Sh! Do you hear that?

It's silence. Absolute 100% pure silence. Today is the first day of school, Fred is back at work, and I am home alone. I'm trying to remember the last time I was alone, and I honestly can't. It must have been sometime in May.

We got back from Alabama Sunday night, and the kids and I spent yesterday frantically getting ready for school. They are actually quite excited about getting back into the swing of things, which is good. Makes mornings that much easier!

I took first-day-of school photos this morning, and thought it would be fun to have a little "then" and "now" comparison. Here is Mike, setting off for the first day of high school:



And here he is on the first day of 5-year-old pre-kindergarten:



Here is Annabelle this morning, looking forward to the first day of sixth grade:



And here she is on the first day of kindergarten in Hawaii:



I have to draw your attention to Annabelle's rockin' new shoes. They are Josef Seibels, which tend to be very pricey (yet oh so incredibly comfortable) here in the States. We found them on sale in Germany for 20 euros (about $25, including tax). They are part of my ongoing campaign to save Fred millions of dollars by buying stuff on sale:



Now I just have to figure out what to do with my alone time. The possibilities seem endless! I could work on my photos or catch up on my email or clean the house (yuck, not likely) or go to lunch or take a nap. Hmmmm . . . a nap . . .