First Day at St. Timothy's!

School is back in session, and it's a whole new school. The girls started St. Timothy's today. We made the hard choice to leave Douglas Elementary after two years, feeling that St. Timothy's would be a better fit for our girls.

Clara has been very open that she is not a huge fan of school. If any one asks her about the first grade experience, she's quick to say "it's horrible." That's not what any of us want, so it was time to try something else. We are excited about St. Timothy's, but changing schools brings with it all sorts of new challenges. For Clara it's been about leaving her old friends behind and...what's this thing about uniforms? She swears it's not for her. She has agreed to do it, but not without Kate working the persuasion angle for a couple months now.

Hattie has left Arts Together after a year, moving now to her fourth school in four years (let us count....White Memorial, St. Mark's, Arts Together, and now St. Timothy's). She is excited to be in the same school as her sister and not so outwardly nervous about making new friends.

It's a new adventure for all of us. And despite the resistance, the girls do look darn cute in those uniforms!

Happy 38th Birthday to Kate!

The candles say 36, but make no mistake that we were celebrating Kate's 38th birthday (we just work with the candles we have). Clara got up early to make pancakes for the special day. After work, Paul, Hattie and Clara walked up to Harris Teeter to buy an ice cream cake and balloons for the celebration that evening. Kate was completely and totally surprised! 

Kidz Bop Concert in 100 Degrees

Kidz Bop made a concert stop in Raleigh this summer, picking an outdoor venue in what ended up being the hottest day of the year. The heat index soared above 100 degrees. But our girls would not be swayed. These teenagers cover "kid friendly" renditions of the most popular pop songs, and Clara and Hattie have been fanatics of their music for a couple of years now. 

With over 30 albums to their credit, we can probably lay claim to owning at least 2/3rds of those.  It's inescapable in our world. The music plays in the car, at home in the girls CD players, as background to lip syncing contests. Our daughters know every word to every song, with Hattie belting out every word and Clara reciting each silently in her mind.

Despite the heat, the girls trooped through the show and even got their first ever concert t-shirts.

Goofball Island

These Dryden girls and their Goofball Island moments...

 

Mother's Day 2016 (3 months late!)

Ok, this one was just shameful. Paul falling so deep on his blogging duties that he missed this entry for Mother's Day. Three months late is better than never, right?

A fantastic mother let's her girls keep their elaborate face paint on for a full day after the birthday party.