Starting School

In the midst of all the business I wrote about, school did start. And I did take pictures of it. And I meant to blog about it. But it has now been a while, but I am going to catch up!

Julianne has matured into a beautiful 5th grader. In our town, that means she starts middle school. (that makes Trent and I feel old) Her school starts earlier than the elementary school. So in this first set of pictures you will see that while she is all dressed and ready to go, everyone else in still in their PJ's.


Roughly an hour later, Catherine and Madelyn get on their bus. We follow that bus to school and walk them to their classrooms. (Middle school is too cool for Mom and Dad to do that!)

The First day of school!

All three girls started school at the same Elementary school today. Here is our day in pictures!

The Morning Announcements

Today, we all went up to the school early. Julianne was one of the announcer's on the morning announcements. Here is Catherine headed off to class.

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Julianne reported to the computer lab (AKA "news studio").

Here she is reporting. . . (Don't ask me what her co-anchor is doing???)

Adam took the opportunity while in the computer lab to catch up on some emails and get a jump on his workday. Madelyn really wanted to do the announcements herself. She is giving me the "please, please, please, smile".

Spring Field Trips

Catherine and Julianne both had field trips in the last 2 weeks. It was a lot of fun to go with them. (Thanks, Mom, for watching Madelyn and Adam so I could be with the girls on their special days!)

Catherine's trip was to Dewberry Farms. I was very excited to go there, as was she. Here in the Houston area we have always gone to a place called the Oil Ranch to have a "farm experience." The kids love the Oil Ranch and so when we found out about Dewberry farms we were hesitant to try it out fearing that it might not be as awesome as the Oil Ranch. But now, having been to both, they are both really fun and both really different. Considering that they have a similar theme and niche, they really don't overlap eachother at all. In fact, one could go to one on one day and then the other the next day and hardly repeat anything. The only big difference is that the Oil Ranch is open year round to the public, whereasDewberry farms is only open to the public in the fall. (Only schools and groups get to go in the spring)

Julianne's trip was to the Houston Museum of Natural Science. We also got to see and IMAX movie on the Galapagos islands. We had a nice time, even though it probably rained 5 inches that day and they were unable to go to Hermann Park for their picnic and to play. By the time they had finished sitting on the bus in heavy rain and traffic for an hour and a half, watching a (kind of boring for 2nd graders) IMAX and eating lunch while sitting quietly in a museum hallway, they were ready to run. My group of kids pretty much finished the whole museum in 30 minutes (they were going really fast and energetic) and then we still had 2 hours to occupy. Time seemed to stand still, but we finally made it and the kids got on the bus. It was too bad the weather did not cooperate a little more.

The Adventures of Burtle the Turtle

I am adding an explanation to this entry. Catherine's kindergarten class has a "turtle" (a stuffed animal) that is sent home with a different kid each weekend. They get to take Burtle (her name) with them and document what they did together. Catherine was ecstatic! She was so excited to have burtle with her. Here is what she entered in the Burtle Journal.

After school on Friday, Burtle and I rode on my bike to Learning Express. She rode in her backpack and I peddled. We went to Learning Express with my mom, my sisters Julianne and Catherine, my brother Adam, and my Nana and Grandpa who were visiting our family this weekend from Utah. Burtle loved going to Learning Express and she liked trying on bracelets. That night at my house, Burtle had some pizza with us and then watched a movie – The Trouble with Angels. After the movie, Burtle snuggled with me in my bunk bed. We slept on the bottom bunk. My sister Julianne sleeps on the top bunk.

Saturday, we went to the Oil Ranch with my family and Nana and Grandpa. Burtle had lots of fun as she got to feed the cows, ride the ponies and the train, and ride on the Indian swing. My dad pushed us on the swings as we held onto a big bean bag. Oops, we even fell off the swing. But I was okay and so was Burtle. We also went to the petting zoo to feed the sheep and chase the chickens. Before we left the Oil Ranch, we got to pick a pumpkin and Burtle got one too!

Saturday night, Burtle went with us to La Centerra and Johnny Rockets. Burtle loved watching the waitresses dance to the music. I had chicken strips, French fries, and a chocolate milk shake. It was delicious. We even got a balloon. After dinner, we went to some of the stores. Burtle had fun with me looking some clothes at Limited Too. She liked the sparkly shoes, but they did not have her size. Back home that night, we went right to bed. We were so tired!

Sunday, Burtle helped Grandpa make pancakes for breakfast. I like my pancakes just with butter. My sisters love to have maple syrup on theirs. We went to church and I wore a pretty outfit – a white shirt with diamonds on it, a black velvet skirt, and black fancy shoes. At church, we had the children’s program where all the kids presented in front of their parents. I read my part, that “we can read our scriptures with our mom and dad.” In our primary (kids) class at church, we had some yummy cupcakes. Burtle had one too! She liked the frosting. After church, we had dinner at home with the whole family – lasagna, salad, corn, and bread. My favorite was the garlic bread.

It is Sunday night now and we have been reading stories and getting ready for a new week of school. Burtle will sleep with me on the bottom bunk tonight. And tomorrow, she will get to ride with me on my bike back to school. I love riding my bike to school since I love to see the beautiful lakes and look for ducks on the way.We had a great time this weekend. Thanks Burtle for all the fun!

Starting School

School began more than a week ago and I would have written all about it by now if I had not forgotten my camera on that first day. Being the parents we are, we did take pictures -- just with our cell phones. And now I must learn some new technology -- how to get those grainy photos off of my cell phone and onto my computer. You know that old saying, "Necessity is the mother of invention"? Well, for me, technology is the mother of headaches. But have no fear, I will figure it out -- and then the calls can come pouring in, and I can help you get all those pictures you have taken on your cell phone onto your computer.

Back to the school thing. . . It has been going well. Julianne is in 2nd grade and Catherine is in Kindergarten. I can't believe they are so grown up. It is an interesting thing -- sending kids to school. Julianne was nervous and timid as a kindergartner and Catherine is not at all. Catherine acts like she has spent the last 2 years of her life preparing for this day (oh wait, she did!). Julianne is a little nervous and timid even now, but Catherine is ready to cut all the apron strings. She says to me, "Mom, do you have to walk us in-- I think we are ready to do it alone."

When Julianne was in Kindergarten they had a clip chart (a behaviour thing -- they each had a clip on it with their name and as they behaved well they clipped up (from green to blue to purple) and when they caused problems they clipped down (from green to yellow to orange to red). Every day Julianne would have to color in her position on the chart and I would initial it. I always knew what she was up to. In Catherine's Kindergarten class, they too have a similar chart, but they do not inform me of the colors for each day, but Catherine does not realize this. The third day of school she was very quiet on the bike ride home and when I went through her backpack she finally confessed that she had had a "yellow" day. She seemed to think that as soon as I opened her folder I would see that and demand an explanation. I asked her what happened and she explained that a boy at her table could not find his glue and scissors. She said he looked everywhere and then asked the teacher to help and she had to clip down when the teacher found them. I asked her,"Now Catherine, where were they?????" She said, "I was sitting on them!" And then she started laughing and explaining how funny it was to hide his stuff. Catherine has always been the tease and I must say school has yet to tame her.

The funny part is that there was no way I would have known any of this without her volunteering all the info. So now I pretend to look through her folder to see what color her day was . . . the problem now is they are teaching the kids to read and someday soon she will realize that there is nothing in her folder at all about her behaviour and "color."

Lunch at the Elementary

At her old school, Julianne would buy lunch on occasion. Those occasions were pizza (not pizza sticks). She would buy either Galaxy Pizza (which means it is round) or Classic Wedge. She knew how to do it. We had an account there, and she knew her account number.

Here at her new school she just wasn't sure how to do it. There pizzas have different names and we don't have an account yet and she was pretty nervous to try it out. So I made her a deal. . . We would all come buy lunch with her the first time she did it.

Here we are at lunch. All of us bought lunch (me included) and did our very best to like it. All in all it was a success. We all had lunch. Of course she has not bought lunch since so maybe it wasn't a complete success. . . but then again school did get out 2 weeks later?

Zoo Field Trip

We went to the zoo on Wednesday, April 11. I went as a chaperone for Julianne's first grade class. The school was very clear that chaperone's could have no other children with them so that their attention would be focused on the school kids. My other kids wanted to go to the zoo also . . . so Granny and Baba (who is in town for the week) to the rescue. They met me at the zoo before the busses from the school arrived and took the 3 little kids and headed out for their adventure.

My group consisted of Julianne, Dalia and her mother, and Daniella. It was very easy to keep up with 3 kids (especially since one was mine and one had her mother). We crossed paths with Granny, Baba, and the 3 little kids several times. It was a beautiful day.

As a side note, when I arrived at the zoo (after a crazy morning at home, trying to get everyone ready, pack all the lunches, and leave on time) my mom was not there. I called her to see where she was and she had not yet left because she thought I was bringing the kids to her house. So I decided it would be quickest to get all my kids through the entrance gate and then leave the zoo getting our hand stamped so we could re-enter. That way when my mom got there we did not have to wait in line, the kids could just go through the re-entry gate. When I picked Adam up, I about died, he had a major blow-out diaper and I did not have any extra clothes for him. (probably only the first time I have not had a change of clothes with me). I got him cleaned up and then took the kids in the zoo (yes, Adam was only wearing a diaper) and then raced into the gift shop and bought Adam a new Houston Zoo outfit! I had just come out of the gift shop when my Mom arrived. She and Baba quickly came in the zoo and helped me dress Adam. They headed to look for the animals just as the busses from the school pulled up. Thank goodness the busses were late!

Crazy Carnival

Julianne's new school had a fund raising carnival-- so I took the 4 kids by myself (now that's an adventure!) The 2 big girls were most excited about getting their hair sprayed pink. Madelyn was most excited about the lollipop pull (because she got a sucker) and I was most excited that we made it out of there spending only 5 dollars!!!!

The Riders

Here are the promised photos of the bike riders. Madelyn and Adam use these rides for a good quality nap.

When we get home, the kids are always hungry. Today, Julianne had mashed potatoes and gravy. Catherine and Madelyn had popcorn.

Still haven't packed much

Today Julianne had the day off from school so we went to check out her new school. It was very impressive. She liked it quite a bit (or at least she pretended too!). They had cool murals of aquariums all over. Then we went to see some friends who used to live next door and then moved away and now we are moving quite a bit closer to them. It is still not as good as next door, but closer is better. The kids played well. I did lots of things, but no packing. Maybe tomorrow. 15 days to closing.