Kindergarten

I still can't wrap my head around the fact that I have two Kindergarteners!!!!  They have been in school three weeks now and we are settling into our new routine and loving our new school!!! 

There are so many things I want to remember and document about the start of this new adventure.  First it is the twins first time being apart.  Besides a few activities like dance and t-ball, they have never done anything apart.  Even in those activities they are there supporting each other.  So this was a big change for all of us.  As the first day of school got closer and closer they started to realize that they were not going to be in the same class and started to get a little nervous/sad.  Ellie kept saying "why are you doing this to us?"  One day we were out running errands and Bobo saw a heart shaped locket (he is constantly trying to buy Ellie gifts) and begged to buy it for Ellie.  The next day we realized it opened up and he asked to put pictures of himself in it so if she missed him at school she could look at him.  I mean talk about melting a mamas heart!!!

 I will admit I cried...alot the first week of school.  They luckily never saw it and I was deep down so so excited for them, but two at once is hard.  One thing that got me through the week was the fact that the teachers send multiple pictures and videos everyday and that I volunteer for so much I end up being at school several times a week!

Also being on his own has really changed this sweet boy.  He has such a sense of self now and is much more talkative and confident.  I think Ellie has always protected him and he has kind of followed her for the most part.  

The first week of school he was very quiet and kept to himself.  I was pretty worried about him making friends without his wing man(Ellie), but week two he met the sweetest little boy and they have been inseparable since!

When people ask him about Kindergarten he says "I love it. And I have a best friend named Bennett."

 I love that they are making so many sweet friends.

 

 We have felt so welcomed and loved.  One of the reasons we chose this school for the twins was because all the kids seemed to genuinely love school.  What a gift to give your child, an environment where they will love to learn and be loved by those teaching them.  When I introduce myself to a member of the faculty they always hear my last name and they either know one of the kids names or say "you have twins in Kindergarten right?"  They truly all care about not only the kids, but the entire family.  It makes me want to go back to Kindergarten haha!

I also love that these two get to see each other alot.  First of all he walks her to class every single morning.  They have PE everyday together as well as recess.  Often they get to see each other walking around campus and at lunchtime.  The teachers say Ellie always yells "Hey Bobo and waves excitedly".  I hope they remain close and always have each others backs, but flourish in their own way.

Nantucket

We recently took the kids to our happy place, Nantucket!  We have been telling them since our trip last year that the next time we go we would bring them along.  It was so neat to see them experience it for the first time, and of course they feel in love just like we did.  

When we land we always go to Cru first for lunch.

The kids loved the oysters and hushpuppies the size of Ryan's fist.

After lunch we walked around and stopped by the Juice Bar for ice cream.

We spent the rest of the day at Jetties Beach.   We made sandcastles, searched for seashells, swam and then had dinner at the Sand Bar in our bathing suits.

The kids loved the sandbars at Jetties Beach.  The water was a little cold for me, but didn't seem to bother these three at all. 

Ryan bought a whiffle ball and bat and played beach baseball with Bobo.

Our sweet friend Holly bought them this game and it was perfect for restaurants!  Also Bobo's hair was cracking us up!  He kept saying "Beach hair, don't care."

The food at the Sand Bar is ok, but the grilled oysters were pretty darn good!

Before the kids bedtime we bathed them and walked to the local wine store for some wine to drink after kids bedtime.

I surprised the kids with matching pjs.

When we woke up the next morning it was drizzling and super foggy, so we walked to Fog Island Cafe for breakfast and did some shopping.  

 We took the kids to Town Pool.  They have three levels- bottom is a candy store and zero gravity Photo Booth, middle is clothing store and top is miniature golf.

They also have a duck scavenger hunt that changes daily for young kids.  Once the kids finish the hunt they get $1 to spend in the candy store.  This occupied them while Ryan and I shopped!  

 Our first visit to Nantucket we went fishing and had the fish we caught made into a piece of art.  We cut the large piece of art into three medium sized pages and had them framed for above our family room couch.  We took kids by to see the store and meet Pete.  When we walked in we saw a replica of our fish art on his check out counter.  The twins thought this was really cool(and so did we)!!!

 We had drinks at Tree bar while kids colored and lunch at Provisions.

It had stopped raining by mid day so we went to the beach and then got dressed up for dinner. We headed to The White Elephant for cocktails before dinner.

Ellie was complaining a lot before and after dinner so we told her if she kept it up she wouldn't get ice cream.  We are not the parents who are full of empty threats...we follow through.  As Bobo and I waited in line to get ice cream I looked across the street and saw this...hahaha!  She never whined or complained, but I guarantee you she learned her lesson and was good so she could get ice cream the next day!

The next morning we picked up our jeep rental and headed to breakfast!  We could walk to most things, but it was nice to plan meals further away while we had the jeep!

We went to breakfast, did some grocery shopping and then stopped by Something Natural for lobster sandwiches before going to the beach.  

The twins loved letting the air out of the tires before we drove on the beach. 

I put on a headscarf for the windy ride and Ellie insisted she have one too.  She looked so stinking cute in it too!

We really wanted to spend the day at the beach so we bought a bocce set and some other fun games.

This little one recently fell in love with sparkling water so she and I would split one each day at lunch.

Oh this stuff is so yummy!!!

We wore the twins out and let them snooze while we drove to a different beach. They stopped napping a little over two months ago, but still fall asleep in the car most days. n

The kids were loving driving around and checking out the island while beach hopping all day long.

We headed home and showered before dinner at Millie's.  This place was so fun and definitely the place to be on a Friday night!

Friyay+ice cream+a topless jeep= perfect day.

On Saturday we returned our jeep and rented these bikes!  I was not sure how it was going to work, but once we started it was so easy and fun.  I love that the kids were in front of us so we could see them, they had better view and we could hear them talk about all they were seeing!

If you ask the twins what their favorite part about Nantucket was, they would most likely say the bikes!  We had so much fun on these!!!

After cruising around and getting lunch and snacks to go we headed to Children's Beach.

Ryan bought a net and they caught some fish and attempted to catch crabs off the dock.

Another lunch...another lobster sandwich on the beach!!!

Later in the afternoon it started to drizzle again so we showered and went back to Town Pool for the kids duck scavenger hunt!

On our last night we ate at Boarding House and every single thing we ordered was divine.  We all loved the smoked salmon pate...so much we ordered 2!  We finished the night with ice cream from The Juice Bar of course. 

It was a little chilly the last morning so we did some more shopping and the twins picked out these cute sweat shirts.  They have been sleeping with them over their pjs most nights now that we are home too.

If you google Nantucket chances are you will see pictures of beautiful hydrangeas.  The pictures don't lie!  They are gorgeous and EVERYWHERE!

Bobo insisted on taking one of Ryan and I too:)  We will hopefully make it back to this happy island every year....next year we want to rent a small house and stay longer!!!