Back To School

In August 2024, these three girlies went back to school. 

Gretchen started 11th grade, Megan started 8th grade, and Adalyn started 6th grade. 

This girl was looking forward to middle school! She started 6th grade and along with her core classes, signed up for theater, pre-athletics, and band! She'll learn to play the French Horn! 

Megan is a top dog at middle school, and is cheering, taking athletics, theater, and yearbook! 

Gretchen is taking senior AP English, AP Pre-Cal, Physics, and a lot of other advanced classes! 

Gretchen is also on the JV dance team, the Crimsonettes!! 

A little back to school shopping with this cutie : ) 

And Adalyn is playing soccer this year too! 

 

Back to School!

The girls have been back to school for a while, and honestly, this year, I wasn't ready for school to start. Summer flew by and I think I was dreding the school year starting because that means it's busy season for us. But, we are already a month in and the girls are all doing really well! Adalyn is loving school so much better than she did last year, and I really think her teachers are making all the difference! 

We went to her meet the teacher night the night before school started. 

Her teacher was a high school science teacher and moved down to 5th grade! I'm sure it's a big adjustment for her! 

Adalyn's friend Ria isn't in the same class, but they're hanging out a lot and having so much fun! 

We survived meet the teacher and we are ready for 5th grade! I can't believe it's our last year in elementary school! 

Happy 1st day of school!

Adalyn was up bright and early and ready for school! 

I managed to get a picture of all 3 girls in the morning which is a surprise since they all have different start times. But honestly, they were up so early the first week of school! 

Megan's ready for 7th grade!! Her schedule was a little bit of a mess, but it all worked out and she has off campus pe again this year and is excited for cheerleading! 

DJ was able to go with us the first day of school. We rode bikes and helped Adalyn lock her bike up.

Walking her in....

And all the way to her class; she was not thrilled- ha! 

By the time we got home, Megan was gone- so I'm glad I snapped her picture....

And Gretchen was ready for her sophomore year!!! Her schedule was a huge mess, but after a few weeks of waiting, it was adjusted and is pretty much a great fit for her; she's really excited about a few of her classes this year, and 11th grade english! 

 

Back to School Time!

Well, another Summer is gone, and a new school year is here. It's a little bittersweet. I love Summer time. It's my favorite time of the year because life is relaxed, we are able to travel, and enjoy the sunshine. Sigh. I wish it could stay Summer forever. 

Thankfully, the girls were more excited about going back to school than I was. They were ready! 

Sunday night, I decorated our dining room table to get us in the mood a little bit more. 

Gretchen started high school, and to kick it off, I gifted her this ring that I had when I was a teenager. I've been waiting for years to give it to her, and her fingers are finally big enough. 

On Monday, we headed to her, gasp, high school, for her Freshman orientation! 

I mean, it was just yesterday that I was dropping her off for her first day of preschool.

and her first day of Kindergarten! I mean, how do I have a Freshman?!

She totally rocked the high school vibes on her first day of school. 

Her shirt is here. 

Her high school back pack. Sigh. This back pack caused a lot of drama. 

Her first day was a total success though. She has a few classes with friends. She didn't get lost, and she said she loved her geography teacher! 

Adalyn started 4th grade this year. on Friday, we had meet the teacher. I've heard fabulous things about her teacher, so fingers crossed for a great year! 

Adalyn picked out her outfit from Shein, and she made it a full cat theme with a cat ear headband. 

She picked out a new purple sparkle backpack, and we embroidered a soccer ball on it. 

She came home saying her day was "amazing!" But, she was disappointed to only have two friends in her class, and not have recess with her very best friend. Also, her teacher's lizard pooped, and she said it was disgusting! 

Megan is starting middle school, and Friday night we had her 6th grade orientation.

She picked out her 1st day outfit from Shein too, and new pink nike's. She also insisted that her hair be in a high ponytail and slightly curled. 

And picked out a new blue striped backpack with her monogram. 

She came home saying her day was great, and she only cried once. She was also really worried about the bathroom schedule, because you're only allowed to go so many times in a semester. But, she found some friends at lunch and was able to sit with them! 

She has off campus p.e. this year because of gymnastics, so I picked her up early, and she thought that was awesome! 

We are looking forward to a great school year! One day down. (Yes, I'm counting down until next Summer!) 

 

Getting Back to School Ready!

Back to School is here, and I am not ready for it! In fact, my kids start today, but I know lots of families have already started! 

I thought I'd share a few easy tips for getting back to school ready made easy!

1. Buy new backpacks & lunchboxes. We order these online every other year from Pottery Barn Kids or Pottery Barn Teen. I love that they hold up so well, so my kids don't need a new backpack every year!

2. Stock up on school supplies.  We go through leftovers from last year (my kids bring home what they didn't use, and we'll re-use those.) and see what you need. Don't forget to pick up a few supplies for the house too. Pencils, scissors, glue sticks, and a few markers or crayons 

3. Pre-make muffins. I spend the weekend before school starts baking lots of muffins and freezing them. They're easy to pull out of the freezer on busy mornings and will quickly defrost in the microwave. 

4. Set out outfits. The first day of school outfits are typically easy, because they're new. But after the first day, my kids pick out whatever they have. Gretchen is pretty self sufficient, but we try to narrow it down for Adalyn and set out several outfits for her week at the beginning of the week, so it's easier for her to choose when she's cranky in the mornings. 

5. Get your calendar ready. I've spent the past few days writing down everything I could in my planner so I'm ready for whatever comes our way. We have football games written out, appointments logged in, as well as gymnsatics meets. 

6. Cancel appointments. Did you accidentally schedule something for the first week of school? Cancel it In fact, I'm having all of my speech parents cancel speech if their appointment is on the first day of school. Teachers and staff have enough chaos as it is and tracking down your child to check them out the first week of school is going to be crazy. Plus kids come home tired and exhausted. Just cancel what's extra that week, and take the time to readjust. 

7. Clean out closets. Go through closets and toss out or give away anything that your kids have out grown or might have stains or holes in them. There is nothing worse than your kid coming down in a shirt and then they have to change because it has a stain or a hole and they didn't notice it, 

8. Stock up on snacks. I go to Costco the weekend before school starts to make sure we have plenty of options for snacks and lunches. I also made an order from Thrive Market and stocked up on a few things the girls wanted to try!

9. Fix as much lunch as you can ahead of time. Sunday afternoons, I lunch prep. I wash fruits/veggies, and portion them out in to little containers. You can do this with chips, snacks, popcorn, etc. I even pre-make sandwiches and throw them in the fridge. Then, when we are fixing lunches, it's literally a quick grab & put in. That being said. we always make lunches the night before! 

10. Give yourself grace. The week of a school starting again and getting back in to the routine. Give yourself, and your kids lots of grace!

 

Back to School: 3 Things

The Welte girls started back to school a few weeks ago, and by all accounts it's going well. They are all loving their teachers and making new friends, and enjoying school. I of course, have mixed emotions, about school and what's going on in the world, but that's more my problem, than theirs, and I want them to be happy. 

MEGAN

1. Megan is in 5th grade this year. It's also the first year that she'll be changing teachers. She has 3 different teachers, and so far, she's enjoying them. She often tells me that she'll talk to her ELA teacher throughout recess rather than playing with friends. And, she's had math homework a few times, but hasn't complained too much about it. 

2. This year all of the girls have chrome books. Megan brought hers home today and she thinks that's pretty cool.

3. She'll be busy with 15 hours a week of gymnastics after school and competitions a few times throughout the Fall. We're getting in a fairly decent routine of coming home, unpacking lunches, grabbing a snack, and getting out the door for gymnastics. 

ADALYN

1. Adalyn is in 3rd grade this year, and she's thankful that she doesn't have another "Addy" in the class, because she did in 1st grade and she hates going by Addy. She'd much rather everyone call her Adalyn. 

2. She has a substitute for the beginning of the school year because her teacher just had a baby. So far, she's enjoying her substitute and I'm just thankful her sub is an experienced, retired teacher versus someone with less experience that jumped in. Adalyn is going to need lots of encouragement this year. 

3. She still can't decide if she wants to take dance lessons, horse back riding, or play soccer. She really just wants to do what her best friend does, but sometimes she wants to do something else. For now, we are holding off a few more weeks, and hoping she'll make up her mind. 

GRETCHEN

1. Gretchen is the top dog at her school as an 8th grader. But, there were some kinks heading in to the school year. She is zoned for a brand new middle school, which is still under construction, although it was suppose to open when school started. So, she's currently back at her old middle school, but technically attending the new middle school. It's totally confusing, and eventually she will move to a new building.

2. She has classes with a few of her friends and she's loving that! They have assigned seats at lunch and thankfully she was able to sit near 3 friends on the day seats were assigned, so she'll have lunch buddies. 

3. She is taking dance as an elective in school, as well as theater, and broadcasting, so no afternoon activities for her, but school, church, and friends will definitely keep her busy!

DJ

1. DJ is busy with Fall football and we haven't seen him much, which is pretty typical for this time of the year. 

2. He was able to move in to the new football offices in the south endzone, which has been one of his big projects since landing here at UT. It will be so wonderful when everything is complete and he can see all of the hard work pay off. 

3. They've asked him to fly out early to away games, so rather than leaving with the team on Fridays, he'll most likely leave on Thursday's. It looks like the days of us not seeing him much will continue, but he does try to take the girls to school when he can go in to the office later!

ELAINE

1. I'm back to working 4 days a week, but I'm currently trying to build my caseload back up, so my days are not hectic at all right now, so I'm secretly loving that!

2. Cooking isn't happening much around here, because DJ isn't home, and I'm totally fine letting us all fend for ourselves, eating left overs, or heating something up that's super quick. 

3. I'm currently digging head first back in to my Young Living business with some super exciting things rolling out soon! I have a lot of goals that I'm wanting to accomplish in the next year, and after turning 39 this summer, I'll admit, 40 isn't looking so bad! 

 

Back to School

Yesterday, my girls went back to school. 

I have to be honest, I wasn't ready at all! Once August hit, I realized that we frantically needed to order new backpacks and lunch boxes and buy school supplies. This year, I compiled the three separate lists, and put everything I would need in my Target cart online. I waited until tax free weekend, hit check out, and picked up everything at the store later that afternoon. It saved a lot of stress at the store, but honestly, it was still stressful- I just yelled at my kids at school instead of in the store- ha! 

To get us in the back to school spirit, I decided I would do some festive decorating. 

I've had this tiered stand for a while, I think I bought it from Hobby Lobby. I filled it with little trinkets that I had around the house, including lots of left over pencils from last year! 

On the bottom, I added a few books and a faux apple. 

On our side board, I changed out the letter board and set a few apples out. 

And in the living room, I added a banner under the TV, and a few touches to our tiered stand. 

Part of me thought that I would try to host a "back to school" dinner with friends, but August flew by and it just came and went so fast that I wasn't able to. 

Tuesday night we had Meet the Teacher. We always bring school supplies on this night so the girls aren't hauling them in on the 1st day of school. 

We met Adalyn's teacher and found out that her best friend from kindergarten is in her class! 

And Megan got the teacher she wanted! 

And the night before school, we read "The Night Before First Grade." I've read this book to all of the girls before they started 1st grade. We also had The Night Before Preschool and The Night Before Kindergarten. 

Thursday morning, we were up bright & early. Thankfully, the girls were excited and they woke up easily and got everything done. 

We had their backpacks and lunches prepped and ready to go the night before, so they only had to wake up, get dressed, and eat. 

I found printables, and made each of them a 1st day of school sign. 

And then I wanted to do a fun first day, so we took photos and I added a little something about the girls.

Gretchen started middle school and told us that we couldn't walk her in to school. She received her schedule and had an eventful lunch, because the microwaves at school overheated and caused the fire alarms to go off, so they all had to evacuate! 

We did get to walk Megan and Adalyn to class. 

Megan said she only had one kid in her class from last year, but she was able to find a few friends to play with during recess and even gets to sit with a friend on the bus! 

Addy's BFF is in her class, so that basically makes her day. But, she said her teacher was super nice! 

Here's looking to a fun year at school!