Jakob Daniel and Everleigh Grace Hall

Super behind with pictures!

Both kids' work was featured on their class Twitter feeds last night! "My favorite day was the fair because I like the animals and the rides and the games." "My new friends!"

What a bunch of cuties, especially the one who is front and center flashing the thumbs up.  :-)

They won't always wake up smiling or race down the driveway to the bus stop, but they will always have my heart and tug on its strings, especially on big first days.  Here's to another epic year!

Jakob learned how to tie shoelaces yesterday!  (This is one time where I'm happy for the power of peer pressure, as his two friends at camp already knew how.)  He had been practicing a few times over the weekend, and last night it all came together.  He was so proud!

Now his front top teeth are by themselves, ha!  We're going to go broke at this rate!!  :-)

Kenya had a quick and intense kidney-related illness which rapidly worsened a week ago, and we lost our sweet, loving furball during the overnight hours.  We had given her medication to ease her pain, and she was cuddled in a fleece blanket at home when it happened.  That, and knowing she's reunited with Holden, are the straws of comfort we're grasping to as we say goodbye and mourn her passing.  There's so much more I want to write about what a wonderful companion she was, but right now I'm just too sad.  Here are the last pictures of her, taken two nights ago when things really took a turn for the worse.  We will love you forever, Kenya!