Charlie Starts Letter Group

Today Charlie had his first day at Letter Group!! Davey did two years of Letter Group with families from our Stake, and now Charlie's turn has come. He hasn't been away from family since before covid so this was a huge step for him. He was so nervous and took several minutes to get out of the car, but had a great, tear-free day once he made it inside. I hope this new adventure will be bring friends, fun and learning for you Charlie!

Donut treat for a great first day

Sophie's Starts 3rd and Davey Starts Kindergarten!

We made it back in town just a couple days before school started. Since we missed the official Meet the Teacher, I took the kids in the day before to see their classrooms and drop off supplies. It was kind of nice to make introductions 1 on 1 instead of with hundreds of other families. 

Then on August 17th they were off to school for real! Sophie was excited to jump into a new year as a 3rd grader, and kindergarten isn't going to know what hit 'em when Davey arrives. They are both gret kids and I know the are going to learn and grow a lot this year!

Davey has Mrs. Von Netzer for Kindergarten

Sophie has Mrs. Zachettin for 3rd Grade

Adding a few welcome back messages to the the front walk for the first day

Ready for a new year!

I brought popsicles to school pickup as fun treat. Davey told me every horrible part of his day (he sat by a sandwich eater at lunch 😱), but then said he still liked it, so I guess it went okay

Davey Starts PreK at Sonlight

It's Davey’s turn to start preschool! He is enrolled at Sonlight, which is conveniently held at the Church of Christ in our neighborhood. Several members of our stake attend here and his teacher, Mrs. Andrea, is actually a friend of mine from another ward. He will go on Tuesdays and Thursday from 9-2 and I am looking forward to just having two kids in the house during that time. It won’t be quiet, but it will definitely be calmer than when everyone is home like they have been for the last 6 months!

He is so excited to finally get to wear a backpack and bring food in a lunchbox to school so he can be just like Sophie.

Teachers are wearing masks, but the preschoolers are not required to wear one - hooray!

He gets to sit by his friend Nolan in class, but we’ll see how long that lasts because those two boys like to be silly when they are next to each other. 

Some pictures of Davey in class sent by his teacher

Sophie Starts 2nd Grade

Sophie has started 2nd grade and get's to go to in person! We are very grateful, as many students around the nation went back to school virtually. So far she is loving her teacher and being back in the classroom. There are a lot of things she wasn’t happy about like her friends all being in different classes, and assigned seating at lunch, and the playground being closed at recess, and parents not being allowed to visit, and of course wearing a mask for seven hours a day, but despite all that she still said she is so happy to going to 2nd grade. On her first day she was so proud because she was the only student who knew how to read an analog clock. The teacher asked what time it showed and the other kids said 11-6, but she knew that the hand pointing to the 6 meant it was 11:30 - smart girl!

Picking up Sophie after her first day

Some photos Mrs. Cano sent home since parents could not come to the school to see their kids

Sophie starts 1st grade and Davey starts Letter Group!

Sophie started 1st Grade on August 13th, which seemed really early, but she was ready! We had a full summer of swimming, friends, and travel and it was time to get back to the regular routine. Sophie had a great kindergarten year and was excited to be a 1st grader now. She has made great progress with reading (starting 1st grade at a 2nd grade level), is a math wizard, and loves everything art and science. She was also excited to find out that a friend from church was in her same class! 

Looking way too grown up for a first grader

We missed Back to School night since we were in Dallas, so the day before school started we went and got registration finalized, found her classroom and met her teacher. 

All ready for her first day! Dave dropped her off out front this year and she walked in all by herself to find Ms. Gammon's class.

The boys played well together while Sophie was gone, but were very excited when it was time to go pick her up at 3:00. Charlie loves Sophie and can't wait to see her each afternoon.

We got some after-school slushies at Sonic to celebrate completing her first day!

A week later Davey had his first day of Letter Group, a joy school with 6 other families from our stake. He was so excited to do something "grown up" and carry a back pack just like Sophie. Each Wednesday he goes to a different house from 10:00-11:30 to learn about a different letter. We get to host Letter Group at our house every 7th week. It will be a good warm up for preschool next year!

Sophie Starts Kindergarten!

Sophie is off to kindergarten! I can't believe we aren't going to have her around anymore (it's full day), but we know she is so ready for this and is going to have a great year! Dave will be dropping her off in the mornings on his way to work, and I'll do pick up in the afternoons since we live 0.1 mile from the border of the bus zone. Her teacher this year is Ms. McCready, which is going to take some practice since Sophie currently calls her "Mrs. McGreeny." She was nervous for her first day, but came home feeling good and with news that she had already made two new friends.

We got back in town the day before school started. We went down to the office first thing that morning to get her registered and drop off her school supplies. She is going to Sleepy Hollow, home of the "Horsemen."

Dave and I both went with her on the first day to drop her off

Good luck and have a great year Sophie!!

Video: On the way to the first day of kindergarten!

Back to School BBQ

It's almost school season again! Every year before classes begin there is an employee picnic at the school where I work. It's just hot dogs + potluck sides, but it's fun to see people and they get some bounce houses so Sophie always has a fabulous time.

This will be my seventh year working at the elementary school. I have really loved my job and it's been such a blessing during all these years Dave has been in school. I never thought I would be a working mom, but I think I'm going to find it a little hard next year when I have to say good bye.

Video: Sophie rocking the obstacle course. This year she wasn't afraid of the big kids and did this about 20 times and then slept very good that night :)