Another Year Gone

Summer has officially begun here in New Mexico. I can't believe another year of school is done and that we will have 3 (three!) kids in school starting again in August. I am so proud of our kids and all that they have accomplished this year.

To say Kelsie was a little anxious to start middle school would be quite the understatement. It didn't take long for her to realize that it wasn't as bad as she thought. In fact, this little smarty pants earned straights A's, 3 out of the 4 quarters in school and had lunch with the principal because of it! She excelled in all her classes and made some really great friends in the process. She may or may not have been the teacher's pet in more than one class. She is a little disappointed to start yet another new school (since we moved again) next fall, but I'm sure will not disappoint once she's there.

Brandon started off the year pretty excited and then wasn't quite sure about his new teacher so he had some stomach issues in the beginning. Once he realized that she wasn't as bad as he thought, it turned out to be a great year. In fact, when I asked him how his last day went, he said "It was really sad, I almost cried!". He also excelled this year in academics and even on the playground where he picked up 4 square like a champ. We are so proud of him and all the things he accomplished this year.

Caleb is so excited to start kindergarten this fall! He has been so anxious to learn and go to school like his older sister and brother. He practiced a lot over the last 9 months and is now able to read and write and is very prepared for the demands of a kindergartener. I am going to miss my little buddy next fall, I love having him home with me. He's as silly as ever and my prediction is that he just may be the class clown. I guess I should be prepared for that!

Isaac had a great year as well. I've write a lot about what he's up to recently, and he continues to keep me busy all. the. time. He's not really sure what's going on right now with everyone home, but he loves it! I predict a little loneliness once school starts again this fall, but we're going to live it up while we can with everyone home for the summer!

Summer Begins and the End of an Era

Today was the last day of school for us.  It was actually a snow make up day from last February when a big cold front hit our area.  It was kind of a joke though, since most of the education population was out of town or just didn't show up.  Brandon's teacher wasn't even there. Oh well.  The last day is still the last day of school, right?  I thought it would be fun to compare the first day of school pictures with the last to see how much they've changed this year.  And believe me, a lot has changed for our family.

August, 2010

May, 2011

2nd grade turned out to be a pretty good year for Brandon.  His easy going personality and ability to adapt to new changes really helped him end the year just as good as he started it.  It didn't take him long at all to find new friends and also to find his place in his new classroom. 

These next pictures are bitter sweet for me.  This was Kelsie's last year of elementary school.  I really don't know where the time goes, but we're entering the exciting years of middle school in the fall.  Kelsie loved her old school in Evanston and it was a really hard thing for her to move and be the new kid again.  It was sad to see her say good-bye to her old friends, but she seemed to find her place fairly quickly here. She ended her last year of elementary school strong and ready for what lies ahead, even though she's pretty nervous about that too. Honestly, I feel like I'm not old enough to have a child this old.  My little girl is growing up faster than I want her too, but she is turning into a beautiful young woman. 

May, 2011

August, 2010

Nothing But Smiles

 

These goofy kids started school yesterday.  Well, at least two of them.  The other one is happy to be have free reign of the house for the bulk of the day again.  We had a very successful day which made us all happy, especially me!  Teachers were good, friends were good, Fred is still good, and even the desks are good.  Life really couldn’t be any better than it is right now.  Here’s to hoping this euphoria sticks for a little while longer!

The Dunk Tank

This was our last week of summer vacation. It rained for most of the week. And it's only 60 degrees outside. Which, I guess for August, isn't so bad, except I'm not quite ready for fall yet. Anyway, we tried to do some fun things this week like go to the beach on the one day it was dry and warm, play with friends and stay out of the wet weather. We were invited to our friends annual Back to School Carnival one afternoon and had a great time playing games and earning prizes.

The best part of the carnival, though, is the dunk tank. Especially since each kid gets a turn to dunk the hostess' dad. It's great fun had by all. Last year, by the end of the day (and maybe because he was tired of getting wet), he decided to let some of the kids who wanted to cool off give it a try. Kelsie got the courage and was dunked, clothes and all. This year, she came prepared. With her swimming suit under her clothes and a towel in her bag, she confidently (or at least was persuaded) climbed the ladder and sat on the little seat to wait out her fate. Brandon stepped up to the plate to have his sweet revenge, but unfortunately was unsuccessful in his objective. In the end, a much older boy (and one with better aim, I might add) did her in.

And I remembered to bring the camera.

Happy End of Summer and Back to School!

Summer Survival

It’s official.  The last day of school has come and gone—the whole 1 hour of it.  Summer has begun.  Since both Kelsie and Brandon did so well and actually graduated to the next grade level this year, I wanted to start the summer off right.

I am a strong believer in long, lazy, summer days—after jobs are done, of course.  Summertime is a magical time for kids to be outside, explore, get dirty, be creative, and have lots of fun.  I’ve found that with lots of other distractions (t.v., video games, computer games, etc.) I sometimes feel like I am pushing, almost bribing them (I’ll let you have another popsicle) to play outside. 

So, on the last day of school, just when the asking about said computer games started, I presented them with their very own

SUMMER SURVIVAL KITS

The kits included all the summer essentials:

• shove and pail, beach towel, and goggles (for when we go to the beach)
• a flashlight for those late nights playing in the backyard and for when we go camping
• sidewalk chalk, mini clipboard, and a florescent pad of paper for any inspiration that may come to their minds
• first-aid kits complete with antibacterial cream and colorful band-aids for all the scrapes and falls they’ll get
• The Dangerous Book for Boys and The Daring Book for Girls
• bubbles, because you always have to have bubbles
• walkie-talkies because they’re just fun
• bug kits for catching and examining those little tiny creatures
• sparklers and poppers for the 4th of July (which have been saved for that day—don’t worry!)

And finally, homemade cards from Wally and I telling them how proud we are of all their accomplishments this year.  We really are going to have a great summer and while there is time for the t.v. and video games, I was just really happy that they spent the majority of the afternoon talking in code through the walkie-talkies and looking for bugs.

Yes, my friends.  Summer has begun.

Riding in Style

It was a really beautiful day here today, despite the freezing cold temperatures outside. It was nice to see the sun again after a few days without it. Yesterday, we had a big winter storm that dropped about 6 inches of snow on the ground. We were outside with our neighbors last night shoveling our sidewalks and driveways before it all froze overnight. Unfortunately, not everyone is able to shovel their walks which means that walking to and from school can sometimes be difficult. Last year, I quickly realized that strollers were out of the question with the amount of snow and ice on the sidewalk that NEVER went away. Lucky for me, Caleb was still small and light enough to put in my baby backpack, so I would carry him on my back every day. This year, he's not so small anymore so we came up with a better idea. He really likes his new ride (so do his brother and sister) but really doesn't like any kind of hill. He just hangs on as tight as he can and enjoys the ride!

By the way, Brandon was pretty tired today after school (which explains why he is so grumpy in our video). He came home and fell asleep for an hour. I think he's ready for Winter Break just about as much as I am!

First Day of School

Well, it happened. The end of summer vacation is officially here and two of my three children are in school. All day. Yes, even our 5 year old is enrolled in full-day kindergarten around here. We had a pretty smooth morning, had everyone ready to go, posed for a few pictures, and then we were off to school. We were all very excited to see our old friend, Fred, the crossing guard and were even more pleased to see he was wearing our #1 Crossing Guard award we gave him at the end of the school year last year.

It was such an exciting morning getting to school and finding the right lines to go in and saying good-bye. We finally found Kelsie's teacher through the maze of parents and kids, and she was excited to see some old friends again. She was also very brave, since she's an upper classman now, when I left her waiting in line with her class to watch her brother start his new career as a student for the first time. Brandon, who has had a healthy mix of emotions, good and bad, about starting kindergarten, had a hard time keeping his cool. When it was time to go, a teary eyed Brandon looked up one last time and gave us a big smile. He then walked into the school, crying. What a brave little guy. I'm thinking he's either going to be happy or crying when he gets out at the end of the day. Stay posted. I'll let you know.

Caleb and I walked home and he shouted "see you later" to just about anyone and anything we passed. I have realized how much of an adjustment it is going to be for us at home as it is for those at school. The house is QUIET. Everything seems to be at a stand still, except it's not. I am sitting here blogging in the middle of the day because I have some "me" time again. I think I'm starting to like it.

No, I am loving it! (Is that bad?!)


Three cheers to back to school!


***Edited to add:

Brandon came out of school with a huge smile on his face and said, "School Rocks!". I think we've got some success on our hands!

La Poet

When My Mom Walks Through the Door
by, Kelsie Paxton





I feel like an angel just flew inside
The open door.
Top five things about my Mom:
She is concerned about me.
She tickles me.
Her sparkly smile brightens my heart.
Her voice is exciting
Like a hot summer day.
I love the way she says "Good Morning".
Together, we snuggle so much
We feel we can never stop.
When she leaves, I feel like a tiny person
Waiting for her to come back.

The NO TV Talent Show

We went to the Dewey Elementary School Talent Show last night to watch Kelsie and a friend dance to All For One from High School Musical 2. She did a great job performing on stage is actually quite natural in front of a big crowd of people! The show lasted almost 2 hours with forty-some-odd acts. There was a ton of culture shining through the performances and I loved every minute of it! There was the Irish dance, the Brazilian instrument that was played, the "kid rock band", the rapper, a song and dance in Spanish, and so much more! There were lots of magic tricks and instrumental pieces as well. There were also a few kids who did a comedy routine and my favorite joke of the night? Here it is:

Knock, knock.

Who's there?

Dewey.

Dewey, who?

Dewey hate TV tune out week or what?!


That's right, we're right in the middle of TV Tune-Out week (well, almost done with it now) and are proud to say that our TV has been turned off since last Sunday. It was hard at first, but after we realized all the extra time we had on our hands, we've been having TONS of fun! We've been lucky enough to have beautiful weather this week so we've been outside most of the time playing and planting our garden.

I think Brandon was probably the one that was the most disappointed about not watching TV when he realized Monday morning that he couldn't turn it on (Wally turned the power strip off the night before). He stomped out of our room as loud as he could and then set the table and ate breakfast all by himself. Crazy things like setting the table without being asked have been the result of no TV in the mornings...we kind of like it! We've tried to have lots of fun each night so we wouldn't be tempted to turn on the tube, one being the school talent show. I really didn't think that we'd be able to do it and there were times, believe me, that I was ready to give in on those late afternoons with Brandon, but we stuck to it and are very proud of ourselves.

So, we'll see if the table gets set Monday morning, but in the meantime, we've got a Family Talent Show to prepare for for tomorrow night.

Friendly Faces

We have met so many friendly people here in Chicago, but there is one man that I see everyday that always puts a smile on my face. He is an older gentleman who serves the local elementary school as their crossing guard. He always makes sure that the drivers follow all the traffic rules and lets them know if they're not (he's not afraid to yell if need be). He also makes sure that all the kids cross the street to and from school safely and welcomes everyone with a warm hello on these cold days.

Since we have had nothing but snow and ice for the last coupe of months, I carry Caleb on my back when we walk to school and have Kelsie and Brandon on either side of me. I use them to hep me balance across the sheets of ice that cover the sidewalks and if I do happen to slip, I do it as gracefully as I can and hope one of the kids goes down with me so I can blame it on them. This must have impressed our crossing guard friend because he has nicknamed me Super Mom. Every time I see him (which is usually twice a day) he always has a huge smile and says to me in his Chicago accent, "Hello there Super Mom! How are you today? Be careful on that ice now, it's pretty slick today. I don't know how you mom's do it. You're just great. Alright now, you have a good day!"

The other day, after dropping Kelsie off at school, we were crossing the street with our friend when he pulled out a Dunkin' Donuts gift card and handed it to me. "Because you mom's are just great, especially you Super Mom!" he said. I was totally caught off guard, but luckily kept my balance! That simple act of kindness made me forget how cold it was outside and how grateful I am for friendly crossing guards!