Then back at home I spent most of the day doing the blog for summer and the first week back here and downloading all the pictures. It takes awhile. So I got that all done.
I also finally finished unpacking and sorting everything from returning back here.
Amber's friend came over in the afternoon to spend the night.
Jacob got home about 8:30. He was pretty tired. So I got everyone to bed.
Monday the girls slept into 8am so that was good.
And Jason was still able to take Jacob in this week to school so that was good too. Then later in the morning Amber also had another friend over to play and for lunch. Then the friend that spent the night, her mom and siblings came over for lunch and then the girls went to a painting class after lunch. It was cute. The lady who did Amber's jewelry party also does some craft workshops and today was painting. So they could pick out a design and then paint it. Amber did a seahorse. It turned out really cute. While she did that Sean and I ran to the store and we may have gotten some ice cream cones there too!
We went and picked up Amber and then ran home to unload groceries and then to school. Jacob was starting cross country today. So we took all his 3 other bags he had and gave him his running clothes and then he had a meeting about cross country and went for a run. Since it was Labor Day at home Jason was able to leave work at a descent time and was able to pick up Jacob after cross country. We BBQ out just like we would have at home today!
Tuesday, last day of summer for Sean and Amber. Jacob today decided he should just shower before school. I was cracking up! He is showering before bed b/c of sports and being sweaty but then in the morning his hair is all over the place. The last 2 years he would just spray it down every morning and put on a hat. He wore a hat to school every day for 2 years! This year he hasn't worn a hat at all! He did leave his favorite hat at home. So we don't have that back yet. But still surprised about the shower. Jason dropped off Jacob and the other 2 got ready for their playdates. One of Sean's friends came first around 9:30 and the mom stayed to chat a bit. Then one of Amber's boy friends came over and then another friend of Sean's came. So the kids were busy all morning. The 3 boys played nerf guns I think for an hour and Amber and her friend played with the barn and animals for an hour! I made a big thing of pasta for everyone with some cut up fruit for lunch. After lunch the 3 boys each took a bowl and went and picked the blackberries across the street. They came in and washed them and then the one friend said he eats them with milk and sugar, so the boys thought they would try that too. Sean just wanted the sugar on his.
A bit after lunch Amber's friend got picked up, then we dropped off one of Sean's friends on the way to school. Today we had Amber's tour of the school and her area she will be in. So Sean and his friend had to join us since I wasn't meeting his mom until after the tour when the older boys got out of school. So they were trying to sit and rest on all the couches that we would come across b/c they weren't interested in seeing the kindergarten area! Ha!
The area looks great with lots of space. There will be 4 classes and they each have no more then 18 kids in them with 2 teachers. Next to the classrooms there is a big space for reading with tables and books, chairs and other things if small groups want to use this space. It is shared by the 4 classes. The class rooms themselves have a little tree house like thing that you can climb the stairs and go into a play area and then there is a play area under the tree house thing too. The kids were so excited. After the tour Sean's friend left with his mom and we met Jacob and his friend that was coming over after school. We went home and they all played. I got everyone and their things ready for school tomorrow!
Wednesday was the other two's big day, first day of school! I got everyone up early so we had time to take some pictures and get to school early- they weren't excited about the getting up part!
Over the summer I finally bought a tripod and so we finally took our first family photo by ourselves! Most of the rest of our photos throughout Europe have only Jason or I in the picture and the other one is taking the picture. Sometimes I would let a stranger take it. But this is great. The camera has a timer on it and so this is nice! I looked into a remote for the camera but for some reason my camera is not compatible with any of the remotes out there! So we got a nice family photo for the first day of school!
Jacob went to school normally today and I walked the other 2 over to the new building. The main area is covered and that is where grade 1-5 meet and wait for their teacher in the morning. Amber I have to walk around the side of the building and go to her playground and that is where they will let those children in.
Here is a picture of the cupcakes the kids all got for snacks today.
Good way to start the day!
So today I was able to stay with Amber for a bit and I went in and we got her stuff put away in her cubbie and went to her classroom.
Her teacher and aide seem nice. I had to fill out some forms in the class and while I am doing that Amber is back and forth between playing and checking on me and telling me that if I am done I can go and kept giving me kisses! So funny, so this is Kindergarten so for some kids it could be the first time they go to school and may be sad. This is Amber's 4th year of school already! She was so excited and ready to be there! Love it! So off I went to the store kid free! When I get home from the store I see some men across the street putting up a fence around the block in front of me. Yuck that means construction is coming. There go our blackberry bushes ):
Amber gets done at 12 on Wednesdays so I just packed a picnic for us and after I picked her up some moms and kids went to the park close by for a picnic. It was a lovely day!
Then back to school to get Sean, and then home for a bit and back to school to get Jacob. On Wed. Sean gets out an hour earlier then Jacob so will be a tricky day! After we got Jacob we ran back home again for him to change and get a snack and then we went to this new basketball program he may join. It is a local group so he was a little nervous about going, but one of his friends from school was doing it as well. Well my GPS can't find it and the road it is on is under construction and part of it is closed so I wasn't sure where it was. There was another building around the corner that I thought might be it so we park and go in and it is a gym. We hang out for like 5 min. and no one is there so I thought we must have the wrong gym. I get ahold of the other boy's parents that know where it is and we started just walking over there. It wasn't too far and with that street under construction there wasn't really anywhere to park anyway. So once we found it I started talking to the coach praying he speaks English and he did! So he seems nice and Jacob joined them. His friend brought Jacob home. Jacob said he loved it and knew like 7 kids! Other kids from school are doing it. I think it is mostly a 7th-8grade team. The boys are quite tall. The boy who signed us up has a Dec. b'day so hopefully Jacob can stay on the team even though he wasn't born until a bit later. One kid on the team went to school with Jacob last year. This year when school started Jacob was asking around for him and no one knew but one friend that he transferred schools. What do you know he plays basketball here too! So Jacob was excited to see him. So hopefully this works out ok. B/c since it is a club they are suppose to practice 2 times a week and then games on Sat, but we only want the practice 1 time a week b/c of cross country.
Thursday I parked and walked to the drop off points for the younger 2. Jacob knows where he needs to be. They are allowed to just walk in school and start getting ready for their first class.
Sean knows where he needs to be and is fine. For Amber we walk to the playground and then when it is time they let them in to their cubbies area and they drop everything off and then head to their room. I am not sure when I will decide to just drop her off. There were some kids that got dropped off by car but still a lot of parents around today. It is not like the drop offs at home. Here younger years kids get dropped off next to the area were they go in. So someone has to be standing out there and walk them over to the playground where they can play until they get let in the school.
Afterwards I came home and straightened up the house and started getting lunch ready as I was having a back to school lunch for some friends at the house today. It ended up being really hot today and I was making soup, and cornbread. One friend brought a salad and one brought some French bread to go with it. Then I made a blueberry cobbler and we had ice cream with that for dessert. It was hot in my kitchen. I had the windows, they open like doors, so I had the doors open and then I had flies and bees coming in so I had to close the doors and just open them like windows. But everything tasted good! Amber is still getting out at 12 this week, so my friend picked her up on the way over here so we had 4 kids for lunch too!
It was nice to get together again! I missed our champagne lunches over the summer! We were sitting in the dining room and the big window looking out faces those bushes that were across the street, well all of a sudden this big backhoe just comes through and starts tearing down all the bushes. So lovely to look at!
Everyone stayed until school pickup and then we went and got Sean. Jacob had cross country so we picked him up before dinner. He seems to be doing a good job of keeping track of what he needs to do for each class and bringing home the right materials for it. Lets hope this continues.
Friday morning after I got Amber in class I went to a meeting about volunteering for 6th grade. It went well and they don't really have room parents just activities they have arranged and then volunteers to help with them. So I signed up to help with some things. Then after that I ran home for a bit and then back to school for a meeting in Amber's classroom. The kids showed the parents around.
Then she went home with a friend for a playdate. I went back home for lunch and then a bit later back to school for another meeting about the after school activities that the school will have. Then picked Sean up, and Jacob and his friend and we went over to pick up Amber at her friend's house.
By the end of the day today they had finished clearing all the land. No more pear trees, blackberry bushes or privacy!
Tonight was the kids back to school celebration dinner. They like the Japanese restaurant down the street. We can walk to it. I got my sushi again. I love it! Jacob really likes it too. Then we came home and had movie night. So an end to the first week and off to a good start of school!
Sat. for breakfast Jason did omlets. They were tasty! Then for lunch we met some friends at a Medieval Festival in another town. So we did what everyone else does to find this place. It is on a street in a town that leds to the fields and half of the festival is down the street and the other half in the field. So we put the town in the GPS and that takes us to the town, but it is really on the outskirts of the town almost in another town. So once you get to the town you have to start looking for the handmade signs that someone puts up that guide you to the fields to park in down the street from the entrance. So the signs aren't always at all the intersections. So sometimes you have to guess. We guessed wrong once and turned around. Then you end up in an industrial park area and if you keep following the road it dead ends. They missed putting a sign before the dead end that would say to exit here and get you back out on the road that goes to the field, crazy. The lack of addresses to put in the GPS here drives Jason crazy! So we finally found it and went in. They have people dressed from Medieval times here and are selling all sorts of medieval attire or things you would have needed or wanted then.
So us and another family found a table and got lunch. They had hotdog like things and brats and fries. Then for drinks we couldn't find any bottled water. A lot of beer and wine were here though! So I ended up having to buy the water in these cups and then you can keep the medieval looking cups. Jason found the elephant ear like cart and then we got some fried apple crisp things too. The whole narrow street here is covered in straw.
Then the path turns into the field and we walked down there. Jacob and Amber did archery!
Then they all did a little shooting game with cross bow like thing with nerf darts.
It was a lot of fun. We had gone last year too.
The tall ladies.
The parade
Jason and I rented the Gatsby movie and watched that tonight. I liked it and remembered reading the book in school.
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