Even after 30 first day of Preschool and Kindergarten over the years I still get a bit anxious and pray that everything goes well and that I do well by my students. Today was no different. I had replayed the day over and over again in my mind but it is always so different when the kids come. It all looks great on paper and then when you add in the mix of kids you have to be able to fly by the seat of your pants and change course in a heartbeat. That I am good at, it comes from years of practice. I also prayed for no criers, actually that would be a miracle in itself, but today it was almost there. I had three minimal criers who my aid took care by diverting their attention to an art project and all was well. Happily I did not have to pry any child off of their mother, so that makes it a very successful first day. I have a delightful class that range in age from just 2 to turning 5 in a month. The age differences can be challenging but I am up for it and I could tell by today that my older more experienced students will help the new ones learn the ropes. ( just so they don't teach them all the wrong ropes!) I had 18 there today and will have 19 tomorrow on my biggest day. Tizita is coming tomorrow so I hope it is another successful day in my little Preschool world.
Here are some pictures of our first day:Singing, "Five little Monkeys." Enjoying our yummy snack
These kids really knew how to line up for their first day of school.
Even the littlest ones got into a very nice line for me. So judging by this first, it will be another fine year! Bring it on.
For the last three years we have taken a bike ride to Johnson Creek. Sometimes we stop at Kohl's or Menard's and buy a little something and sometimes we eat at Culver's but this time we just decided to take a quick ride, well as quick as you can ride 20 miles anyway! We took the usual picture by the sign and stopped at the park for a few pictures and then headed back. We feel that fall can officially start now that we have taken this ride. We finally made it. Actually it was a pretty easy ride on the way there. We took Airport Rd. to Ebenezer to Y. We stopped at a park in Johnson Creek and there was another fish there. It seems like we found a fish in all the playgrounds we stopped at on our bike trips this summer.
This one is for Tizita, too. Grandpa remembered how much you liked these mushroom climber things when you were at Imagination Station in Oconomowoc. This picture is for Tizita. It is the same car that she rode in when she was at a different park in Watertown! Although she fit in it better than I do! We took a different route home. We took Y to Emerald Drive to Swizke Road and then on to Ebenezer and Airport Roads. What seemed like a fine idea in theory turned out to be the highest hills in Jefferson county. In fact, I am sure we were on the highest point in the county at one point. John begged to differ. He says it is not the highest spot. Going up that hill sure felt like it! Anyway here we are rewarding ourselves with diet Dr. Peppers at Arby's. So as you can see, the summer can end now. We have made our annual trek to Johnson Creek and John is grilling the last burgers of the season as I type. Bring on the fall!
If you haven't read the previous post especially Courtney and Tiz be sure and check out that frog!
It's been a fun Labor Day weekend so far and we still have one more day to go. Here is a brief rundown on the things we did. On Saturday morning we woke up to these visitors in our backyard. There were four big geese just walking around and checking things out. After a short visit they wandered on and we have not seen them since. After the geese sighting, we left for shopping, lunch at the Chocolate Factory, more shopping, and then a visit to see Alissa and Nathan. They showed off their new Malibu. It is a beautiful car loaded with all the best gadgets. Those two take a long time to investigate their options, but when the right thing comes along they jump on it. No cash for clunkers for Nathan's truck though. They found out first hand what a scam that program really is. After our stop at the Hunter homestead we headed down to the Milwaukee River Walkway. It was a beautiful day to spend on the riverwalk. One of many drawbridges. The bridges were going up and down all afternoon long. Everyone with a boat was out on the river.Of course the highlight of the walk was meeting the Fonz. I was disappointed that we seem so big next to him. I don't think he was life size, at least I hope not! There were lots of cool sculptures and artwork along the river walk. It really is a very neat thing for Milwaukee to have and there certainly were lots of people enjoying it.
We stopped at the Ale House for a beer. Just what we needed to complete our afternoon. This is a picture of Gertie who is a famous duck who lived in and around the Milwaukee River after World War II. Along the walk there are sculptures of her four little ducklings, too. She is so famous that books have been written about her. We had pizza at Balistreri's in Wauwatosa and then we met up with Alissa and Nathan again for some beers at a new place in Wauwatosa. I can't remember the name of it but they have many kinds of beer to choose from. We had such a fun time drinking beers and talking and laughing that it was midnight before we knew it. At that point if was time to head home. Thanks Alissa and Nathan for letting us hang out with you and the laughs. I love to hear about all the plans they have for the future, oh, to be so young and full of dreams! It tires me out just to think about it. Today after church John and I went to the cemetery to visit Ken and fix up his grave with fall decor. Also paid a visit to Ohma, Granny, and Gramps. I needed some acorns for school so John stuffed his pockets with nuts for me! You can imagine the jokes that brought up! We got to visit with Mallory tonight, finally. She is one busy girl with a job, coaching soccer, playing tennis, and now a boy friend and oh yeah, school fits in there somewhere, too. Anyway I love when we get to visit for a bit. She told me to go out and look at her car and this is what we saw: She had apparently run over a frog on the way home from work and now he was stuck in her grille. On that lovely note, I am signing off for now. I hope everyone had as great a weekend as we did. School starts for me on Tuesday and I am more than ready to go back! It is time...
As a child, September always held such sweet memories of the first day of school-new shoes, new outfit, new haircut, new desk, new teacher, new adventures. I was always happy to walk back into school and I can still remember that smell of fresh waxed floors. I witnessed it at the first day of school at St. John's on Tuesday, too. All those excited, happy faces and all those crisp new clothes. Not to mention all the moms and dads with cameras in hand trying to capture that sweet moment. No matter how things change over the years, no matter how technical we become, no matter how crazy our lives have become, there are still new clothes, new shoes, and happy memories on that first day of school. ( As a sidenote, my Preschool does not start until after Labor Day, so I still have that to look forward to with my students) Another thing that makes September so sweet is that first touch of fall that arrives around Labor Day. The air has a certain coolness to it in the early mornings and the leaves are just starting to turn ever so slightly. The warmest part of the day is mid afternoon and the sun sets earlier in the crisp evenings. It is a wonderful time of the year for taking in the outdoors before the long cold winter arrives as we know it will, always does. But for me September has become that much sweeter because of Tizita... It was in September of last year (the 12th to be exact) that Tizita first came into our family and we became grandparents for the first time. What a sweet, sweet time! I will never look at September again without remembering a little girl walking off an airplane holding her mama's hand and clutching her Mimi (bought for her long before I even knew her name, age, or sex) with big brown eyes taking it all in. Oh, the sweet, sweet memories... Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined what a delightful little lady she would be and how easily she would become a part of our family. I am not sure how it feels to a grandma when a grandchild is born into the family, but somehow I am thinking this experience is totally different and tugs at different heartstrings in a different way. So as most grandmas celebrate a birthday as the day their grandchild entered this world in a very traditional way, I celebrate sweet September as the time that a little lady walked off of a plane and into our hearts forever! So, for now and forever, September is my sweet, sweet month!
On Saturday, August 29, John and I went to Oshkosh to take Tizita to Build a Bear at the Appleton Mall. We had so much fun together, making many more memories. We also got to see her new bedroom which is just so cute!
Here is Tizita with Darrel, the big bear she got from Nathan's dad, Darrel. She loves that big bear! This is her new bedroom. Courtney and Paul got it all ready for her while she was visiting us one weekend. They did a wonderful job of making it into an inviting big girl room where Tizita loves to sleep!
Why is Tizita so happy? Because she gets to go to Build a Bear with Grandma and Grandpa!
Trying to decide which animal to make.
Final decision- a dog!
Brushing and fluffing Dog up in the bathtub. Tizita really enjoyed this process but did not care at all for the stuffing machine. She refused to watch the dog being stuffed. Grandpa had to work the pedal. She did enjoy kissing the red heart and putting it into her dog though.
And here is Tizita with her new friend whom she named Dog. She picked out this absolutely beautiful outfit after many changes. We like what she settled on and we figure Dog loves it as well. We especially are fond of the yellow hard hat which she calls a bike helmet. Dog also has undies on with her little tail sticking out of the hole in the panties!
Then we stopped for some chocolate covered raisins (which I did not touch, yuck) and a much needed rest
And some chocolate milk as a snack after our big adventure in Build a Bear.
We ended our very fun day with a good night story for Tizita. She happily went up to her new bedroom to sleep and we hit the road for our drive home. As usual, John and I were exhausted but happy!
Today I am letting my mind wander back to a year ago when we celebrated Alissa and Nathan's wedding. In ways it seems like only yesterday, but in other ways it feels like ages ago. It too months and months to plan and in an instant it was over. I think Alissa had just the kind of wedding that she wanted and I know that everyone who was there had a fantastic time. So come take a walk with me down memory lane...
Sisterly advice
Alissa and her bridesmaids
Mr. and Mrs. Hunter leavng the church after the service.
We are looking pretty good if I do say so myself.
Here is Paul rocking out on the bass. Hard to believe he will be leaving for Ethiopia in the morning to meet his daughter.
Paul's band played and entertained us all night long! They did a great job with my favorite oldies.
These two lovely ladies are both going to be mommies in the next year!
Mr. and Mrs. Hunter dance the night away.
Thanks for the memories, Alissa and Nathan. It was a great wedding!
Singing, "Five little Monkeys."
Enjoying our yummy snack
These kids really knew how to line up for their first day of school.
Even the littlest ones got into a very nice line for me.
Singing, "Five little Monkeys."
Enjoying our yummy snack
These kids really knew how to line up for their first day of school.
Even the littlest ones got into a very nice line for me.
