A few weeks ago the area we live in suffered from a devastating flood.  Thankfully we didn’t have any flooding at our house as we live up on a hill.  The worst we suffered was having to boil our water for about a week. Which is of course nothing compared to the loss that others have suffered.  So many people lost everything and it has been so heartbreaking.  We were not able to get out of our neighborhood for a couple of days due to roads being flooded and closed.  Rich went out a couple of times to see if we were able to get out yet and he took some pictures of some of the flooding.  Here are some pictures from September 8, 2011:

This CVS is still closed as the flooding was so high in the store that the entire store had to be gutted.

September 9th:

September is already over… where does the time go?  Here are some pictures from throughout the month.

Hailey all dressed up for school.  She loves getting all dressed up and always wants to wear pretty dresses/skirts with fancy shoes.

Rich celebrated his 37th birthday this month.  Hailey had to help him blow out his candles.

One night I told Hailey to go get ready for bed.  I could hear her in her room quietly singing and (I assumed) getting her pajamas on.  A few minutes later she came out to show me that she had covered her face with lip gloss.

One day Rich and I went to visit Hailey at school and we ate lunch with her.  She was so excited that we were coming and it was really nice to get to see her with her class.

Back in July Hailey had spent an afternoon with Grandma and Pa. When they were bringing her back home my mom mentioned they had visited a pet store and that Hailey was bringing home a surprise to show us. I told my mom that I hoped the surprise didn’t come from the pet store and I hoped it wasn’t anything alive. Well- it was 2 little goldfish in a little bowl and Hailey really loved them. This month we upgraded to a little bit bigger tank, added another fish and some decorations. Hailey sure loves her fish!

Last Wednesday was Hailey’s first day of kindergarten.  But due to terrible flooding the kids were sent home early that day at 12:30pm.  Then school was closed on Thursday, Friday and Monday all due to the devastation our area suffered as a result of the flooding.  Today (Tuesday) Hailey had her first full day of kindergarten as well as her first ride on the school bus.

Hailey was really excited about riding on the school bus for the first time.  She has to catch the bus at 7:24am and school starts at 7:45am.

Getting on the bus!

She was a little nervous about what to do when she got to school since she didn’t remember where her classroom was but we told her there would be a teacher to help her find her class.

School gets dismissed at 2:25pm and Hailey’s drop off time at our house is 2:37pm, so it’s a nice short ride for her.

At the end of the day…

All smiles as she got off the bus!

Since I was in the driveway when Hailey left for school and was waiting there for her when she got home from school, she asked me, “Mom, did you stay out here and wait for me all day?”

When I asked her if she liked kindergarten she said, “Mom I LOVED kindergarten!”  Later when I asked her if she was going back to school again tomorrow she said, “Of course! I LOVE kindergarten!”  I hope this love of school always lasts.

I can’t believe that my little miss started kindergarten today.  She has been very excited about going and was getting pretty bored of just hanging out with me all summer.  Here are some pictures of her first day:

A yummy breakfast of toast with jelly, sausage and cocoa puffs (dry).

Hailey in the outfit she picked out for the first day.

Her Scooby Doo lunch bag.  She also has a Smurf lunch bag, but picked Scooby Doo for the first day.

The princess book bag.

All ready for school and looking so grown up.

Hailey in her seat in her classroom.

Rich and I took her for her first day and she looked very worried when we were leaving.  We only stayed a couple of minutes to get her settled.  She kept saying, “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”  So I helped her find a hook for her book bag and find her seat.  Then I gave her a quick hug and kiss and we left.  (And I didn’t cry until we were back in the car!)

It was a crazy day because we are having some major flooding and schools ended up dismissing early. So I had to pick Hailey up 2 hours early.  When I went to the cafeteria to pick her up (that’s where the kids getting picked up are supposed to be) she wasn’t there so I had to go to her classroom to get her. Her teacher told me she did great and had a wonderful day!

Hailey told me she felt kind of happy and a little bit shy before school but when she got to school she felt wonderful. Her favorite thing she did today was go to gym class.  She is so excited to go back tomorrow. I kind of think with all the evacuations and road closures due to flooding she won’t have school, which she is not happy about.  But I’m glad she likes it so much!!  It makes it a little easier on me knowing she is having so much fun.