We are almost 2 months into school now and feel incredibly positive about Lilly’s Kindergarten experience thus far. Her teacher is wonderful and I am amazed by how much Lilly has been learning. We had one rough week where it was difficult getting her up and out of the door to school but most days she wakes up, puts her clothes on, brushes her hair, and is excited to get out the door. She has 3 long days (8:30-3) of Kindergarten followed by KE and 2 short days (8:30-11:20) when I pick her up early so we can spend time together. Lilly loves to read and write and continues to surprise us with notes and new words she has learned to spell/read. She stays in her bed at night reading until we insist that she turns off the light, and she has made many new friends who live in the neighborhood.
On the days when I pick up L early, Robin is at school until 2:30 so we have time to hike, ride bikes, read stories, and go on ‘adventures’. I love my time with her and while the schedule we’ve adopted is demanding on me (I have 2 hours without kids all week), the girls are thriving and I think it has been the best thing for them. An exciting year for sure 🙂
Lilly has been doing karate for 3 months now and seems to be really enjoying it. Recently she was the youngest kid and only girl under age 10 to pass her ‘Tiger Test’ (and hold push up position for 100 seconds) and receive her patch. She has been awarded ‘kid of the day’ more often than not (at least 15 times by now) and her teachers are always telling me what a joy it is to have her in class. Karate has made her stronger, faster, and more confident, and we plan to continue for as long as she enjoys it. Boulder Rules!
So as I rushed to my first PTO meeting Robin was holding the garage door open to welcome her daddy home. While I was introducing myself and talking with friends Bill texted me that he couldn’t find Charlotte. After a few minutes of him not finding the cat (at this point I thought he was crazy, there would have been a possible 5 seconds of very bad luck when she could have potentially escaped) I left the meeting to come home and help look for her. Well, we looked in every corner, upturned the couches, opened every closet and kitchen drawer and she was nowhere to be found so at 5:50pm the official search began. Our neighbors on both sides helped us as well as the kids down the street. We searched trees, gutters, backyards, and at several points were absolutely positive that we heard her meowing. At 9pm, convinced I heard her down the street in a backyard, I started knocking on doors asking if I could search people’s backyards with a flashlight. Asnat stayed with the girls so Bill could search as well and I believe I was about to climb into a tree in the yard of a neighbor that I had only just met (convinced I heard C) when I got a phone call from Bill at 9:20 saying “Come home, Asnat found her.” After all that stress and time she was in the corner cabinet in the kitchen. The girls had gone to sleep not knowing if we would find her so we woke them both up with the news. We were overjoyed to say the least. This kitten has become a huge part of our family and we love her to pieces.
First official day with her friend Anna
Well, Lilly’s much anticipated first day of Kindergarten is in progress. She picked out her clothes (remind me to do this every evening) and got her backpack all ready last night. After a good night’s sleep she was up and ready to go, and I’m happy to report that she was very excited :). Her smile was contagious all morning long and Bill and I were fine until we walked out the front door and started taking ‘first day of school’ photos. We shed a few tears on our family walk up the hill to Mesa Elementary, but were nothing but smiles on the way down. Drop off was easy, Lilly was a bit nervous but mostly just excited. The Kindergarten staggered start and events leading up to the first day has made this day much easier on all of us, and for that I am very thankful. We have been so impressed with the school, parents, kids, and staff and know this is the right place to send our girls. Hooray!!
Update: When I was prying L for information and she was too excited and distracted by all of her classmates to talk to me I said, “So was it good??” and she replied, “No, it wasn’t good. It was GREAT!” with a big smile on her face. We spent the entire walk home talking through her day and discussing her new friends. The only drawback was she did not eat a single thing at lunch (surprise, surprise), but with a little effort at home and some more time in school I know she will learn. 🙂
To see all of Lilly’s first day of Kindergarten cuteness, click here.
Yesterday we were volunteer bike handlers at the final stage of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge in Boulder. It. Was. Awesome! We got to see Tejay in the yellow jersey and Jens lining up for his last race ever. We took the bikes from the pros and walked them to the other side of the stage while they were signing in for the race. Sounds easy but it’s a bit stressful being in charge of someone’s $20,000 bike. We also held the rope while they were lining up at the start line for the race. So much fun, would do it again in a second and definitely one of the highlights of the Summer!
For the complete set of photos, click here.
Slow down, you’re growing up too fast! Lilly has been excited about her ‘loose tooth’ ever since her dentist appointment a few weeks ago. This past week or so it has been very loose, but with the help of a sticky piece of turkish delight it was dangling by a thread this afternoon. I ran outside to take out the trash at one point and when I came back in Lilly was jumping up and down, “Mom, it fell out!!”
I have a feeling the tooth fairy will pay a visit to Lilly’s room tonight…and the tooth fairy might bring a new toothbrush, mints, bubble gum toothpaste, and 3 silver dollars. 🙂
This little furball joined our family on Sunday and we are thrilled! We picked her up in the afternoon and she was calm the entire ride home. She hid under the bed for about an hour when we arrived but then was out and about in our bedroom and wanting to play. The first night she slept between Bill and I; we both woke up sevral times to check on her and in the morning she was snuggled right up against Bill’s back. So sweet. We love her to pieces and look forward to many happy memories with Charlotte in our home.
Charlotte has her own album, take a look here.
So here’s how the story goes: We had just finished lunch at Papusas in North Boulder and were starting the last leg of our drive home from vacation when Lilly started kicking my seat. Bill told her if she kicked the seat again she would have to walk home and, well, she kicked the seat again. Bill pulled the car over and got out of the car with her. I made sure that he had his cell phone on him and got in the drivers seat to park some 6 blocks away, thinking that she would learn her lesson by that point (she was EXHAUSTED from the long weekend).
Well, not only did she make it the 6 blocks but she and Bill walked the entire 5.4 miles (I just looked at the distance on google maps) back to our house!! She was given every opportunity to call me and ask for a ride home but apparently was determined to walk the entire way all by herself. She never quit and was happy the entire way home, especially when she stopped at Whole Foods for water and a perfect bar at mile 3.2.
We still can’t believe it…our neighbors all waited out front to see her and Bill arrive home (it took about 2.5 hours total)…in the end I think she is the one who taught us a lesson 😉
We are in love with the mountains! Thanks to Jeff & Paige’s beloved song for inspiring the theme of this past weekend. We left early Friday for our cabin stay at the YMCA of the Rockies. It was a first trip to Estes and RMNP for the girls and I (Bill had been previously) and we couldn’t have asked for better weather to enjoy the surroundings. Friday evening we ate dinner on grounds and played at the playground before having dessert and games out on our deck. On Saturday we drove Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park and also hiked around Bear Lake with the girls, beautiful! Afterwards we returned to the YMCA grounds where the girls had afternoon activities scheduled, followed by some much needed quiet time at the cabin. In the evening we did a horse-drawn hay ride around the park, which included our first Elk sighting, a marshmallow roast, and views of surrounding storms and lightening on the ride back. Easily the highlight of our trip! The girls each had a pony ride on Sunday morning before getting ready to head back.
It was a wonderful, exhausting weekend (those girls are a lot of work!) and we look forward to returning to RMNP to see the elk migration in the Fall.
To view this photo album, click here.
A HUGE congratulations to Bill, who had a strong finish at his second Ironman (and the first ever Boulder Ironman) yesterday! With how sick he was this year he was unable to put in the same amount of training as last year but he conquered the course, which was also much more difficult than the Coeur d’Alene course, like a champ! I took the girls to see him at the beginning of the bike ride (#1 IronFans) and then we went back to the Boulder Creek later to see him on the run course. I was able to stake out my spot at the finish line by myself and it was the best finish line I’ve seen at any race ever! Thosands came out to cheer on the racers and it was so loud you couldn’t even hear the announcer say “_____, you are an Ironman!”.
It was an awesome day for the City and Ironman supporters alike. We felt so proud to live in Boulder and see all the people who came out in support of the athletes. And, it looks like we’ll get to cheer on Bill at the 2015 Ironman Boulder because he just signed up for next year’s race 🙂 We love you, B!
To view more photos of my awesome husband, click here.
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