first day of K, hooray!

Dear Matthew,

Today was your first day of Kindergarten. We are so proud of you. You got nervous a few days ago and you weren't too sure about staying alone. But Grandma reminded you that you always had fun at preschool and you were alone there. You reminded her that preschool was shorter than Kindergarten. But then (smart) Grandma asked you if you could have stayed a little bit longer at preschool if you would have had to and you said "of course". But you were nervous, nonetheless.

And then last night, Mommy and Daddy started to panic a bit. We got nervous about you taking the bus and being at such a big school. But we knew that you were ready for this and we knew that you would have a nice teacher to take care of you.

So this morning we snuggled a little extra and we built a fort in the living room. You were happy and relaxed and looking forward to going to school. Then you painted a picture for your new teacher. (it's a picture of you playing on the playground)

And you got all dressed up in your back-to-school clothes and shiny white runners. We took some pictures in the backyard. (Caleb's big day is next week... stay tuned)

Then, we came inside and you had a hot dog for lunch. Daddy came home from work and Mommy had to leave (it was the first day of Kindergarten for her class too). You and Daddy and Caleb waited for the bus on the driveway. (Grandma took pictures and offered moral support) While you waited for the bus, you boys played tennis.The bus finally arrived and Daddy helped you get on.
There you are (it's also comforting to see that the bus has passed the safety inspections!)

Daddy followed the bus to school and met you there.And he took you to your classroom. You met your teacher and you had a great day!

You:

-sang Bonjour mes amis, Aurevoir mes amis and Alouette.

-drew a picture of yourself

-had a banana chocolate chip muffin for snack.

-brought your canteen water bottle to drink.

-put away all your school supplies.

-played with the blocks and made the Eiffel Tower.

-played outside at recess.

-got on the wrong bus afterschool, but were so brave and got to the right one before they left. (phew)

-got a present (buzz lightyear slushee maker) from Grandma when you got home.

Sweet Matthew, we are so proud of you. We know that you are going to learn so much at school and we are happy to watch you take this big step in life. We love your enthusiasm, your positive attitude, you kind heart and your "holy daring". Enjoy this special time. I know we will.Lots of love,

Mommy

P.S I'm not nearly as nervous (even though we're sending Grandma to watch you get on the bus afterschool next week)

a quick hello

Just stopping in for a quick hello! I go back to work this afternoon and the kids start school on Wednesday. Matthew also starts school on Wednesday and Caleb starts preschool next Tuesday.

We have been very busy. We have enjoyed the last little bit of summer holidays.

Matthew on the bars at the park:

Caleb feeding the ducks at the park (and then deciding he needed a little snack himself-don't worry, it's not stale)

Some more funny things that Caleb has done lately:

- He asked, "If I get a broken leg, will all of my food fall out of me?"

- He claims that he wants to be Santa Claus when he grows up. When asked why, he says "because of the boots".

* I hope to take some photos of my new classroom soon and post them up here too. I even sewed curtains to cover my storage shelves. (I told you I was busy!)

how we spent our summer vacation

by michelle_d :)

At the end of July we went to Madge Lake and spent a few days "camping". Now don't get our version of "camping" confused with real camping. Our plan was to stay in a hotel room and visit our friends who were camping (like with a real camper). But upon our arrival, we were pleased to find out that we could stay in a cabin instead of the hotel room.

The cabin had a fridge/freezer, a fire pit, two bedrooms, lots of space. We loved it. And the boys loved every minute of our holiday. There were two other families and we all have boys so close in age. It was perfect!

We went for walks, played at the beach, had campfires, went boating and tubing. We even saw a bear (sorry, no photo of the bear- he was outside our cabin and the camera was in the car!)

And PS. I also had my birthday :) Here I am with my gift opening assistants.

25 things we've done this summer...

1. We celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary by going to Saskatoon without our kids.

2. We went to Cirque Du Soleil.

3. We've gotten into the nice habit of going swimming at the ymca every Sunday afternoon.

4. We invited Maya to come over and swim in our kiddie pool.

5. We took Maya to the splash park.6. We jumped on Grandma's trampoline.7. We baked bread in our bread machine.

8. We bought fresh strawberries and corn on the cob from the fruit stand.

9. We went to Regina Beach on Canada Day.

10. We went out to Rick's parent's cottage for a day.

11. We went to visit Great-Grandpa and all the great Aunties and Uncles.

12. We visited great Auntie Rose's farm.

13. We got to sit in a combine and pull the horn on a semi truck.

14. Matthew read 20 books by himself and got to go to Book and Briar to pick out some new books.

15. Matthew's been reading alot on his own.

16. Caleb got some new hats.

17. Matthew has been building with his lego sets.

18. Caleb got a new ninja turtle costume.

19. I've read four books so far this summer.

20. We've played waterpark in the backyard with our kiddie pool and wacky sprinkler.

21. We went to the Saskatchewan Jazz Festival.

22. I embroidered a robot. Not sure what to do with him... maybe make a book bag for one of the boys.

23. We've gone to storytime at the library each Tuesday morning.

24. We went to a magic show at the library and Matthew got to be the assistant!

25. We've been having a great summer! How about you?

caleb

Last night, Caleb was looking at the cover of this book: and he said "Isn't the baby chimp cute?" And then he said "I wish that I could jump inside this book, then I could feel how soft he is"

:)

Notice anything different about him?

No more soother! It was time, but I'm amazed at how easy it was! He loved that soother. Right around Matthew's birthday, Caleb started complaining that his soother was "prickly" and he didn't want it anymore. It was tough for him to go to sleep for a couple of nights, but now he's gotten used to it.

What a big boy! Remind you of anyone else? (pay no attention to the sucked-on shirt, it's a side effect of the soother withdrawal)

Ka-chow!

Matthew's CARS party
Phew! Are we ever tuckered out after a busy birthday weekend! Matthew invited 8 of his little friends (7 boys and one girl) over for a Lightning McQueen/Cars party. Can you say "active"?

Yikes!

Here are the racetrack cake and the Lightning McQueen pinata. The craft for the party was to make these cute t-shirts. Here's Caleb's.
And here's Matthew's.
We also had races in the backyard and a pinata. It was lots of fun!

That's all for now, things are really busy around here. School is almost out and I'm busy working on report cards and stuff like that.

an interview with an almost five year old

What is your favourite colour?

Purple

What is your favourite tv show?
Magic School Bus What is your favourite song?

The Magic School Bus song. You know the one I mean, right?

What is your.... ummm...

My favourite new birthday present?

Ummm, yes.

I like them all.

Who is your best friend?

Will

Who is your best, best friend?

Caleb

What is your favourite food?

Pizza

What are you going to be when you grow up?

A builder

Happy 5th Birthday to Matthew tomorrow!

(birthday party photos will be posted soon-we had so much fun!)

Thanks, Jenny L.

Thanks to Jenny, I am now officially addicted to goodreads!

:)

preschool graduation

Dear Matthew,

Last week, you graduated from preschool. And this was the real thing (not like last year when you pretended to, and you were still so young and you threw your cap up in the air way before it was time and everyone laughed and took pictures of you).

When you woke up on your graduation day last week, you seemed to sense my need to have you stay a preschooler for just a bit longer. You asked to snuggle before breakfast and you wanted me to read The Kissing Hand to you. Just like I used to when you first started preschool.

You looked so grown up at your graduation. You showed Daddy around your classroom and goofed around a bit with your buddies before the program started. You did all the actions and sang all the songs so well. When Mrs. Brown talked about how much the kids had changed and grown over the last two years, Daddy and I knew she was talking about you. You really have grown and changed so much.On the way home you were trying to find a way to spend another year at preschool. You figured that it would be fun to be in preschool with Caleb. And it would be fun, but you are on to bigger and brighter things, my dear.

And when we got home and looked through your folder, I sniffled a bit when I found the note that Mrs. Brown had kept and included with your art projects. You really have grown up so much. I am so proud of you, Matthew.

(this note is one of the many that I would write to you when you were three and you would keep it close by at school to help you to not miss me-it's a kissing hand)

Love,

Mommy

ten on tuesday

1. Caleb is so cute, he calls grilled cheese sandwiches, "girl cheese".

2. When we went out for lunch on Saturday, Caleb asked:

"Is it called 'girl cheese' because a girl made it for me?"

3. And now, I fear he may never call it girl cheese again, because I had to explain it to him. Didn't I? That was the right thing to do, wasn't it?

4. We let Matthew ride his bike (with training wheels) around the block with a friend and his dad, but without us. He's growing up.

5. I bought some new clothes on the weekend.

6. We are having nice warm weather, but we still need to cover our plants at night because of the risk of frost. I'm not a big fan of that.

7. I did a bit of sewing. But didn't quite finish my project yet.

8. Matthew's preschool graduation is coming up soon. I can't believe he's almost in kindergarten.

9. The show and tell theme in my class this week is "occupations". The kids can dress up if they like. It's my favourite theme of the year. Today, we had a science teacher (he even brought an experiment!), a ballerina, a mom and a teacher.

10. I'm planning a "Cars" (the movie) birthday party for Matthew's fifth birthday.

That's it for today. Have a great week!

may long

Happy May long weekend!

This weekend, we...

- took our sketchbooks outside and drew pictures. - picked up KFC and had a picnic in the park. Unfortunately, it was so windy that our food kept blowing away! But fortunately, a little gopher kept coming to visit us and the boys thought it was so much fun! And we played too!

- planted a garden in our backyard. This is the first time I've ever planted vegetables. We planted peas, radishes, carrots and lettuce. We also planted some sunflowers! Matthew was a big help and he is looking forward to seeing some plants soon.- Rick and I went out for Chinese food. I've been wanting Chinese food for a long time, but Rick often gets it at his lunch meetings for work, so he never feels like having it. So yummy! And thanks Grandma, for watching the boys.

- took Caleb to the doctor. He hasn't been feeling well and then he had a bunch of nosebleeds (he had never had a nosebleed). The doctor says it's just a cold and maybe some allergies. But at least I don't have to worry. By the way, Caleb does not like the sight of blood. At all. Poor guy.

- finished my cards for the card of every other month club. My inspiration for my cards was this quilt. I'll share my cards a bit later. Now I need to pack them up and get to the post office.

- bought my bedding plants and put them in. I have a flower bed in the front and some pots in the backyard. I also made a little herb garden in a container on the deck.

Bonus photos:

This one loves being outside:

Caleb and Daddy at the park:Caleb talked me into making strawberry daiquiris while we drew outside! I hope you all had a nice weekend too! What did you do?