Bub-Bye Summah

Summer is over. Crap. It's September. Today, the kids have sign-in day and tomorrow is the first day of school. I am not ready for summer to end.

We've had so much fun playing in the sun, swimming, going on bike rides and enjoying the weather.

Here is a quick flashback of the last couple of weeks...

We took Grandma Brenda hiking with us!

 The kids finished up swimming lessons for the summer. Unfortunately, Hudson and Madden both had fevers on the last day of lessons, so I didn't get a picture of them. This year, we chose to do day time lessons-- I took two mornings off of work, Craig did some days and my mom did some. It really helped to not have to run to swimming every evening!
For the first time, the big kids will be repeating a lesson. They all handled it very well, and we'll be doing swimming in the fall/winter too...a first for us. I hope we can handle two nights of soccer, two nights of hockey, two nights of dance, religion and swimming. Yikes.

 All of the kids got back to school hair cuts. For Everleigh, it was her first real-major hair cut. She wanted an inch, I wanted 6. We compromised on about 4 inches. Her hair was so long, she got to stand up on the counter at the salon! :)

 Another year older for the Bergie Bunch mama....the kids (and Craig) treated me like a queen on my day.

 Paisley attended dance training camp last week. Here she is with her dance besties. Unfortunately, these three girls did not end up on the same team this year, but no doubt they will still love getting together. We are excited for another fun year of dance!

 Last weekend Craig worked, so I decided to take the kids to the Mall of America for a fun day of rides, rides and more rides. I was a little nervous about taking them all alone....mostly because I feel like no matter what we do, we spend half of the time taking kids to the bathroom...but it was just fine. They were perfect and we all had so much fun.

 Hudson's dreams came true....

 We felt bad eating at the Hard Rock Café without Daddy...the one who loves music the most. But not bad enough to skip out on photos of our fun.
A drum set (like the one in the background) has been on Hudson's wish list for about 3 years now. He is dying to have one. Have you ever been in a house with 4 young kids? It's loud. I can't imagine drums added in that mix. He was in heaven and dreaming of drums the whole time at lunch.

I find some pretty amazing things on the camera roll of my phone. She's also been sending selfies to my best friend. Just random pictures. Sigh. She's old.

Tomorrow, school begins.

Tomorrow, the entire Bergie Bunch crew will attend Locust Lane Elementary school. Tomorrow signifies that the kids are growing up and that we no longer have babies. It's so bitter sweet.

What's hardest to believe, is that this little cutie is old enough to go to school. It seems like yesterday that we were getting the surprise of our lifetime when we thought our family was complete--and it wasn't.

Dear Everleigh Calla,

How did this happen? How did my smiley, easy-going baby become old enough to be a Kinder? Tomorrow, you will walk in to the same school that you've been watching your siblings go to for three years. This day is so bittersweet for me. You're ready, I know you are. It's me. It's me who isn't ready. I'm  happy--but I'm having a hard time letting go. I'm worried that you'll miss me. And I'm worried that you won't.

My hope for you as you start your new journey tomorrow is that you don't forget who you are. Please never stop marching to the beat of your own drum. Do what makes you happy. Be respectful, be open minded, be nice to everyone--even if they aren't nice to you. Be a good listener. Don't lose your voice. Show your talents--tell jokes, sing and play musical instruments. Most of all, I hope you have fun. I hope you always remember Mrs.Mazurek and that you run down the hall for years to come to give her a big hug.

As you enter this new big-kid world, I promise I will always be here to encourage you, to support you and to tell you it's going to be okay when you feel like it won't. I promise to make you go outside of your comfort zone, to learn in new ways and to try my best not to make you do something just because your siblings did it a certain way.

Everleigh, I wish you the best first day of Kindergarten. I can't wait to hear how it goes and to watch you grow throughout the year. To be able to walk behind you in your journey fills my heart with so much joy.

You are my sunshine....

XOXO,

Love always,

Mom