A Weekend

I'm happy to report we passed our first full week of Kindergarten and Preschool with flying colors. Jacoby is doing really well. He got to visit the school library on Friday and brought home his own book. This week they start "sharing" (i.e., show and tell). Each child is assigned a day of the week and will be sharing their "Me Bag". The teacher sent home a brown paper bag and asked them to bring five or six small things from home so the class can get to know them better. Jacoby picked a dinosaur (because he loves dinos), truck (because he loves trucks and playing trucks with Morgan), space shuttle (because he really likes things that go to the moon), shark (because he likes the ocean and wants to be a diver), and a rhino (because he likes going to the zoo). We practiced sharing what these things say about him...I'm really not sure he's spoken a word to anyone at school, but he seemed to enjoy talking about why he liked each item. Jacoby is after Justin each morning to make sure he gets him to school on time. I think he gets this from his mom (smile).  Morgan is happy to be back at preschool and talks a lot about his friends.

This week is going to be busy:  dentist appointments, gymnastics, back-to-school night, and family visiting.  Aunt Kenzie arrives on Thursday, and the rest of my family comes on Saturday.  We're looking forward to seeing all of them.

Here are a few pics from the weekend:

 I made ravioli!  And I definitely learned why having a pasta machine would probably make a lot of sense if one was going to do this regularly.  It was very easy to make but my arms tuckered out trying to roll the dough to 1/16 of an inch thick!  The boys loved it, and it really did taste like store-bought pasta.

 

 Morgan dipping his ravioli

 

 Coloring time...Morgan is pouting.  I'm not sure why, but it's sort of a regular occurance these days.  He also regulary says, "Mommy, I'm mad at you.  Do you know why?"  Aahh, the joys of being three.

 A little canvas project to add some color to the brown room.  I'm still waiting for all of the brown to grow on me.

 

Some of our pictures.  They really look all askew, partly because I don't take straight pictures, but also because I do need to adjust a couple of them.  And then of course I have a herd running past these each day, so they'll probably always be askew.

I had these two pictures blown up at Costco for super cheap a long while ago.  I finally got them mounted (and retained all 10 of my fingers in the process despite having to use an exacto knife) and will be hanging them up in our rooms.  The one on the left is probably my all-time favorite picture of the boys.

Morgan's Day

Today was Morgan's first day in the Preschool 2 class.  The new school building is beautiful and approximately two minutes from my office.  Morgan was so excited to see his friends, and he was showered with hugs and kisses from his teachers when we arrived this morning. 

He's just about the sweetest thing ever...unless he's giving me a piece of his three year old mind, which is often.

 And of course, he had to have his own special sign.  (:

 I love this little boy and can't believe how fast he's growing up!

When I asked Morgan to pick his favorite supper for his special back-to-school day, he picked two: pizza and hot dogs.  I told him he had to pick one, so a while later he came back and told me he wanted a hot dog pizza.  Such a little negotiator!  So that's what we had, and it was...interesting.  He also requested chocolate milk and Oreo ice cream.  It was a royal feast!

I also wanted to post a quick update on Jacoby.  He's doing so great in Kindergarten.  Each day he comes home with a report on a new adventure he's had.  As a full-day Kindergartener, he gets to go to Music, Art, Library, PE, and Computer.  He really enjoyed Art yesterday, and it sounds like the PE teacher had them racing all over the gym today.  Jacoby comes home very tired and hungry each day, but I expect that to get better and he's eating more of his lunch each day.  We really like his teacher and I think we're on the road to having a great relationship with her. 

It's nice to have both boys back into school, although they miss each other like crazy.  We hardly see them in the evening because they're so busy catching up with each other.  I look forward to being in the full swing of our fall routine after this week.  We're reading Charlotte's Web in the evening and then it's off to bed for all of us because we're so tired at the end of our busy days!

First Day of School

I am happy to report that Jacoby had a good first day of school.  He came home very, very tired, which is to be expected after a busy day at a new school.  He said he enjoyed reading books today and likes his classroom.

Here are some pics of our Kindergartner:

 

Oh how I love this boy!

 

Holding another of Mommy's silly signs

Morgan asked several times today when Jacoby was coming home.  He was a bit of a lost soul.  Last night he said "I love you, Jacoby.  I hope you don't have an allergic reaction."  You can guess what we've been talking a lot about in preparation for the start of school.  

Waiting in line during drop-off.  Jacoby has 30 kids in his class.  Yes, t.h.i.r.t.y.  And there are at least 30 worries I have about this.

 

 This is the last we saw of him.  I admit that I was a mess when we left school.  I tried really hard not to be, but I've accepted the fact that I am that mom, and just have a really soft heart when it comes to my boys.  Morgan gave me a hug.

Overall, I think it was a good day for Jacoby.  We met the principal and his teacher last night, but it's quite overwhelming with all of the kids and parents.  I did get a call from school today (insert total heart failure here), and it seems Jacoby had some tummy trouble during lunch.  But after he went potty he seemed to feel better and got to eat a bite of lunch in the principal's office.  I think he may have been anxious because there was more tummy trouble when we got home and told me his tummy doesn't like Kindergarten.  He no doubt has picked up on some things his parents have been worried about.  After a shower and snack, since he ate practically nothing all day, he's playing happily with his little brother.  He got to pick out his favorite dinner (ham & broccoli casserole), so we're looking forward to celebrating our first day together when Justin gets home.  I'll update my other blog in a bit to give more of the back story.  Needless to say, it was a big day for all of us and I think we'll all be sleeping really well tonight!

Last week of summer

We're headed into our last week of "summer", thanks to the start of school.  Justin's job at Iliff is going well and he's learning a lot.  The boys love their gymnastics class, and Morgan declared that he and Jacoby had won the gold medal this week when the class finished!  As part of the class, the teacher sets up an obstacle course with various gymnastics equipment.  Morgan watched Jacoby's class do handstands against the wall and declared that he couldn't do that until he was 10 (holding up his ten fingers).  But, with a little encouragement from his teacher, he too was doing handstands like a pro.  It's been a good class for them so far.  We like how it works on their balance and gross motor skills.

I have been busy staining our deck furniture, organizing more areas around the house, and slowly getting ready for the start of school next week (insert a heap of emotions here).  I'm leaving for a quick trip to Spokane, WA tomorrow afternoon.  WSU is the likely host of our May 2013 board meeting, so I'll be touring the campus and a couple of hotels on Monday.  I went to a huge community garage sale this morning and scored some really cheap treasures.  My project list for this house keeps getting longer and longer.  Good thing we're going to be here for a while!  (:  I'm just about ready to start putting up a few things on the walls.  We don't have as much wall space here (thanks to our lovely windows), so there will be a lot less going up.

Jacoby requested that we visit the school playground one last time before school started, so we spent most of the morning there today.  We have a meet-and-greet with the principal on Wednesday and then school starts on Thursday.  Jacoby will be in his class from 9 am - 3 pm.  I think he's excited and ready.  We'll be talking with school staff early in the week to make sure we're all on the same page with his food allergies.  My emotions swing from excited, hopeful, and proud to nauseous (if that's really a feeling, probably not), anxious, and fearful.  But we're going to give it a go and work on making it a great first school year for Jacoby.

5 days and counting until this boy is our Kindergartener!

Busy on the playground

Here's where it all goes down on Thursday...

Camping Adventures

We had a great time camping this weekend.  We set up camp in an undeveloped site on Guanella Pass.  The elevation was around 10,500 ft, so it was cool during the day and the nights were really chilly.  We haven't spent any time in the mountains this summer, so it was wonderful to be outside in the fresh air.  The boys had an awesome time and were very happy campers. 

We were 98% prepared to camp in an undeveloped site...the only thing I really missed was a table.  But I'll take free camping over a picnic table any time!

Eating dinner by the fire

Roasting marshmallows

Jacoby really got into the fire-building with Justin.  He also liked to roast his own food.

Delicious!

The boys enjoying a sunset by the stream

Morgan woke up warm and toasty the first morning.  Note his Berenstein Bears "Bad Dreams" book was kept close at hand...just in case.

Jacoby waking up chipper and ready to go

Our tent served us very well.  We had a great spot in the trees, right by a stream

Morgan and Mommy trying to get warm in the morning

This boy spent most of his time by the stream, throwing rocks, floating sticks, and doing whatever boys do when they're near water

We drove up to the top of Guanella Pass.  A long, long time ago Uncle Jared, Justin, and I climbed the peak on the right (Mt. Bierstadt).  Mt. Evans is on the left.

A beautiful view

Just a few visitors also enjoying the view...we actually didn't see many, since they were all trying to get to the summit.

No summit-seeking for us, but we did hike down to the lake and enjoyed the pretty scenery

Boys by the stream, where they spent most of their time

View from our tent

Helping Daddy with the fire

Daddy's two helpers

We set out to stay one night, and then we let the boys decide if we should stay another night.  They of course wanted to stay longer, so we did.  

Roasting hot dogs and corn on the cob

I'd say it was a very successful camping trip and I'm glad we got to spend some time outdoors as a family.  We were back home by 10 am this morning so we could get unpacked and ready for the week ahead.  Morgan asked if we could set up the tent so they could sleep in it tonight.  They definitely loved living outdoors for a few days.