the week that school starts!!!!!

counting the week as Saturday to Thursday.   Saturday night, we went to the party in the park thrown by Rocket's orthodontist.  The doctor provides movies in the park throughout the summer and as part of the event, she is then allowed to host a party for all her current and former patients.  Rocket talked to one of his scouting buddies and K got her arm painted.  Of course, it got washed off later that evening when she took her shower.

Monday, we headed to the zoo.  As we were walking in, the rains came in.  Good thing I was looking at the weather and we packed our rain coats.   We had a great time.  I gave the kids the option to pick their favorite animal to see and we made sure to see those animals.  Sis wanted to see the polar bears- they were sleeping, so no pictures.  Rocket wanted to see the big cats (lion, tigers, jaguars, etc.  We saw them, but they were in the dark (simulating night time in the cat house, so no pictures.  I wanted to see Fiona (the baby hippo born Jan 2017).  So as we walked, we saw the Rhinos

 

the bird house (escaping the pouring rain).

Fiona and her momma.   Nose to tail.  they were swimming in circles the entire time we watch them.   usually to see Fiona you stand in a long line and there are people packed up against the windows.  thanks to the rain, we walked right up to see them and we were not in anyone's way - well except for Sis who has no concept of taking turns and walked right in front of people taking pictures as she followed Fiona and Bibi as they swam.  that girl needs to be more aware of people around her and what impact her actions have on others.

Rocket's arm span is as long as tiger!!!!

Sis is getting there.

Tuesday we went to the library to make things in the Maker Space.  I made ornaments.  Sis made some things for her family and some stickers and Rocket made a Neymar pendant on the 3D printer.

I made tacos in peppers that night for dinner.  It was YUMMY.  this is coming to our table on a regular basis now.

Wednesday, I took the kids to the pool for some swimming.  We shared the pool with lots of retirees.  Clearly we are one of the last schools to go back.  The kids swam for 2 hours, with some jumping off the diving board included, I swam for a hour and then read my book by the pool. 

so tired!!!

Today the kids started school.  So 7 am pictures.  the bus now comes 20 minutes earlier then previous years so it changes our schedule a bit.  Rocket is off to his last year at his school and sis is starting 6th grade.

 

 

Tomorrow, we start having the kids next door over in the morning and 3 afternoons a week (not sure what days for the afternoon).  it is going to be an adventure.

 

love and hugs,

Deb

 

into the Fall

the pictures are jumbled, but you will get the idea of what we have been up to the last few weeks.   Yesterday was a holiday here in the US- though I am not sure how much of a holiday I really got.  I was doing regular work stuff and PTO stuff all weekend.  But I also got to harvest our potato crop- what you see above is all we got this year.  the initial crop likely rotten due to poor drainage and this is what came afterward.  I was hoping to get 3 meals worth of potatoes out of it, but we got one meal, the one I made last night.  I forget that Rocket is now an eating machine - he is always hungry.

I also took Rocket and Pablo out for a walk yesterday.  We went to the local park we typically go to.  We saw turtles sunning themselves on a warm day.  The earlier part of the weekend was cool and starting this evening it will be cooler for the rest of the week.

the boy walking his dog.  he is not so little anymore. 

Me and the boy and the dog on the walk

First day of school was 23August- I can not believe that he has another year of school and then he is off to high school

Waiting for the bus

on our walk

this picture is just to show you how tall Rocket is now.  he comes to my ear, which makes him about 5 foot 2 inches tall or 157.48 CM.  Definitely not so little.   the other 2 folks in the picture are my cousins- we just made contact.  the Man in orange, his father is my great grandfather.  the man in blue is working on our family history.   our side of the family lost touch with his side of family sometime back when my mom was a very little, so in the 1940s/1950s.  We made contact because I did the DNA testing when I was sending in Rocket's DNA test.  the guy in blue showed up as my closest relative (because my siblings have not been tested).   Pretty cool how genetic testing can show you relatives you never knew about.   Note: we are still hoping for DNA relatives for Rocket to show up.  All Rocket wants right now is a relative that shares his genetic history- preferably on his father's side.

Love and hugs,

Deb

First day of school- he is a middle schooler now

First Day of school- how in the world do I suddenly have a middle school boy????  Rocket is starting 6th grade, just this year and then 2 more and he will be a high school student.  I am not sure I am ready for this part of the adventure.

this is the "mom, stop taking pictures".  Our bus stop is full this year.  I counted about 7 kids

Then the bus came to the opposite corner where the kids who go to the other catholic school stand.  Yep- we were at the wrong stop.  Of course, this begs the question as to why after 6 years is the school changing the route.  We'll see how long this lasts.

Praying he has a great day at school.  I know the bus ride is going to be good as one of his classmates is now riding the bus too.  He is excited to have a friend to sit with on the bus. 

tonight- part 2 of our adventure starts, we have dancer coming to spend the next 10 days with us. Life is going to be full here. 

I have some photos of soccer practice to post in the next few days.  First soccer game is this Saturday morning.  Wohooo.

Love and hugs,
Deb

first day of school- 5th grade

Well Rocket Man is starting a new school year today.  He is in 5th grade now, starting his 6th year at school, with 3 more years to go here- over half way through his school.  He still has 4 years of high school to complete after he finishes at this school, so we are not quite half way through his schooling, K-12th grade.

this is the last day of school in 5th grade

Here is the picture from this morning.  He looks happy, but he really did not want to go back to school.  I was ready for him to go back last week, then over the weekend I decided I was not ready for him to go back to school.

 

The "excitement" of the day so far was the bus not coming to pick him up until after school started.  Memories of his 3rd grade year are going through my head even now.  Back then, his bus was late almost every week and he had 3 bus drivers for the year- including the one who did not even last a day due to being in an accident on the first day. 

 

I have already called the transportation office to discuss this issue so it can be nipped in the bud.  It is not fair to the kids or teachers to have a bus load of students arriving late all the time, not to mention how it impacts my work scheduled since I am supposed to start work at 8 am (same time school starts).  Not sure how accommodating my manager will be if I am standing at the bus stop with Rocket Man when I am supposed to be in meetings.

 

I'll post an update this evening on how Rocket Man's day went.

 

Love and hugs,

Deb

First day of 4th grade

Bug started school today.  4th grade is a bug change from the lower grades, many more projects, essays, and increased responsibilities for Bug.  I think I am going to spending much of the school year making sure Bug stays on task.  We already had another discussion after school about his responsibilities.

BB was excited to see Bug go to school because it means he is closer to starting school.  we did get to schedule BB's classes today.  Pablo is just waiting for life to get back to normal.

my handsome young man (he is not little any more).

And we have a new bus driver this year.