the most wonderful time of the year

i swore it. i would never, NEVER be one of "those" moms.

you know, the ones looking harried and sweaty in late august. muttering under their breath "2 more weeks....just TWO MORE WEEKS".

the ones who admit freely "i can't WAIT until summer is over."
how could they, i wondered? don't we have children so that we can be with our children? don't you miss them? and long for the lazy days of summer to reconnect and bond with them?

uh, yeah.
today, i saw the light.
this light, in particular:

and oh what a lovely light it is.

2010-2011 school year has officially started. and they're off:

some of us weren't quite as happy about the new school year starting as others were...

(although, in his defense, that is a mighty large pile of books to walk in to on your first day. haha)

tiny tim is stoic. calm and collected on her first day of first grade

and no pics of girlfriend girl. she's in 5th grade now. i can't be embarassing her with the camera like that :o)

i think little bear summed it up nicely as we escaped left the school:
FREEDOM!!!!!