Sunday, October 26, 2014

Kindergarten

On Sept 4, 2014, Casey had his first day of kindergarten. It was at Hickory Elementary, which is within walking/ bike riding distance out the back gate of our complex. On this day, we all walked him to school. I've heard horror stories about the first day of school. Alas, none of that played out here. Casey was just fine. We dropped him off in time for the 9AM start. We escorted him into the classroom; it was utter chaos in there. Casey got separated from us, found some toys and forgot all about us. So, we left. Talk about anti-climatic. When he got home, we asked him how school was. He said it sucked. MAYBE not his exact words, but pretty close. Actually, it wouldn't surprise me if that's exactly what he said. When asked why, he said, 'No recess'. Yup, some genius decided to introduce 5 year olds to a school year with short days... with no recess. Obviously, who ever thought this was a good idea as never had kids, and have never been an actual classroom teacher. I don't know who had it worse. Casey, or his poor teacher. Imagine a classroom full of 5 yr olds, who are cooped up all morning. That would be, ummm.. patience trying... Fortunately, the short days with no recess were only scheduled for 2 days... After that, they went to full days, (9am-2pm).. with recess.

Unfortunately, Casey didn't get recess on that third day either.. Because... Mid morning, mommy got a call from the school nurse. Casey fell in class, whacked his head and needed a trip to the ER. I can imagine how unsettling it is to get a call from the school. I mean, it's never good news. When is the last time a school called a parent during the middle of the day to say, "Just wanted to tell you Little Jonny is great!"... No way. It's either the kid is in trouble, or hurt.. or some other emergency.. like I said, never good. But as far as emergency's go, this one wasn't bad. Some glue, (no stitches required) and some time to heal is all it took. No permanent injury!

As an aside, Daddy learned something new while writing this post. It's kindergarten, not kindergarden... I always assumed it was garden... like a place where you plant the seeds of learning... where you nurture little ones at the beginning of the life cycle... Apparently not... It's a garten.. whatever that is....

This photo reminds me of those jail intake processing photos. Sorry, had to say it.

This kid doesn't look too traumatized on his inaugural walk to school!

Casey and Daddy on the way to school. Casey actually ran back into the house and said, "I want my cowboy hat"... and wore it for about 100 yards, until he handed it to Daddy.

Da Boys ran into their buddy Sammy on the walk to school.

Daddy and Casey on the first day of school; with Sydney photobombing! (Casey's unsure look wasn't about going to school, it was about posing for yet another photo)

Boys Stuff

Mommy is on a girl's Vegas weekend Sat-Mon trip. That means Da Boys are home alone with Daddy. Which means we do 'Boys Stuff'. On Saturday, Daddy made chocolate chip pancakes for Casey: he ate 3, and 'round waffles' with chocolate chips on top for Sydney: he ate 2. We went swimming in the pool, where we played "Hulkie"... Which is Casey's name for the Incredible Hulk game in which Daddy plays "Hulkie" and chases Da Boys around the pool and throws them about like rag dolls. At Sydney's request, we played 'Marco Polo'. Afternoon activities included a bike ride to the toy store, where Da Boys picked out "Rocky and Rubble" figurines from the TV show Paw Patrol. After a stop home to trade Sydney's bike for the trailer-bike, we rode to Soupplantation for dinner. All that bike riding must have worked up appetites, cause Da Boys killed it at Soupplantation. Casey had a plate of veggies and 3! bowls of Mac and Cheese... and ice cream... and Jello. Sydney had a bowl of Mac and Cheese, 2 plates of veggies ( he asked for 2nd's!!).. and ice cream.. and Jello.

On Sunday, we went for a hike along Del Cerro trail. We overlooked the Pacific Ocean, saw people riding horses, and were very careful not to fall down the cliffs. We also took another couple of bike rides; the furthest destination was Daddy's office (4 miles roundtrip). Da Boys did really well, obeying all traffic laws, and really playing attention to intersections and traffic. So proud of these little riders! Dinner is gonna be spaghetti with meatballs. Lots of exercise and large Italian dinner... Da Boys (and Daddy) should sleep good tonight!

Monday, October 13, 2014

One-on-One with Sydney

Big brother had a party with some of his classmates, so Sydney and Daddy got some one-on-one time. Since he seldom gets to choose where he goes, and what he does, I let Sydney be in charge. Amongst the activity choices I gave him, he choose a bike ride to the ice cream factory. Mind you, he has never ridden his bike (without training wheels) outside the confines of the gated community. But I figured, "What's the worst thing that can happen?" Yeah, there was THIS (CLICK HERE FOR SCARY STORY. But, I'm thinking Daddy is smarter than that now.

So we set off on the long trip ( one mile each way). I took him on a slight detour to traverse some big speed bumps. Apparently, he liked 'em cause right after we went over them, he said, "That was fun, Daddy!" We made it to the "Ice Cream Factory" where he got 'green ice cream with chocolate chips... and gummy bears'...

On the way home, he wanted to hit Wilson Park. So, we rode through the park, played in the tree house, checked out the water fountain before heading home. We found the speed bumps again on the way home. After taking a water break at home, we headed back out on our bikes to explore the complex. At his request, we also listened to children's music in the garage, swept out the garage and played t-ball. His version of t-ball is to find the most creative ways to contact the ball with the bat. Of course, we did the traditional baseball swing, but in addition we made like a golf club, and a pool cue to strike the ball!

He rode all the way to the "Ice Cream Factory"
Favorite Ice Cream: "Green Ice Cream with chocolate chips... and gummy bears"