First Day of School PHOTOS

It would have been nice to post the photos with the blog. But, better late than never!


Kaela is ready for first grade! A homeschool kid needs a backpack too! Well, not really, but she filled it with homeschool supplies, which was really cute. I had her stand outside the school room door and wait for the "bell" to ring. When it did, I opened the door with a cheery, "Welcome first grader!" We wanted it to feel official.


Wow, I can't believe Corban is in middle school. This photo was actually taken on the second day of school, which was the first "real" day. The first day was just an orientation day. He has considerable less "poof" to his hairstyle since having LOTS of hair thinned away. Thank goodness.

Ever since she got her hair cut, Karis looks almost too old to be a second grader. She could hardly wait to get out the door the first morning. I wish that were still true now, 3 weeks later! She's hangin' in there though.

First day of school 2010

It's going to be a long day. I already feel like going to bed and it's not even 10:00am yet!

Corban's first words at 6:30 this morning were, "I'm not so excited about going back to school anymore." The nerves had set in, poor kid. He got up quickly though and got himself ready, though he was barely able to eat any breakfast. I think he managed 1/2 of a Toaster Strudel.

Karis, on the other hand, flew down the stairs this morning, dressed and smiling hugely, at 7:00. School doesn't start until 8:50! I wasn't going to wake her up until 8:00! Yesterday, we went to the "Popsicle Pop-in" where kids got to meet their teacher, have a popsicle, and take their supplies into their classroom. Karis's teacher is Mrs. Wills, who seems especially sweet and has a son who was in Corban's class last year. I'm glad Karis didn't get Mrs. Jingleheimerschmidt, since she was having trouble remembering "Mrs. Wills" last night!

Corban and I left the house at 7:10 and walked to Trail Ridge for his first day of 6th grade at M-I-D-D-L-E S-C-H-O-O-L! He wanted to know if I remembered how I felt on my first day of middle school or high school or college. I can't really remember my first day of middle school, but is there any question that I was nervous? No. When we got close to the school, Corban slowed down and told me goodbye. I took this as my signal that I wasn't to go any further with him. I was being DITCHED! This bothered me. I had NO IDEA what his day would be like! Didn't it bother him? Didn't he need me to walk him to the front door and make sure everything was in order for him? Didn't he need me to AT LEAST hang there until he was safely surrounded by a few friends? I guess not. He allowed a hug, however. For this I am thankful. Today is basically a 6th grade orientation day, where only 6th graders show up (they don't even take a backpack or any supplies....just lunch money) with some chosen 7th and 8th grade kids who lead them through their day, somehow, someway. I don't know. And it bothers me! But what could I do?!?! I had to let him walk away into the UNKNOWN, to the gathering of other kids, and try not to vomit or run after him. My children cannot go to college. I won't survive.

Speaking of vomit. Kaela woke with moans and groans and calling "Mommy!" from her bed. Since Rho was hanging with us this morning, he went up to Kaela and got her to the bathroom where she emptied her belly into the bowl. Ugh. Not a good start for her first day of school. I let the teacher know that she wouldn't be coming to school today. :) Hoping that Kaela's illness was minor, Rho went on to work, believing I'd be able to get Karis to school just fine. (Read on.) Karis passed the time by playing some Wii and asking several times if it was time to go yet and suggesting that she walk to school on her own since Kaela was sick. She really wants to walk to school on her own and she probably saw Kaela's illness as her big opportunity. Ha! No way! Kaela barfed again just moments before we were to leave, so we actually drove half way to a little parking area next to the park and walked from there so that I wouldn't have to carry Kaela so far. So, I'd been wondering how it would go with Karis on the first day. Here's how it went: Karis TOTALLY DITCHED me when we got to the outside door of her classroom! Didn't she need to stand beside me to feel safe? Didn't she need comforting words from me? Why was she still so happy, even though she didn't know anybody? Why did I have to motion for her to come and give me a hug???!!?! ARRRRGH! She was WAY TOO HAPPY! I gave her a hug, unable to say any final farewells, then quickly grabbed my sunglasses to hide. Mrs. Wills opened the door with a cheery, "Good morning 2nd graders!" and my girl disappeared through the door and I nearly vomited. I walked away quickly, barely getting away from the door before Kaela needed to throw up again. I was prepared with a Wal Mart bag and dish towel, so we squatted on the sidewalk and took care of it. What a scene. A crying mother with a child in pajamas, squatting on the sidewalk, throwing up into a plastic sack. Pitiful. And it made me cry harder. Kaela said, "I've never seen a PARENT cry before." When she asked why I was crying, I told her it was hard to leave Karis at school. She assured me with a "It'll be okay, Mommy." I'm pretty sure she's right, but it's still going to be a long day.

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Elementary Graduation

Ta-Da! I still know how to post pictures! Granted, they aren't very good, but hey, I tried.

Today was Corban's 5th grade "Continuation Ceremony." Family and friends gathered in the gym for the program, which basically consisted of a reading of "Oh the Places You'll Go" by Dr. Suess and a slide show of tons of pictures of the kids taken throughout the year. The kids were called up, one by one, to receive their diploma. I took one picture from my place very near the back of the room, so it turned out very dark, of course. Corban is looking and smiling though. And he looks so cool in a shirt and tie! I love it!

















Here are Corban and his friends Catherine, Diego, and Amira. They are a nice group of kids. Unfortunately, Diego is enrolled in a private school for next year and Amira is moving, so Corban only has one close friend (Catherine) going on to Trail Ridge Middle School with him. I'm sure he'll meet other friends next year, especially now that he'll be involved in band and orchestra.

After the ceremony, a picnic was held at the park next to the school. They served lunch for everyone and the kids had fun running around with each other and enjoying a beautiful, breezy day. The kids were allowed to leave afterwards, so we signed Corban out and then took him over to Amira's house where this little group continued their celebration.

Help Me...My Blog is Ugly

Hey! I have a question for anyone who might still be looking at my blog. Do you know how to make my blog look better? I don't like it anymore. The colors look dull and it just needs a good spiffing up. Any suggestions of how I do this? Like some website or something?

They Crack Me Up

The funny things kids say is one of the little rewards of parenting. Here are a few that I want to remember.

A few mornings ago, Kaela overheard Corban and I talking about a newspaper article that told of a kid who was accidentally shot when a gun he believed to be "jammed" suddenly went off. Later, as Kaela was eating lunch and looking at the paper, she saw the picture of the boy and said, "Mom, is this the boy who got hurt by the gun that shot jam?" Huh? I asked her what she was talking about and she clarified for me that the boy was hurt by a real gun that he thought only shot out jelly! heehee

Kaela prays for the people of Haiti. She wants them to have their houses back the way they were "in the very very very very very very very very first place."

Karis is able to find the smallest of opportunities to make a funny. Once, her math lesson asked her to circle the operation needed: addition or subtraction. She did a couple of problems and then very nonchalantly says, "I think this one's OR" and circles the word "or." What a goof. Another time, while teaching her measurement, I asked her what we were going to do about measuring a book that was longer than the ruler. She answered, "Just get a smaller book." She cracks me up.

Karis tries to eat with chopsticks at dinner. As she's picking them up off the floor, she says "If only I was French!"

Sprinklemania

Tonight's evening activity was decorating sugar cookies! Fun! And Yum!



Now, if you'll excuse me, I must go clean up icing and sprinkles.






Jessica...are you happy now?

What's this?? A blog?

Colorado Greenery has been resurrected, again!

Dedication to my blog clearly isn't one of my strengths, but I'm back for a quick post because Jessica will be on my case soon and because my sweet mother-in-law, Becky, requested. :) It's a small miracle that I was able to remember how to find my blog and hook up the camera to download pictures!

It's been a season of many changes for us, as you already know. Rho's new job started in April, the kids and I arrived at our new home in Longmont on August 1st, Corban started public school, and Kaela started Kindergarten. I'm very happy with our new home, though it needs our attention in several areas. After putting up blinds and ceiling fans, repairing the sprinkler system, planting grass, pulling gobs of weeds, and having the front porch repaired, we started our first major project--the kids' bathroom. Rho has ripped the carpet and wallpaper out, textured the walls and we're now trying to achieve the right shade of yellow after a miserable first attempt that reminded me of newborn pooh. Sorry, but it's the best description I can think of! Rho will tile the floor and hopefully be able to put the potty back correctly! It's quite an undertaking to do home improvement! We seem to have very nice neighbors and I feel quite at home here....more so than I did after 5 years at our first house!

The kids are doing great. Corban's transition to public school has gone so smoothly. I worried for no reason. He's doing great academically and has yet to have any complaints. The girls and I had some rocky moments early in our school year, but, if memory serves me right, getting started has always been rough! Things are going well now, but it's definitely time consuming! Karis needs more patience with reading, but she's making progress and I'm hopeful that she'll learn to enjoy reading. Kaela is psyched to do school on most days and usually wants to do more than I ask of her. I wish I had the time! Corban played lacrosse again this fall and Karis is about to finish up soccer. Corban decided that Boy Scout's wasn't his thing, but is continuing with Bible Bowl. He'll start violin lessons again soon, I hope, when we find a new teacher.

Sadly, I haven't taken many pictures since we moved, but here are a few to show you that our kids are turning out to be just as weird as Rho and I.





















































And here they are showing that they can be normal and pretty cute, too!