Countdown - 2 days

So, there are two days left before school.  I took the day off of work so that Ella and I could play and just enjoy being together.  After we took Mary Catherine and Wesley to school, we stopped at McDonald's and got a bisquit.  We headed to Target to exchange a few things and then to do some shopping for the "Wish List" for the Children's House.  Ella had a lot of fun picking out supplies to give to Ms. Susan.  We then headed over to Academy Sports where she helped me pick out some new running attire for Clint's big race.  So, we were done with shopping at that point and off to the Water Park we headed!

We are totally clueless sometimes and we just kind of realized that Greenville Rec has several water parks in the area :)  Ella and I decided to go to Discovery Island in Simpsonville.  You could tell it was a Monday and that it was the Monday before school because there really weren't that many people there :) 

We got there when the park opened and just kind of took it all in.  She was a little timid at first (as was I), but it didn't take any time for her to get the hang of it and just play, play, play.  There was an area where she played by herself.  We went on the lazy river...a lot of times :)  Then there were 2 big slides.  She isn't tall enough for the yellow one, but she was for the blue one - as long as I rode with her.  She was nervous - I could tell.  She wasn't really sure what to think.  But, we got on the tube and down we went.  She was completely speechless all the way down the slide.  But, as soon as the first ride was over, she said, "We gotta go again."  So, we did.  About 10 more times that day :)  There was a section of the slide where it was covered so it was pitch dark.  Once she got comfortable with the slide, she started getting louder and louder thru the dark part of the slide.  By the end of the day, everytime we went thru, she would scream really loud, "I. CAN'T. SEE. ANYTHING.!!!"  It was soo funny!

As the day went on and on, she got braver and braver. It was just so intriging to watch her. She started going down the slides (the small ones of course, on her belly head first, sitting up backwards, on her belly backwards - any which way you can imagine. Here is a video of her :)

We ate lunch at the park and played until about 2:30 that afternoon.  She was pretty much wiped out.  After we left there, we went to Marble Slab and had some good, yummy ice cream. 

On our way to pick up the other kiddos, we stopped at Family Dollar and picked up some coloring/activity books for Ms. Susan.  She had a big time picking them out and then taking them all into Ms. Susans' office. 

She was exhausted when we got home, but was beaming from ear to ear telling Clint all about it that night.  It was a really AWESOME day. I think I have found us a tradition :)

That night, I had the Kindgarten Preview for parents, so I headed on up to the school at 5:30.  Met up with Nate and Heather, our neighbors whose son is starting kindergarten too.  Other than a few moments of overwhelmness at the water park today, I have pretty much been okay with this whole kindergarten transition.  Well, during the presentation, I started getting choaked up.  I couldn't breath.  The last 6 years started flashing thru my mind and I couldn't believe that Ella is really about to embark on this journey.  But, I held it together, so I was doing pretty good.  Then it was "over" and we got to go to our little stations and meet our kids teachers.  As soon as Ms. Klinkler introduced herself, I cried.  I couldn't even say my name or Ella's name or anything.  I just cried.  She hugged me and assured me it would be okay.  Wow - so much more emotional than I thought I would be!!