Tuesday Thoughts About Back to School....

...and Covid. Well, it doesn't really matter what I think. It's already happened. The kids are back in school and the cases of Covid have skyrocketed. It's so rampant that they aren't even doing the trace contact protocol anymore. I've heard of some schools just shutting down for two weeks to try to stem the tide. No telling where or when this will all end. I'm just happy that the vaccine is available for kids now too. If everyone would just get it!

Anyway, on to my favorite pictures of some of my favorite people. 

My niece, Harper and nephew, Max in Texas. I got to see them earlier in the summer when I was in St. Louis. Still, not often enough.

Little Harper is about the cutest darn thing!

My nephew, Nathan is a senior this year. His brother..

Ben is a sophomore. 

These pretty girls are my nieces, Ava and...

Mya. I've sort of lost track of their grades. 

Now for the "littles":

My nephews Travis--with the big grin--I think he's excited about school. Nathan didn't want to get his picture taken. I also think he has a little separation anxiety!

My sweet little nieces--Evie and Josie. Evie is starting the 4th grade.. Josie is in kindergarten. I think she looks so cute in her little uniform--she's a tiny thing. Luckily her big sister will show her the ropes!

Family friends:

I love this age progression shot! So darn cute!! This is Analise and Merritt--the grands of my bff, Connie. I've had a front row seat to these two over the years. They are sweethearts. It just dawned on me that I didn't see any photos of their cousins this year. 

And these little cuties are friends too. Parker on the left is my little rock painter! Her sister, Maddie has helped out now and then too.

And finally, my "baby"!

Elizabeth is the youngest of my 5 grands. She's a junior this year and will get her license mid September. Yikes! She's just about all grown up too!

I do love first day of school pictures. It reminds me of my own girls when they were growing up. I always made pancakes on the first day of school. I continued that when Jordan and Morgan came along---Steph would bring them over for breakfast and pictures. 

I love that so many people have their own first day of school traditions! And, even though I pulled most of these photos from Facebook, I do love it that some family members text them to me every year. That's special!

I hope all of these kids have a great and safe school year!