Caitlin started school last Thursday. She had such a great day at school! There was only one minor snag in the whole day. I went to pick her up at the bus stop after school and wouldn't you know it...all the kids got off, the bus left, and there was no Caitlin! Thankfully, I had driven to pick her up, rather than walk with all five kids (which is what I had originally planned on doing), so I was able to just hop back in the car and drive to school, figuring she had missed the bus. Apparently I hadn't told her that she was supposed to take the bus home. I had assumed that she just knew she was supposed to since she took the bus to school in the morning. She did exactly what she should have done though. I've always told her that if you're not sure where to go or if you're lost, you should just stay right where you are because chances are, I'm looking for you and I'm going to check the last place that I knew you were. That's all cleared up now and she's enjoying being a fourth grader!

Here are some pictures from before she left for her first day:

Isn't she so pretty? It's hard to imagine that this beautiful girl is the baby I got pregnant with right out of highschool. I think back to how scared I was...how hard it was to call my mom and tell her I was pregnant...how awful I felt calling Drake (who was still in highschool) and telling him that he was going to be a dad and that I understood if he wanted to back out and that I was okay with him telling me he didn't want to have any part in it...how heartbroken I was when I got kicked out of school. I think back to how terrified I was at the thought of having the responsibility to raise another human being...how scared I was of messing up...how completely unprepared and underqualified I felt to have such an awesome responsibility. Now, look at her. She's absolutely amazing. Yeah...I did that. ;)

Caitlin and Emma left for Hawaii last Monday. They went with my mother in law. (My mother and father in law live in Hawaii) She came to pick them up, then took them back to Hawaii with her. She's bringing them back tonight!!!

I thought I'd enjoy the break, but I found that I just missed them terribly. The house has been a lot quieter and there has been a LOT less fighting, arguing and kids getting in trouble, but such is the spice of life. It's been nice how peaceful our house has been, but it's been a bit boring. lol

Caitlin starts school tomorrow. She is in a magnet school, so she has an extra three weeks of school over the traditional public school. We had to buy all of her school clothes while she was in Hawaii. I hope she likes them. She can be incredibly hard to please. She told me that she wanted "uniform" clothes, so I got her some khakis, some polos, some button up shirts, etc. I still need to get her another pair of shoes.

I can't believe that Cole is starting Kindergarten this year! Oh my goodness, am I really old enough to have THREE kids in school? Caitlin is starting FOURTH grade! I remember fourth grade. That's the year I moved from Fremont to San Lorenzo. Is she really that old? I can't believe time has flown by so quickly. Emma is starting second grade. She's such a big kid now. It's all just going by way too quickly for my liking. Drake and I were actually discussing, "When our kids start dating..." OH MY GOSH...DATING?!?!??!?!? I want to think that's REALLY far off, but really, it isn't. I'm not ready for them to continue growing up!

On Tuesday, June 26th, 2007 at 11:14 pm, my beautiful baby girl came into this world. Allison Gayle Kaleilehualauli`i Silva weighed 8 lbs. 2 oz and was 19.75 inches long. She's absolutely perfect! Here she is, six days old.