Kids across the nation are starting school.  Summer is coming to a close, soon Fall will be here!  Fall is my favorite season, pumpkin flavored everything, leaves changing colors, the cool, crispness of sweater weather, football season, and the official beginning of the holidays.

Some parents are sad about summer ending, we all enjoy lazy summer days with no routine, no shuffling kids to and from activities, and just simply having your kids at home!  While we enjoyed the summer, I’m personally so relieved the kids have gone back to school.  (I wanted to do a happy dance or throw a party when both kids loaded onto the bus and drove off!)

I found these hilarious memes that I know many parents can relate to:

Dean will be a sophomore this year, and Cienna will start third grade!  Time sure does fly.  We had a great summer, we spent lots of quality time together as a family and the kids learned some life skills too!

We spent some time at the beach…

We were at the pool almost every day!  Cienna learned to swim, and passed her deep end test!

Dean got his permit in May, Jeremy and I have been teaching him to drive.

The highlight of our summer was a trip to visit family in Tennessee.  We spent the weekend on the lake, boating and just hanging out with family.

Jeremy and I were also able to spend a weekend in New Orleans for a mini vacation.

Hope everyone had a wonderful summer, but I’m one happy Mama that my kids are back in school! Here were their bright and shiny faces from this morning when I snapped the obligatory “back to school” picture: