First Day of School in Maryland

Today was . . .

. . . the big kids' first day of school!

Here we are waiting (and waiting, and waiting) for the school bus.  The school told us to be at our stop five minutes early, but the bus arrived five minutes late.  I guess they're still getting the schedule worked out for the new school year.

Once the bus arrived, Joy, Daniel, and Anna were eager to climb aboard.  They had never ridden the bus to school before, and were excited to give it a try.

Todd started to get on, too, but I reminded him that his little preschool group starts next week.

Back to School Eve 2017

Tomorrow the three big kids start school at Thunder Hill Elementary.  In the past I tried to make Back to School Eve special by preparing a delicious feast.  That was a lot of work and stress for me and tended to be underappreciated by the kids, so . . .

. . . tonight I pushed the Easy Button and served Little Caesar's pizza with carrots, grapes, and purple Mountain Dew.  And there was great rejoicing.

Tonight was also Family Home Evening night.  It was Joy's turn to choose the activity, and she opted to have us play a Flour Tower tournament.

This girl is having a great time.

This girl, not so much.

Right before bed, Daddy gave each of the big kids a priesthood blessing to help them in the coming school year.  Starting the school year with priesthood blessings is an annual tradition in our family and many other Mormon homes, and it was interesting to hear the unique blessings God prompted Phillip to promise each child.  It was a sweet reminder that God knows each of us individually, and can give us the unique help and encouragement we each need.

Meet the Teachers

School starts next week, and today we got to tour the kids' school and meet their teachers:

Ms. Parsons

Ms. Kessler

Ms. Dvorak

Anna's teacher even let her draw a picture on the white board.  Anna drew herself and me in princess clothes outside our house.

After the tour we explored a paved trail behind the school.  The trail let past a pond (with a big snapping turtle who didn't stick around for a photo op) . . .

. . . and a playground.  We stopped to play, eat a snack, and climb a tree (in Joy's case), then we headed for home.  Five days till school starts, and we're all excited!

Sprinkle Cake for Anna

Anna is six years old today!  She's been telling me for weeks that she wanted a sprinkle cake from the store for her birthday.

Wish granted!  I also threw in some fun surprises like a birthday balloon (which she's been playing with all day) and some candles that burn with different colored flames (there are four left in the package for someone else's birthday in November ;).

Joy loves to give gifts, but she often forgets to make or buy something until the last minute.  Tonight as I got Anna's presents and dessert ready, Joy rushed to prepare a card with a coupon for Anna to play Minecraft with her, plus a Sacajawea dollar taped on for good measure. 

The sprinkle cake was OK, but I liked the Breyers vanilla ice cream better.  Mmm . . . good to the last drop!

Happy birthday, Anna!!!

Roughing It with Marshmallows

Last night we drove to a local state park . . .

. . . for the annual ward camp out.  See the guy in the red shirt?  It's rare to find someone who has more height or a deeper voice than Phillip.  That guy has both.

We set up our tent quickly because the Sun was going down, then we roasted hot dogs for dinner and lots of s'mores for dessert.  I also brought along a bunch of apples and carrots so we could pretend we were eating a balanced meal.

I like many things about camping, but sleeping in a tent isn't one of them.  It's hard to get to sleep on the hard ground, and it's hard to stay asleep once you get there, especially when you're surrounded by fidgety kids and talkative neighbors.  I can see why lots of people go "camping" with RVs.

The girls rose early this morning and went in search of wood to feed the bonfire.  I assured them that one of our fellow campers had brought plenty of firewood, but Joy felt driven to feed the fire, so I let them continue on their quest.

After we ate breakfast and packed up, Daniel requested that we explore a trail near the campsite.  I had no clue where it led, and wondered if we should take lots of water, and perhaps a compass.

It turned out to be part of a Frisbee golf course.  High adventure, indeed.

Swimming, Sort Of

Next item on the summer vacation bucket list: Go swimming!  Or wading.  Or sitting.

I recently joined the local YMCA, mainly because I need the exercise endorphins, but also because a family membership allows us to go swimming and gets us a big discount on swim lessons.  When I proposed swim lessons for Anna and Daniel, Anna eagerly accepted the offer but Daniel wasn't interested until we actually got in the pool this afternoon.  That's pretty typical for Daniel--he usually doesn't want to try new things or shake up his status quo, but if you can get him out and involved in the activity he usually has a good time.

Our kids currently run the whole gamut of swimming skill and confidence:

Joy is a capable swimmer who can swim laps unassisted.  

Daniel is comfortable in the water, but that's just because he knows his limits.  He always stays in areas where he can touch the bottom.  

Anna is pretty nervous about the water; she likes to be in it and often wants me to carry her around in the pool, but she clung to me nearly every second her feet weren't on the steps today, even though she was wearing a life vest.  It probably doesn't help that she's only been in a pool once in the last year.  She felt a little more comfortable in the water by the end of our outing today, and I'm hopeful that she'll make lots of progress in her swim class next month.  

Todd was content to sit on the top step  the whole time watching the other kids or playing with a pool noodle.  Since Anna wanted my attention a lot, I was happy to just let him chill this time.

Potty Party 2

Our potty training goal for the past few days has been for Todd to stay clean all day and take the lead in letting me know when he needs go.

He did a great job and filled his latest chart up in just three days, so we he had another Potty Party to celebrate.

Joy suggested that we have the party on a picnic blanket outside and invite our friend Leila, so that's exactly what we did.

Well done, my son!