Birthdays and first day fun . . .

The big day finally arrived . . . the first day of school.   Yes, it's only a 1/2 day.  And yes, I am completely confused about what day of the week it is (as referenced by my fussing at my husband for not taking out the garbage, when in reality garbage day isn't until Monday).  But regardless, it is the first day of the school and both kids left the house with smiles on their faces ready for the adventures that 3rd and 5th grade will undoubtedly hold.

Matthew was not particularly thrilled by my request to get a picture of him with his teacher as he went in.  I pointed out that every other parent in the room also had a camera, told him to get over and then proceeded to give him a big (and undoubtedly, embarrassing) kiss on the cheek before leaving.

Gracie happily posed for her picture, although was a bit nervous as she looked around her classroom.  None of her good friends are in the class and one girl from 2nd grade she was hoping to avoid is in her class.  Luckily they weren't seated next to each other, so hopefully she will making new friends before you know it. 

Rewinding a little bit to yesterday, last night we celebrated Bassam's 42nd birthday with my parents, his parents, his brother and Tammy.  And y'all . . . I GRILLED.  This is a big deal. I don't like to grill. I'm not very good at grilling.  And I don't like smelling like the grill for the rest of the day.   Yet, because it was my beloved's birthday, I grilled up some flank steak with chimichurri sauce and it was pretty darn good, if I do say so myself.   I also made his favorite hash brown casserole.    To compensate for my feat with the charcoal, I bypassed the baking portion of birthday dinner and purchased a chocolate chocolate chip bundt cake from Nothing Bundt Cakes.      Being lazy never tasted so good!

Which reminds me . . . there is still leftover cake in the kitchen.  Might need to snack on a bit of that before the kids get home from school at noon!