End of Summer/First Day of School/Luke story

As per tradition, we asked the kids what they wanted to do their last week of summer break. Anna said swimming, Jack wanted Brewsters and Kara picked YoKool. Jack had actually said Point Lookout, but we had just gone a couple of weeks ago and I wasn't ready to take everyone back without Thomas. So, we made another pool trip and got our ice cream and yogurt. As a funny sidenote, while we were at Brewsters, we pulled in behind one of our neighbors and then another arrived a few minutes after us. The kids thought we had arranged a little surprise, but it was just a funny coincidence.

Overall, it was a good summer. We made lots of pool trips, a few beach excursions, trips to Six Flags and National Parks and we all enjoyed the 1.5 visits from the Koc family. That being said, I was ready for school to start again. I enjoy the more relaxed pace of summer and I hate packing lunches everyday, but I like the structure and routine school provides. The kids were also ready to go back. At least Jack and Kara were. I wish there was some sort of compromise, maybe 4 days on and 3 off year round with a random week or two off here and there. That's how I would do things :)

But, I digress. The first day came and the kids were very excited. We were pleased with the teachers they got.  Kara got Mrs. Lowe, who Anna adored last year. We didn't know who to wish for for her, we have had 3 out of 4 of the 2nd grade (one used to teach Pre-K) and we thought highly of all of them, so there was really no bad outcome. We didn't know the 3rd grade teachers, but knew their previous teachers had made specific recommendations. J & A are in companion classes. They put all the twins (3 sets, I think) with these two teachers. They assign the same homework and will do field trips together. They also share a wall/supply room, so the kids get to see each other a lot during the day. It's really nice.

Now, for the plethora of pictures:

Kara got a haircut for her 2nd grade year!

I can't believe they're in 3rd grade! Anna is in Mrs. Cieka's class.

Jack and this hat have been inseparable lately. He is in Mrs. Arthur's class.

I ordered everyone an extra large, but the men's extra large (Jack) is obviously much bigger than the girls. 

And, a Luke story (or three). We were at Aldi the other day and he insisted on pushing the cart. He has to stand on his tip toes and he can't see anything, but fortunately, it wasn't crowded, so I just gently kept him on course. On the second aisle, he abruptly stopped pushing and ran to grab something. He exclaimed, "Oh! I need this!" and attempted to put the item, a can of condensed milk, in the cart. That kid cracks me up! He also got several laughs from others in the store for his enthusiastic shopping. Yesterday, he said, "Mom, I have an idea!" When I asked what it was, he paused and then said, "ummmm, we can watch Umi."  (His favorite show is Umi Zoomi and he would watch it all day every day if we let him.) The final note about Luke is he likes to randomly ask us, "Yes or no?" That's it. There is no question before or after, he'll just run up to us and say "mom, yes or no???" and wait for a response. Last final anecdote, we were at Chick Fil A last week and a little girl asked his name and he said, "my name is Looty." I love it! Two year old speech is priceless! I think he is learning to say R a bit better, I will be so sad when he no longer calls Kara, Kaba. Then, he'll be able to pronounce his own name and baby speech will be gone from the Wilson household forever :(

One on One at Six Flags

Thomas and I have been making more of an effort to spend alone time with each of our children. We rotate through the kids and let them choose an activity. We have done movies and ice cream and restaurants. Thomas was off from work on Friday and I wanted to go to Six Flags. However, it was the kids' last day of camp and Jack really did not want to miss. So, it was determined that I would take the girls and Thomas would stay home with the boys. On Friday morning, Kara got upset that she couldn't find her swimsuit of choice and decided to stay home. I was feeling frustrated and ready to cancel the whole outing. However, Anna REALLY wanted to go. We decided we would count it as her next special outing and go with just the two of us.

We dropped Jack off at camp and left Thomas, Luke and Kara at home. After some issues getting gas, thanks to a giant dump trunk hogging the Shell parking lot, and a return trip home thanks to me forgetting my phone, we were off. I was still feeling kind of cranky, particularly after the additional difficulties, but we pressed on. And, we had a great time! We rode all the big water rides repeatedly. Anna was brave and tried Tornado, and she loved it! So, I decided to be brave and try Halfpipe, which I enjoyed. We rode my favorite ride, Bahama Blast 4 times, Tornado 5 times, Halfpipe 4 (well, twice for me), Shark Attack 3 times and Zoomba Falls 3 times. No little kid pools or attractions for us! We had a pleasant lunch and went into the wave pool, but it was cold! The weather was a little chillier than previous visits, which was nice because our feet didn't burn on the pavement and it wasn't super crowded.

I didn't have my camera this visit, but here's Jack on the Halfpike a couple of weeks ago.

Stock photo of the tornado.

After the water park, we had some Rita's ice and decided to do a few rides in the regular park. I wanted to leave by 4 so that Thomas could take Kara out to dinner for her special outing. Normally, we wouldn't do two on the same day, but the original plan was for Thomas and Kara to go to lunch on Friday, then I introduced the idea of Six Flags and then Kara didn't even go, so I felt bad that she was missing out on what should have been her special day, even though it was self-inflicted on her part.

I left my phone in the car while we were at the water park, so not a lot of pictures.

We rode about 4 rides and headed home. On our drive home, I turned off the radio and asked Anna what she wanted to talk about. She voiced some concerns about going into third-grade and we had a really good conversation. The entire day was fantastic. She was truly delightful. At one point she said to me, "mom, we've done what I want to do, what would you like to do?" She spoke kindly all day and was flexible and agreeable. I absolutely loved spending the day with her.  That is the best thing about these one-on-ones, we get to focus on just one child and it brings out the best in everyone. I can definitely see the benefit to having an only child (of course, I can also see the drawbacks and I am happy with 4)!

We got home and Thomas and Kara were all dressed up. Thomas had mentioned that they might have to wait for a table because, "lots of people like to get dressed up and go out on Friday night." So, Kara said they should get dressed up too. Thomas put his suit on and Kara picked out a dress. A little fancy for Olive Garden, but they were happy! Thomas said Kara's pearls got her a lot of attention. They had a great time.

Aren't they adorable?