Back to School

Today is the first day of school for Hailey. She lives just a short distance from the school. Makayla was having a sad day, thinking about the pokey grass and the sister who is going to school without her. Life is rough. Hailey kindly encouraged her to buck-up. Makayla turns 5 in a few days, and meets the deadline for starting Kindergarten, but Amy has decided she needs another year of preschool while she works on her him, her, he and she. Makayla just can't remember which pronoun belongs in her complicated sentences.

 

Sandstone Elementary is having a population boom this year. There are 60 new families with children going to Sandstone. Hailey spotted a few old friends, too.

 

She's going to be in second grade--can you believe it??? Makayla can't.

 

Amy has just enough time most days to walk Hailey to school before she scurries off to work.

 

There are three second grade classrooms this year. Hailey has Mrs. Baumann. Mrs. Baumann has a thing for rocks. Hailey will love that. Hailey, I'd be willing to donate all the rocks you keep in my car-just give me the word.

 

It's a nice day for being outside to sort through hoards of arriving students.

Hailey had some last minute anxiety before marching off. She tends to get anxious....

 

...but she rode it out and bravely headed off to her new adventure. 

 

Makayla starts preschool next week.

 

Makayla's skipping right to the big time. Her University is conveniently located right across the street from Sandstone.

Happy Back to School Day, Hailey!!

The Party's Over

Next week school starts. Soon summer 2013 will be a memory. These are the pictures from our last week of summer break.

 

Now there will be less playground playing.

 

Not as much 

playing in the park.



 

We won't be dropping stick and leaves into the stream as often

 

and watching them float 

 

all the way down the stream

until they disappear.



 

The joy of walking in the hot sun is almost over for now,

 

and we've made our last visit to the waterpark this year.

 

We've ended our summer reading program with a visit to Build-a-Bear,

 

then rode the train in the mall

with our Build-a-Bear creations.



 

We couldn't say good-bye to summer without having these fabulous professional pictures taken.

 

Soon it will be too cold to gulp an Icee-thank goodness!

 

Soon the rock collection Hailey keeps in my car will stop growing.

 

Soon we won't have lots of time anymore to explore the rims

 

or to stand around looking cute.

 

We won't have endless hours to watch the airplanes take off

 or to try to touch the clouds

 

or reach the sun.

 

No more dancing on top of the world for hours.

 

No more time for trying to spook Grandma by climbing the tallest point.

 

Soon the summer blossoms will give way to snow

 

Soon our best summer hiking shoes will be put away.

 

It won't be long before the bones Grandma found last week while cleaning the Rims with Rotary Club will be 

 

carried off by the local wildlife.

We will have a little shorter discussions now- no long stretches to decide if these are dinosaur (Hailey and Makayla), dolphin (Hailey), human (Makayla), or zombie (Hailey) bones, or just plain old deer (boring Grandma). To our immense astonishment, Amy didn't want to take them home. I know. I was surprised too. Maybe Amy is cranky because summer is nearly over.



Good-bye summer! Come back next year!!

Fun at the Fair

Thursday was the day I chose to take the grandkids to the fair. BIG mistake. It was the hottest day of the week, 96 in the shade, but at LEAST double that standing on the blacktop in the blazing sunlight.

 

I pretty much spent the day chasing these over-excited gazelles around.

Our first stop was the bumper cars. Let me just warn you, Amy--

 

you're going to need verrrrry good car insurance in about 10 years.

Hailey told me about "this girl who fell off this roller coaster yesterday and it killed her puppy and broke her bones", then promptly climbed onto the ride and forgot to hang on.  

 

This was Hailey's favorite ride. She didn't seem impressed when I called her Ishmael. 

Hailey rode Moby Dick a dozen times (at least) and each time said as she exited the ride, "My stomach hurts!" My suggestion that she find a different ride fell on deaf ears.

 

Apparently, Hailey is one of the few people at the fair who find this ride appealing.

 

 

Happy face one

 

and happy face two.

 

Hailey and Makayla made themselves dizzy 

 

while the carnival ride man spent ten minutes telling me his entire life story. 

 

There were lots of single kids who joined Hailey and Makayla on rides,

 

which hurt Makayla's feelings when they managed to get between her and Hailey. If looks could kill....

 

Here's Makayla's favorite ride.

 

 

Noting Makayla's flushed face,

 

we paused for some rehydration. Apparently the fair isn't acquainted with the "child-size" system. I guess it makes them feel better when they charge you megabucks for too large Spite and sno cones.


 

This was pretty high on the "best ride" list for both girls.

After strapping you in,



 

it flings you up in the air and gives Grandma a nervous stomach.

 

These were MY favorite rides: the ones that won't let me on because I weigh more than 70 lbs.

 Dang. I was so close. Too much ice cream this week.



 

We rode the ponies, despite this confusing sign. First of all, the pony ride WAS free after you bought the overpriced wristband, and second, we never saw a photo to say good-bye to. 

 

Look who joined us! And he brought turkey!

 

Makayla ate my share as well as her share of turkey meat, which was ok because

between the heat and the rides, my stomach wasn't up to turkey anything. Judging from Hailey's expression, she wasn't either, although she made me ride this thing twice. In a row. Both times she said, "If I throw up, where should I do it?" I suggested the side away from me.



 

Makayla decided she wanted me to buy her three chances to win one of these lovely stuffed things by picking the right rubber duck out of the tub. When I refused to cough up twenty dollars, she fell to the ground in the middle of the fair and yelled "Oh! Now I can't love you anymore!!"

 

It's ok. She forgot she didn't love me anymore pretty quickly.

 

Face art at the Evangelism for Children booth.

 

Look how color-coordinated we are!

 

We made a quick stop at the animal petting building.

 

Another confusing fair sign.

 Time to head home-someone's foaming at the mouth.