The 9th Annual Tea

We celebrated our 9th Annual Back to School Tea on Tuesday and it was a highlight of the week. The girls come home from their first day and we sit together and have treats and listen to them share their day. They love telling all about their teachers, classes, and friends and I love hearing about their experiences. 

This year we had petit fours from Plaza Bakery along with chocolate chip cookies, cheese and crackers, peaches, strawberries, and apple juice. It was a tasty treat. 

I must admit I was a bit melancholy as I thought about this being the last tea we would share at our kitchen all together. This is just the beginning of all the "lasts" we'll share with each other. But, so grateful the girls will always have these memories. 

8th Annual Back to School Tea

Each year the girls and I have a Back to School Tea. We talk about their day and listen to each other's highs and lows. It's a great way for them to unwind and always something they look forward to at the start of the school year.

This year I went to my favorite local bakery and picked up goodies for them there. Plaza Bakery has the best petit fours and the girls agreed, they are delicious.

Decorations

Preparing the table

Tasty treats

A Lilly gift for Lily

A gift for Shelly from one of our favorite gift shops

Happy girls after their first day

Week One

Cute girls 

The girls had a smooth, calm, and great start to their first week of school. Shelly is loving middle school. She has a terrific group of teachers and enjoys her classes. Lily is happy to be back with her friends and she likes her classes and teachers. 

An unrelated series of photos of the girls from this summer
I always like to add pictures to my words

I'm always relieved when they are happy and back in the swing of things with school. With all of the activities swirling around us, it feels good knowing that school is going well for them both. 

The Back to School Tea

Every year I do a little something for the girls when they return from their first day of school. This year I kept our annual "tea" pretty simple. We had ice water and Krispy Kreme doughnuts accompanied by a couple of back to school gifts.

It's our chance to hang out and just talk about the day. There are no interruptions and everyone gets an opportunity to share about new teachers, classes, and friends. It's one of the things I enjoy most about starting a new school year.

Sixth Grader and a Tenth Grader

They headed off to school with smiles (mostly) and a good attitude. Shelly was very excited to enter the middle school and be one of the big kids! Lily was looking forward to seeing her friends once again. 

Sophmore

Ready to catch the bus

6th grader

Doughnuts and Tea

So, it's time for the annual back to school tea with the girls. This year we had to wait until Lily came right home from school and didn't have a game or practice. So, we held our celebration on Wednesday.

I opted to keep the snack simple this year and go for what I know they like---Krispy Kreme doughnuts and unsweetened iced tea with lemon!!! 

I also got them each a few little items. 

Lily got a book, a little dish for her jewels, Pirouline sticks, and a cute little BOPS wire bangle.







I bought Shelly some washi tape, Hershey's drops, a zipper bracelet, and a Happy dish for her jewels. 








It's always a nice chance to relax and chat about school, their teachers, their friends, and all of the new changes in their school life.

9th and 5th!!!!

The girls were up and ready to go early this morning! Amazed at how well they both did at 6:10 this morning. They have been sleeping in so much this summer so that early alarm clock was a bit of a shock. But, they did great.

Here they are ready to head to the bus. There was so much fog this morning so we opted for some indoor photos:

Smiling 9th grader

Happy

Smiling Sisters

Excited 5th Grader

Grinning from ear to ear

I can't wait until they are back home and I can hear all about their day!!! So happy for them both!

Going Back to School

School begins for the girls on Monday. That means that Lily will head off to high school and Shelly will enter her last year in elementary school. Whoa!

When did my little girls who loved playing with baby dolls and watching Barney and Dora get so old?

The girls had their Open Houses at their schools on Thursday night. They were both happy to see their friends and happy to meet their new teachers. 

I'm ready for this big new chapter for them both. I know they will be fine and do well. As a former teacher, I love the Fall and the new beginnings that come with the start of school. I enjoy the routine and schedule that comes along with being back at school and I think I'm ready for it all to get going. Sometimes the anticipation of the unknown is the hardest part.

So, let's get this school year going!!!

School Stuff

The girls did a little back to school supply shopping last week. It seemed as if there were fewer items needed this year. Not so sure why that is, but it made the process of shopping a bit easier.

The table with the supplies

A stack of notebooks for Lily

Lily's favorite pencils

Lily's new Lilly agenda planner

Shelly's binder---she's so excited to have a big binder this year

 School supplies always help me get in the mood for the Fall and all of the changes ahead!

Tea Time

This year we had our 5th annual back to school tea party on the second day of school. Shelly had her first day of gymnastics on the first day of school. So we opted to hold off on our celebration. 

Waiting for the guests

Our tea included fruit, artichoke dip, bacon and cheese pinwheels, and cupcakes. Of course, we also had iced tea with lemon. The girls got their back to school gifts. A cute initial necklace for each, a pretty bracelet, and a box of candy. 

Gifts for the girls

Fruit, pinwheels, artichoke dip, and cupcakes

We enjoyed our afternoon tea and chatted about their day. Always fun to hear all of the news of the day. And, I like the idea of starting things off with a happy little party!

Happy faces, yummy food, and fun conversations