Happy Fall!

Nora's first school field trip

Look for more posts soon! 

Last day of Kindergarten!

How can this be?  Our big girl is now a first grader... no more kindergarten!

First day of kindergarten

Last day!

Lining up before school for the last time 

Nora was really happy for Tess

Mrs. Bernacki

Tess and Abby

Tess, Emma & Abby

Going in a kindergartener for the last time, coming out a first grader

 

The day after school got out, there was a Kindergarten Celebration at the park

Mrs. Bernacki passed out their end of the year packets

They also put on a little performance:

Room 107 hug

With Meena & Papa

Our favorite First Grader

Daddy Daughter Dance

On Friday night, Tess and Damon went to the Daddy Daughter Dance at Shrine.  I got to go too since I was signed up to volunteer.  Not sure if that was a good thing or not since clearly, Dads are much more oblivious to silly acting little girls on the verge of giving each other concussions  making it necessary for a Mom to step in.  They all kind of looked at me like, "who invited you anyway?"

Tess had fun.  Damon got her a little corsage which was fine and dandy until Tess realized she was supposed to wear it for the whole night.  Um, we should have just shackled a big ball and chain to her wrist instead.  Corsage = instant funk.  Needless to say, Damon carried it for most of the evening.

Tess and friends

This sort of sums up the interaction between Dads and girls at the dance

And here is the strip from the photobooth!

Tess' class

I volunteered in Tess' classroom today for a bit to help with their "Arts and Scraps" day. They made bugs out of recycled material scraps.

Yes, Tess' bug has bows

How'd this guy get in here?  no, he didn't get to go to school

Catching up!

Ok, so here we go...

Not that things aren't normally busy, but lately with school starting, it has been especially busy.  I feel like I started kindergarten too.  New schedule, new routine... and new early bedtimes for everyone.

Tess has been loving kindergarten.  She got to bring home the class pet a few weeks ago... a ferocious hamster named Fluffy.  Her assignment was to document all of Fluffy's activities that evening, including Fluffy eating dinner with us.  (Fluffy had a carrot.)  Good thing he was pretty well-behaved.  Only once was I worried that he was going to lose his head after Nora got hold of him and wouldn't give him back, resulting in a sister tug-o-war.

Now we are going to jump backwards to Labor Day.  This year, we went back to Dayton to visit with Diana (Damon's cousin), Lainey and Cole.  Papa Art, Grandma Muriel and Uncle Marky-Mark met us there.  We squeezed in a little boating in between the rain clouds.

The weekend after Labor Day, we took a quick trip to Mackinac Island so all the girls could run in a race.  I ran the eight mile and the girls Tess ran the kids' race.  Nora talked a big game pre-race, and then it was all over when they shot the gun.  No, there really wasn't a gun.

 

My poor sweet and innocent Nora is turning to the dark side.

 

Lastly, both girls started dance class in September.  Tess is taking hip hop and loves it.  Nora is in ballet/tap.  Lets just say she's still "warming up" to it.  She loves getting dressed to go, will now willingly enter the room, likes to put on her tap shoes, and then proceeds to not participate.  At all.  We'll try a few more times before we decide if we hold off for a while longer until she's a bit older.

Hip hop doesn't suit her at all, does it?

And there you have it!  All caught up!  Will do better, will do better, will do better...