September 28th

The week of September 28th was record breaking heat. The mornings would start out chiller but then by afternoon we were looking at 80 degree weather. We tried to take full advantage. Madison and I during the day would just sit outside or play at the parks and on Thursday after school I picked up Kelsey straight from the buss and we headed to the beach one last time. The water was frigid but it was so warm outside that we were able to get in one last play time.

That night I was so happy about the week we were just gifted,  that I walked to TCBY to get some tart yogurt, and not only did they have tart, but they had pink lemonade. It was a perfect summers night.

Kindergarten

Kelsey was beyond ready for kindergarten. Because of all the rain  school in Seattle starts pretty late because they want to give people time in the nice weather. That being said, we also get out of school like June 30th or something crazy like that.
The week before school started, we all got to go meet her teacher. Mrs Ferreria,  and I was just so impressed. She is a first time teacher but she is about 45/50 and has like 4 masters degrees. She said, she loved learning so much that she kept putting off actually teaching to keep earning degrees. I don't necessarily agree with that, but she is so awesome. She believes in reading all the time, wants the kids only sitting in their seats for about 10 minutes at a time, has this amazing math program worked out, and her classroom moto is "Mistakes make us great!" For our little perfectionist, Mrs. Ferreria just seems like the perfect fit.

The night before school started, I was getting super sad about having to send Kelsey off, so the two of us went on a date to TCBY. I know she is ready, but I just hate knowing how much I'm going to miss. She will tell me things and our relationship needed the distance, but I just hate knowing I'm going to miss giggles and her creativity. I will say though, with Kelsey, there is no way I could have home schooled even if I wanted to. She was so passed getting instruction from me. She is such an obedient girl and really wants to follow the rules, but she knows my faults too well that sometimes it was hard for us to get along. I'm excited for her to have a teacher that she just can put on a pedestal and be the rock star student that I know she will be.
Anyway, the night before we laid out her clothes, got a blessing from dad, packed her backpack and she was in bed by 7:15.

 

The newness of school has definitely worn off, the getting her off to the bus is a tad harder than it was (because she wants to stay with Madison and play) but that first morning she was ready by 8 for the bus. She practiced all summer making her lunch so she got that in her lunch box and in her backpack and just couldn't wait to head out the door. Now that school has been going for about a month, Kelsey is still really good about laying out her clothes, making her lunch, and doing her morning chores, but sometimes she just wants to play so its hard to help her understand that the bus will not wait. I would say overall though, she is very punctual for a 5 year old.

The bus stop is about 3 houses down which is super nice and the other family that is at our bus stop is amazing. Its really fun to see them every morning and afternoon. The bus originally came at 8:45, but they were getting to school late so now they come at 8:30. I love that we don't have to wake these poor kindergartners up too early for school. Granted she does get home around 4 or later so its a long day, but its nice in the mornings to not have to be waiting for the bus in the dark.

And that first time the bus pulled up, she just couldn't contain herself. She was so ecstatic! I hated putting her on the bus, but she is just so dang happy at school. How can you deny her of that!!!

 

Its amazing to me how involved I already feel having a child in school. I don't even do much but it just feels so different having this set routine. I love it. Occasionally the teacher will send home things for me to cut or I will send apples for a science project, but I think its just the routine of it all that I am loving. While we wait for the bus we see the same families pass every morning and some we know and some we don't but its just that feeling of being part of something bigger. I do wish she could go to the school down the street, but this is good too. I LOVE the bus. It feels to safe and it is so simple. As long as I am there to put her on and get her off, school life is pretty easy for me. 

Madison has loved getting Kelsey off the bus too. There is just something so exciting about watching the bus drive around the corner and looking for her little face waving to us. Kelsey and Madison are so used to having me around that sometimes I don't get all the excitement that, say Ethan gets when he gets home. When dad comes home it is a party, but they see mom all the time so I don't really get that. I wouldn't have it any other way!!! But its been fun to have Kelsey really excited to see me when she gets off the bus. I am loving it. 

 Here are a few pictures of Kelsey's back to school night. I love being involved in school even though I really don't do too much. It just is fun to have a little bit more on the calendar. I'm sure when they a re all in high school it will feel different but for now, it is a beautiful change

And Madison is doing AMAZING!!! I thought she would be so sad, but turns out the past 2.5 years of her life she has been super frustrated because she isn't getting enough attention. She is delightful and we get along so well when Kelsey is gone. She never throws fits and is just so go with the flow. This change has been so good for our relationship and I'm so grateful for the the few months that Madison gets to have of just being the only child at home.


*Because I am writing this a month into school, I now hav ea few insights to add about school that I don't want to forget:
Kelsey never ever eats lunch (which I thought would be the case) but when I ask her about it she either says, " I want to save it for an after school snack" or " Mom, I can't eat and talk at the same time!"
Kelsey loves her class especially Go Noodles which is wiggle time and free play where she can draw and color at the any station
Kelsey's friends right now are Gideon, Emily and Regan. she LOVES Gideon and we hear all about him including when he isn't at school and what he eats, but she just loves him. I'm so glad she has found some friends to play with and connect with.
Also, I thought Kelsey would just come home wiped out by the end of the day, but she doesn't. By friday, I notice how tired she is and we are really careful about early bed time, but she gets such a high from school that she just doesn't notice how tired she is. She loves it so so much. I'm so proud of her and this adjustment. She is awesome. I miss her a lot, but this is such a good thing for everyone

Portland

The week after Labor Day, we went down to Portland with the Salmons to see the Morrises. The idea was to watching the BYU/ Utah game together, but we also snuck in a trip to Cannon beach. We drove around downtown Portland but between my hunger and Madison's melt down we didn't stay very long. We got to see a really cool book store and thats about it. We didn't even get to eat at Vudoo doughnuts. I've heard they are delicious. We all got there Friday night and once the kids were asleep we all just played games until seriously like 1 am. It was so so fun. I love these friends forever.

We were at Cannon beach maybe 15 minutes before it started to rain. What's funny is that I hate the rain but something about being at the ocean in the rain was okay. It was fun actually. It was freezing and wet and Madison fell in which was less than awesome, but it was still so much fun. Something about that sea breeze on my face.

I do love how in these pictures you can totally see how freezing everybody is

Madison didn't care at all that she got wet. She was so happy to be playing in the sand

On Sunday we went to church with the Morrises (where Jake and Stacey both had to give talks) and then we headed home. Luckily we didn't really hit any traffic coming home because going down was awful.

Labor Day

Over Labor Day weekend we decided to drive to Spokane to see the Petersen's. They were so nice to even say yes to us coming because they had been in there new house a total of like 2 weeks and so things were still crazy for them, but they are great hosts and we just had the best time. Ethan's birthday always falls on Labor day so we did a lot of birthday things. We watched movies, swam in their awesome pool, chased Antonio the peacock around, went mini golfing, and went out to dinner to the Great Wolf Lodge. It was so much fun.

The weekend we went there were fires all over Washington and Montana so there ended up being ash everywhere when we woke up Monday morning on our way back. Driving there, the sky looked smoky in places but not too bad all over. It just got really bad over the weekend and then into the next week. It was crazy.

 

Happy Birthday Ethan!!!

These two followed each other everywhere. It was so cute

So why isn't Kelsey in any pictures you ask? Well she, Ainsley, and Camryn were gone THE WHOLE WEEKEND!!! They just played everywhere. The barn, the loft, outside, the pool, you name it. Kelsey was in heaven. They also watched Descendants 1 and 2 while we were out to dinner so I can't really say who had a better weekend, Kelsey or Ethan

Peacock scrambled eggs

Two weeks later the Petersen's came to our house for the weekend to go to a Jim Gaffigan show. I love that they live close enough to do weekend trips like this. Again, it was a night of babysitting for us and we went to Din Ti Fung and had the best green beans I have ever had. After the show we sat in the parking lot and ate ice cream. I love so much that my older siblings treat me like an equal and despite the age difference I can have so much fun with them and their spouses. I love them all so much. I totally lucked out