School is starting up!

Well, the kids start up school next week, and we have mixed emotions in our house about it. Ariel & Tori (the teenagers) look forward to seeing their friends again, but are not looking forward to classes and homework (mostly homework). DJ is sort of excited, but I think he's been enjoying the 'freedom' of summer break. Jr, who starts KINDERGARTEN, is quietly excited. She's getting better about not being so shy, and I am certain that she's going to do just great. DJ will help Jr find her classroom when they get off of the bus, and they will sit together on the bus, so it will be an easier transition for her.
Don and Tracy just took a whirlwind trip down to Alabama last week. Don had an emergency trip (we left 17 hours after he found out that he had to go), and we managed to make arrangements with Don's sister to keep the kids so that Tracy could go with. We got to visit with a few of our friends from Alabama, and it was SO nice to see them again! Tracy got to see more of them as Don had business each day, but it was absolutely enjoyable to be with our friends again! We even got to have a double date with Jessica and Paul, we had so much fun! The drive was long, but we made the best of that too, stopping in Nashville at a mall and getting some gifts for the kids.
We're changing our house around (bedrooms and office) again...we do that a lot, but it's part of who we are I guess! We all enjoy redecorating and making the most of the space that we have. We will finally have a bedroom for each child (yes, we're going to build the wall for a bedroom at last!), and this is the start to getting a bathroom put in downstairs (along with those 'escape' window thingies). We feel so lucky to have the space to make it comfortable for every one of us! We actually would like to build onto the house at some point, but this is a good start (getting a bedroom for each child, that is). This means painting rooms, pulling up (old, yucky) carpet, and moving furniture. It's always a GREAT way to get rid of clutter too!
I'll be taking pictures of the kids before school starts, so look for them to be posted in a couple of weeks!