers crossed that it will.

To honor the end of summer, we headed down to Edisto Island, SC for our 3rd annual labor day beach week with two of our favorite families. We've been renting the same house for 3 years and every year we love it a little more. Noah came home after a few days with one of the families who were only able to stay for the first half of the week. We sure missed him being with us, but he was really excited about having the house to himself for a few days. The weather at the beach was amazing, the dolphins gave us a daily show, we ate tons of seafood, and really had a blast~ heaven!

Of course, I took a gazillion pictures....here are a few for starters, more to come later.

big day

Big big day for the five carmonas... we all made it through the first day of school!

Noah: first day as a freshman, check ~
Nimuae: first day as a fifth grader, check ~
Gita Pi: first day as a first grader, check ~
Parents: first day with all three kids at school, check ~

Phew. What a day it was. Noah wanted to ride the bus to school, so the fellas woke up at 5:45 to catch the bus at the end of the road at 6:30. The girls wanted to get a ride in on the first day so we dropped Nim off first and then popped over to Gita's school for her drop-off. They were so brave, said their good byes, and walked into their schools while D and I shed tears and waved. Gita thought it was pretty darn cool that the Black Mountain fire-fighters were at her school helping the kids out the cars (lovin' the small town livin').

After pulling away from the school, we headed over to the Morning Glory Cafe for a celebratory anniversary breakfast. We reminisced over our 11 years of marriage while sipping coffee and eating. It was super sweet. Then a day at work for me, and a day at home for David (the stove got scrubbed, the floor got vacuumed, and the laundry got folded ~ hooray!)

We met the kids back at the bus stop (they all took the bus home) at the end of day. They had to run from the bus to the car in one of the craziest hail/rain/electric storms ever (thank goodness they got home safely) and then had tons of stories to share.

This morning, we all woke up early to get everyone ready for the bus. We waited for a few minutes at the end of the road, in the dark, until the bus came, the kids kissed us good-bye, hopped on the bus, and drove away. D and I came home at 6:45 to a totally empty and quiet house. Totally strange but totally cool.

big changes

It is official... all 3 Carmona kids will be going to school this year. The girls started talking about their desire to give it a try last spring. I thought that maybe the idea would just fade away during the summer, but I was wrong. They became more sure and their stated reasons for why they would want to attend school became more difficult to argue. So they went on a tour of the local schools and we registered soon after. Today we went to meet the teachers and they will have their first day on Thursday. They are so excited and just a little nervous. We have been in a bustle of making sure we have the supplies from their lists, along with socks and undies and good shoes. Gita will be going to Black Mountain Primary (she always says "Blackberry Primary." cute name) and her 1st grade teacher is Mrs Wells. Nimuae will be going to Black Mountain Elementary and her 5th grade teacher is Mr. O'Shea. Noah will be attending Owen High School as a freshman. They will all ride the bus to and from school ~

I knew I had to face my collection of homeschool curriculum. And I knew that packing it up would not be easy. I spent a day sorting through everything, what to keep and what to pass on, until I had everything filed away, nice and neat, ready just in case any girls decide they would rather be back at home. It was a highly emotional day ~ I felt like I was boxing up forgotten dreams. But the idea of school is growing on me. I will re-arrange my work schedule to make sure I am home everyday to meet them at the bus and eat a snack together and talk about our days. I will be there for homework and I will make sure everyone gets as many hugs and kisses as they need. It is just a really big change ~ I have been homeschooling for 10 years and I was ready to go another 10. But, on Thursday, I will be sending the girls off to another teacher, with lots of kids their own ages, to learn. Big big changes.

a summery week

The summer groove really has a hold on us. How is it possible that we are less than two weeks away from the first day of school? The heat has been intense, but with that heat comes afternoons spent at the pool, very welcome afternoon rain showers, and lots of popsicles eaten. 

and this amazing double rainbow stretching across the sky:

We've had a great week of kid camps and classes:

And we finally got around to visiting our dear friends Carmen & Galen who recently started a chicken farming operation, Which Came First Farms (isn't that a sweet name?). They are raising meat birds and selling their product at the local tailgate markets and to some restaurants. They're also raising hens for eggs. We discovered a week or so ago that 5 of our hens are not actually hens. Bummer. We decided to keep one rooster and send the rest over to Carmen & Galen. And there is nothing like taking care of a chore and getting to visit/share a meal with friends all in one go.

a day at camp through Nimuae's eyes...

Nim and Gita had a week at a day camp in Montreat. The theme was Art in Nature which is right up the girls' alley. They had a blast and our house is now full of fairy houses made of sticks, leaf pressings, and sand art. Not only did the girls really enjoy themselves, but apparently they were so very helpful with the younger children and teachers that the director invited them back this week ~ as helpers. They are taking their job very seriously. The week the theme is Cooking. Again, right up their alley. 


Today Nimuae took the camera with her to document the day. She came back with so many awesome photos ~ I chose a few that I thought were especially lovely. If she was not asleep already, I would ask her to describe each one. Instead, the pictures will need to speak for themselves.


The important thing here is, folks, that Nimuae, 10-year old Nimuae, took all these pictures. Aren't they wonderful?!