A Little Putt-Putt

When the days are straining the realm of monotony it's time to break it up.  Time to through a little twist in the mix.  Time to switch it up and bring some mega watt smiles to little ones! 

Today was one of those days.  School has become routine, evenings are filled with homework and planning for the next day.  Today we surprised the kids and picked them up and headed out for ice cream and some putt putt golf!  We've never taken them golfing before and frankly, I can see why we put it off.  The kids lost many balls, had a hard time making it through 18 holes, the score was never kept, and it was exhausting keeping Zane on track!  But in the end, while tucking them in and talking about our day, it was all of their favorite parts and they were excited to write about it in their class journals. For me it wasn't a calm outing, it was a bit stressful, but their stories and smiles made it all worth it! 

 On Sunday we hit up a local tractor show.  The weather was less than favorable, with frequent downpours and cold wind.  The kids complained a bit, but the draw of the many  tractors, bounce house, cotton candy, and sawdust treasure hunt kept them busy and a lot of the complaints at bay! 

Thursday School

Zane has embarked on his second year of Thursday school.  He is joining the three year old class for another great year.

This morning he was up early and ready to for his 9am start time before 7am!  He wore his backpack around the house all morning and insisted on heading outside when the other three got on the bus, still wearing his backpack, and joined in the line to board the bus!  I quickly stopped him and convinced him to ride his bike for awhile before we left.  Of course we were very early and a quick stop at Tim Horton's for some Tim Bits eased his excitement.

Zane at Thursday School Open House (Last Week), having fun and ready for his first day!

 Love the below picture!  The hook was 

digging into him, hence the neck forward pose!

Drop off occurred without any tears and I enjoyed my 9am to 1:30 of peace.  I am fighting a bug, complete with fever, so the solitude was very much appreciated! Once I picked him up and watched their closing chapel session, I realized my baby is truly growing up.  His three year old class was fidgeting and basically bouncing off the pews, but all the children were full of smiles.  By the time we reached home, after pick up, Zane was asleep in his car seat, tuckered out from all his fun!

Off They Go

Being the day after Labor means Michigan Public Schools have officially started up for the new school year. Yes, we've been there and done that for a few years now, but this year Violette was now in the mix.  One more to send off each morning, and retrieve after a long day.  One more to hear thrilling stories of their days and help sort out any friend trouble.

I was ready, kind of, to send Violette off.  She is such a sweet five year old, that I was really going to sincerely miss her sweet smiles and constant snuggling during my day.  She is always my helper, willing to do whatever I ask quickly and efficiently.  She has been my quickest to excel at independently doing things.  She is the ultimate girly girl, who loves makeup (child friendly), skirts, bows, tulle, and sparkles.  Having said that, she prefers to play with boys and gravitates towards Max's friends.  She can pick up toads, bugs, and worms without hesitation, all while wearing a completely frilly dress.  She loves to ride her bike and scooter fast and does everything she can to keep up with Max.  She has an appetite for spaghetti O's and cocoa puffs (yes, I realize their lack of healthiness) and Nutella.  She loves to be read to and enjoys coloring and drawing detailed orientated pictures.  Vi gets easily frustrated, but is quick to help Zane with his frustrations.  She is a completely capable, sweet, beautiful, gentle, caring, little girl and as much as I'm going to miss her this year, I know she will thrive in Kindergarten with the same wonderful teacher Noelle and Max had.

Open House pictures

First Day of Kindergarten (Mrs. Tidswell):

She was all smiles this morning and ready for her first day.  She ate a great breakfast, and completed our morning routine without any complaints or hesitation.  Yes, I could tell she was a bit nervous, but I think her excitement was stronger.  The bus was 25 mins late and once they hopped on, I drove to the school.  By the time they arrived all the students had already entered their classrooms and were starting the day.  This didn't phase Violette and I walked her in and said goodbye while she kept a smile planted on her face.

Oh my emotional Maximilian was a different story this morning.  Yes, he cried and screamed over a minimal complaint of his shorts, or having to brush his teeth, or something ridiculous like that.  He pulled himself together and was finally ready for his first day of 1st grade.

Max at Open House:

As written earlier the bus was running late, and this made Max very uneasy and caused him to cry, uncontrollably as he entered his classroom.  I hugged him tightly and waved goodbye, as Mrs. Bauman (Noelle's first grade teacher as well) reassured me he would be fine.  I know he will be, but my heart ached for his tears.  He is a very nervous and easily upset little man and a little thing like being the last one is his classroom really through the morning off for him.

First Day of First Grade (Mrs. Bauman):

I look forward to seeing his blond head run at full speed off the bus into my arms.  I hope the stories he has bring many smiles to his face and tomorrow is a morning without tears!

Noelle is a seasoned pro at heading to school.  It was her  that woke us up today.  I had set an alarm to get up and get myself all ready before waking the children.  The alarm did not go off, but Noelle was up in plenty of time.  She is like me, she likes to be early.  This year she has a new teacher to the school.  At first I wasn't sure exactly about the placement, but after open house, I'm sure it will be a great fit and this year will hold many opportunities for Noelle to blossom in third grade. Plus, Mrs. Lee owns horses, how cool for Noelle is that?

She readied herself easily and despite some first day butterflies she was ready!  Unfortunately, I was unable to see her this morning at the school.  The 3rd and 4th graders on the opposite of the building.  It was tough not seeing her head to her classroom, but I am confident she handled being late well and her day will be one filled with many memories and firsts.

Open House:

First Day of Third Grade (Mrs. Lee):

First day equals lots of pictures, so here are a few more:

Tom is home today, to see the children get on and off the bus.  That means it's just Tom, Zane, and I for the day.  So far Tom has spent the morning building Lego's and watching The Lego Movie with little man.  He is really enjoying his time alone with us.  I look forward to the many adventures we can have together!  He's beyond trouble, but he's my trouble and I can't wait to see what it's like to have so much time with just him!