An Indiana native, I sometimes miss living in the Hoosier state. Fall is not one of those times. As I watched my Facebook news feed blow up today with first day of school photos from my Indiana friends, I'm glad I have one more week with everyone at home. Summer goes way too fast. It seems like we just packed away all the used school supplies and here we are dragging it all out again. 

Like many parents, I'll have my camera ready to document the first day of school in Illinois next week. While some people are committed to the ritual, making fancy signs for their children to hold or selecting the perfect outfit for photos, we keep it pretty low key (mainly, because we have a hard time getting everyone out the door in a timely fashion). First day of school photos don't have to be fancy. They are just fun to have. 

Our kids aren't fans of this annual ritual, but I constantly remind them they will do the same thing for their children one day. To keep the process as painless as possible, I prep my camera the night before so I'm ready to quickly grab a handful of images before we hop into the car and head to school. Mom is happy, and kids only endure a couple minutes of torture.

I obviously wouldn't have to document every first day of school, but having these photos reminds me how quickly our children are growing into young people. It makes me sad and excited at the same time.

This year, we are entering a new phase - middle school. I only slightly remember the stress of trying to manage twin feedings, diaper changes, and the blur I call "the first three months of raising multiples." Those months were filled with a LOT of sleepless nights followed by a ridiculous amount of caffeine-fueled mornings. I'm sure there was more than one morning I thought "this has to get easier." Then, five years later, we had Baby No. 3 (much easier but still hard after a five-year hiatus).

We've come a long way. All three are in school, and thankfully, I can look back at these photos and smile at how our girls have grown. They aren't the only ones.