We had a VERY rare day on Labor Day. J and I were both home and we had nothing but time as a family. We decided to take the girls to Ringing Rock Park in Pennsylvania. It's a place we both grew up going to as kids and knew it would be a hit with the girls. It's a very large "field of boulders" on top of a mountain. And the rocks, when hit with a hammer ring like a bell.



You can see by the last part how precarious it is to navigate. Quite a few times I was holding my breath. Thankfully no falls or injuries. The worst part was when the girls decided (both separately) it would be a good idea to jump from rock to rock. A mother's heart can only take so much.

After ringing rocks, we went to a park for some playground fun. It was a totally awesome and relaxing day. I so wish we could have more of these...



Tomorrow is a big day in our house. Kayla starts Kindergarten and Alysa starts preschool. They both will be attending the Montessori school. Kayla's biggest change will be that she will be there all day from 9-3 which means lunch! It's a huge step for all of us but one I'm comfortable with since she's staying one more year at the Montessori school. They have been wonderful and I know will continue to be. I've gone over all the details with her teachers and there will be a lot of hand washing. Her teacher will be strategically guiding the kids to sit appropriately so no kids with open milk will be near Kayla - same for pizza day. She will also guide them according to what they have for lunch that day. I have grilled proper lunchtime etiquette into Kayla's probably-overloaded 5 year old brain and she appears to be very confident. I have packed her lunch in containers she can open and close herself. I figure the more independent she is the less the teachers need to help her which minimizes the risk to her and the stress on them.

I'm nervous because it's new, but relatively minimally so. I'm also excited for her. And Alysa couldn't be more excited. And she's not just excited for school, but she's excited to be able to eat the dairy snacks the school provides. But she's so cute too when she tells me she'll keep the dairy away from Kayla. She's such a good little sister. But what I'm most excited about is the fact that after Alysa is done in school at 11:30 I will be taking her out to lunch. Yes, a lunch with dairy infestation. A lunch solely for her where she can eat whatever her little heart desires. Don't worry - I'll bring my camera.