It's not about the firsts.

It's not about the FIRST time you get to wear your new clothes on the first day of school. . .

It's more about the LAST time you get to frolic around in bare feet and not much else.

It's not about the FIRST time you sit down with that fresh page of new homework
and something for your brain to do. . .

It's more about the LAST time you get to stay out past your bedtime because there isn't anything but playing to do the next day.

It's not about the FIRST day jitters and the worrying about all the new people and rules and assignments. . .

It's more about the LAST day you get to feel those lazy and relaxing summer moments

of no worries and no stress.

This time of year, it isn't so much about all the firsts. It is more about all those LAST moments of precious summer that we hope will come back to us again VERY SOON!

Goin' for the GOLD this school year!

I know! It has been a WHILE since I've posted. To say I have been "busy" is a HUGE understatement. This time of year is always crazy. I love it and hate it at the same time. On the plus side, I have been working my tail off and I'm fitting into some of my smaller jeans again (I always lose weight this time of year. No worries though, by December, I'll have to haul out my bigger sizes again). On the down side, I have been drowning in a sea of work, work and more work. But, I have been enjoying it! Watching the Olympians compete has given me the extra push to keep on going! If they can do it, so can I! My goals this year include:

1. Keep my desk cleaned off
2. File all paper work immediately
3. Stay three weeks ahead in planning
4. Keep all laundry out of the baskets
5. No dirty dishes in the sink ALLOWED!

I know these sound silly, but they are my goals for a happy school year. Let's face it, without all the prep, it would be hard to get the job done. I'm hoping to stay the course and keep it all flowing and going smoothly this year. Last year, I felt like everything was just thrown together and I could never quite "function" the way I wanted to. I spent the last two weeks going through every nook and cranny of my room and organizing it all. I LOVE the feeling of knowing where everything is. I just finished off the last of it today. AHHHHHH. I wish I'd have thought to take some pictures. Posterity needs to see the blood, sweat and tears that have gone into my kindergarten room. It is no small task to try and pull it all together. But, seeing this sweet new batch of kids makes it all worth it!I am STOKED for this school year. It is going to be the best year ever!

Continued. . .

So, it's hard to believe that a week from today I will be in my classroom with 20 or so new little kindergarten faces ready to take on another crazy year. I seriously don't know if I'm ready?! Last Thursday, I mentioned we were in Lagoon having the time of our lives. Here's a peek at how we spent the rest of that weekend, our last summer vay-cay of this year.
Friday-
We woke up and just sort of took it easy. Honestly, I think I slept in until 9:30. That is unheard of here at home! The boys rose earlier than that, but went off on one of their many explorations and so I took advantage! I finally woke to the smell of real food wafting through the ceiling vents. Lisa is an amazing hostess and cook and really pulled out all the stops with her elaborate breakfasts. This morning I think was the day she made a pancake variety. Some with blueberries, some with COCONUT (yes, that's right-they were unbelievable!) and of course, lots of fruit and an assortment of beverages to go with it. Delicious! After breakfast, we got dressed and ready to have a "downtown" day. We started off at "Little Italy" (a part of Salt lake has been dubbed this name because of the many Italian businesses in this section of town). Chris and Lisa lived in the REAL Italy for awhile and so they appreciate, long for, understand Italian fare very well. We went to this Deli called Tony Coputo's and it was amazing! I can't remember the name of the sandwich I had, but it was the best sandwich of my life! Awesome!
On one side of this place is the restaurant, but on the other half, is an Italian market. Now, I am a girl who really appreciates a little culture so Lisa indulged me and walked me through the market. It ended up being so much fun to taste test the olive oils, cheeses and huge variety of olives! There was one young man working there who was really in his element explaining all the different flavors of the oils and olives. He used phrases like, "woody texture that ends with a little more bite. . " etc. It was amusing. Of course, the boys would never have tolerated such a tour so they were outside doing acrobatics on the stairwells while they waited for us. It was a lot of fun. Lisa is one of my most "culture-y" friends. She appreciates theatre and art and things like that. I always feel like I've had an enriching education after spending time with her. Before they moved, she took me out "to tea" one day! I have never been to a tea shop before and it was such a fun experience. This little time at Tony Cupoto's will be another fun memory like that for me to look back upon and smile. It was loads of fun!
Just up the street a ways from "Little Italy" is The Gateway. It is a really fun shopping, museum, restaraunt experience. We started off at the Clark planetarium. My kids have never been to a planetarium before and I wanted them to have this experience. They loved it. There was so much to do and explore. They spent a lot of their time running around acting out elaborate alien invasions and space explorations on the moon and Mars landscapes, but we also caught the 3D movie which was excellent! Later on, the boys got to experience what it feels like to be astronauts in space by hooking up on the anti-gravity simulator (basically just a harness that lifts them up in the sky and somehow they counter the weight with this contraption thingy by fifty pounds so you can bounce and spin and basically fly)! The boys were in heaven. It was really dark, so my pictures did not pan out too well, but they can still looks at them and remember this experience. I was actually a little jealous and wanted to try it too, but a 70 year old grandma decided quicker than me and she looked so unbelievably silly, I was really glad I missed the boat. Maybe if a crowd of people were not sitting around staring and giggling and commenting, I might have done it! (Right now I'm wishing I would have at least snapped a picture of that lady, it was hilarious!)

So after the planetarium, we decided to walk around the beautiful streets of the Gateway and take in some shopping and relaxing by the fun water feature. Steve was probably just as thrilled as the boys (if not more) to cool off in his street clothes and relax without dying of heat. He wanted nothing to do with the shopping so he chilled while the boys and I found some great deals on school shoes (buy one get one half off at Famous Footwear), woo hoo!

As it started getting late, we decided to eat some dinner at Z (something or other? Help me out people, I can't remember?). It is a fun metro, mexican-y grill place. Very fun atmosphere and a great meal! As we were walking out of the gateway, we saw (and heard) a really great street musician and we stopped for a few songs. Steve absolutely LOVES outdoor, live, music entertainment. He could have sat there all night, but the kids would not allow it. He did a few really great renditions of some sweet tunes (particularly Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours") and it was a fun and festive way to end our day at Gateway. Good times!

Conner's Five!

Looking back on this week, I realized it was all about Conner! With it being the last week of Kindergarten, each day had a new fun adventure for him. Here are his top five events to remember:
Five: Reading Rewards Party!
I am so proud of Conner and the great little reader he is becoming. When we sit down to family scriptures each night, he can hold his own as good as the rest of us! We are amazed by his skills. Of course, he was encouraged to develop his reading skills all year long with our school reading rewards program. Each month Conner brought home a reading calendar where we kept track of his minutes reading. He had to rack up enough minutes to be able to attend a fun reading party at the end of each month but also, to earn the grand, daddy prize at the end of the year. That prize is the opportunity to put his hand print on the "Reading Hall of Fame" wall in our school. This is really a big deal for the kids. You really have to be diligent in your reading to be able to earn the right to immortalize your hand print forever on the school wall. Conner worked very hard and was able to attend a really fun party and put his hand on the wall. He chose red and he points it out to everyone that walks by it now. He is so proud. I am too.
Four: Happy Un-Birthday Party!
Birthdays are a HUGE deal for the Hispanic culture. I never knew this until this year, but a child's birthday is an important event! When they bring in a "treat to share with the class" for their birthday, it is usually a full out party with cake, ice-cream and balloons! I had to set aside a full hour to celebrate each child's birthday this year! It was crazy. Needless to say, I always feel bad for the summer birthday kids, but this year, I especially wanted them to experience the same excitement that the rest of their classmates did. So, we had the traditional "un-birthday party" that I always do, but I pulled out all the stops this year! We had a TON of summer birthdays to celebrate too, 8 in all! Conner was one of them. We treated each kid like we did any of the other birthdays we celebrated throughout the year. All the kids made birthday cards for each birthday kid and we sang to them. I bought one of those giant cookies that I had sliced into twenty four slices and that was Conner's treat to share. We put the birthday cards into a special bag for each kid that included a pack of Starbursts and a book from their teacher. Toward the end of the day, I let the birthday kids pass out their birthday treats. We had so much junk, cake, ice-cream, punch, cookies etc., etc.! It took a good portion of our day to celebrate these special birthdays but it was a blast! Conner had so much fun and even shared his Starbursts with his friends. Cute kid that Conner!
Three: Kindergarten Water Party!
To be quite honest, I was DREADING this experience. I am not a huge fan of water days. They are a hassle and truthfully, my kids were so wound up about it, I was tempted to keep them inside. They finally simmered down when they saw Mrs. Gardner's class already outside playing. I said, "We will go out in ten minutes if I can see everyone of you acting like first graders!" They obliged and we headed out, but not without a million kids needing help with sunscreen and swimsuits first. It was pretty fun once we got out there. It was CRAZY windy and those kids were just SHIVERING with that freezing water and the wind mixture.
They were loving the huge water slide set up by our P.T.O. as well as the slip n' slide. Conner, of course, was fearless when it came to dare devilish tricks on both the slip n' slide and the other slide, but he has always been that way and so, I couldn't really do much about it. I just prayed that he would be safe and kind of tried to redirect my attention elsewhere. I saw some pretty cute things as I walked around the playground and just enjoyed "hangin'" with the kids. Lots of little girls were spreading out their towels and sunning themselves. One little girl was putting sunscreen on the bottoms of her friend's feet! I said to her, "Wouldn't want her feet to get burned huh?" she said, "No way, she wouldn't be able to walk!" How funny! And because it was so windy, there were some kids letting their towels blow in the wind and get stuck on the fence. They did it over and over again and would stand further and further away each time. Conner saw it going on and turned it into a little contest, of course! So competitive that one! Overall, it ended up being pretty relaxing and even a little fun. I'll try to have a better attitude next year.
Two: "Kindergarten Celebration of Learning!"I know it is traditionally called a "graduation" but I like how this school calls the event the "Kindergarten Celebration of Learning". It has a nice ring to it. Especially because both Mrs. G. and I have one student who will not be able to move forward to first grade next year. A little bit sad, but we were still able to have those kids be involved in our celebration. We did the tried and true, "Everything I Need to Know I learned in Kindergarten." We chose some students to do speaking parts, Conner got to do the biggest line, "All we really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be we learned in kindergarten." I can just hear his sweet little voice saying those words and it is adorable! The kids sang some of their favorite songs and recited some nursery rhymes. They also did a cute hula dance that I will be attaching to a post soon. It is so sweet! Anyway, I can't believe these little kindergartners who came to me not knowing a lick of English (some of them) are now moving on to first grade with very good READING and writing skills in place (not to mention speaking! Man I had a chatty class)! Anyway, it has been amazing to watch! Kindergarten is a huge learning year and I am so proud of all the students. I will miss them dearly! Most of all, I will miss being Conner's teacher. I wonder if I can just keep moving up a grade each year?
Here is a picture of us on Dress Rehearsal Day. Conner is third from the left on the front row. It isn't the best picture (it is a little blury), but unfortunately, it is the BEST of the bunch and one of the only photos of our whole event! If you want something done right...
One: Conner wins the RACE!!!!
We have the cutest lunch lady on the planet at our school. She used to be a banquet chef too, so the food aint half bad! But, the best thing about her is how AWESOME she is with the kids. She just loves them to pieces! She has really taken a liking to Conner this year because he gets her jokes and likes to tease her. Well, a while back Conner was bragging about what a fast runner he is (he really is fast, so you can't blame him for wanting to share it with the world)! Mrs. Burch made a deal with him. She challenged him to a race and if he lost, he had to give her one Pokemon card. However; if he WON, she said she'd buy him a whole pack of Pokemon cards! Well, for weeks Conner was just stoked about this race. Every time Conner would see Mrs. Burch she would stop whatever she was doing and start stretching! Conner thought that was hilarious! She'd say, "I'm getting all warmed up for that race! You better be ready!" Well, finally this Friday the two of them went out and had their race. I told Mrs. Burch that I needed her to win because that kid did not need another pack of cards. She said she'd try her best! Well, of course, Conner won! By a long shot! He is fast and sooo fun to watch (one of my favorite things to do is watch him run. It's been great entertainment ever since he was really little). Anyway, he was sooo excited and can't wait for that new pack of cards! Way to go Conner!
So, as you can see, this was definitely the week of Conner! I have a feeling next week will be Lewis' big week since it is his last week. I am looking forward to the summer, but I must admit, I am a little sad to see this school year end. It's been a fun one!

This Week's Five (In Full Color)

I am devoting my five favorite things of the week to some of the things that make my life great, easy, or fun and that maybe I have neglected to mention in the past. These are things that are NOT particularly new occurrences or relevant to this week only, but they are great things that occur in my life each and every week. They deserve to be recognized. It is fun to think back on my week and know that I have so much that makes me smile and it occurs continuously. I am so blessed. Here is this week's "Fave Five" in pictures!

Number Five-
Notes written to me on the white board. This happens two to three times a day. At first, the kids would get mad at me for erasing their messages, but they finally agreed that I needed room to write things too. So, as a compromise, I read what they say, out loud to the class, before I erase. There have been some funny phrases I'll tell you! This one was worthy of a picture. In case you didn't notice (I didn't at first) It doesn't just say, "My teacher is nice," It actually says, "My teacher is 100% nice!" Just F.Y.I, Howard is 100% cute!


Number Four-

How I Survive! In the School District where I work, the Middle School and High School kids do not attend school on Friday. They have SUPER long school days on Monday through Thursday and then Friday is devoted to extracurricular sports and other school events. One thing that the students can choose to participate in is to be a "teacher's aide" at the elementary school on Fridays. Of course, I think this is an absolutely BRILLIANT idea! These kids are such hard workers and so much fun to have in the classroom. My class LOVES them and I enjoy their help sooooooo much! There is always a "to do" list a mile long and I am always afraid I am going to scare them off with all the jobs I give them to do, but they honestly love it and keep coming back. This week in particular, I had given the kids raisins for a snack and a good five or six ended up on the ground and being smashed in to the tile. I told my two girl aides I would love it if they could wipe (dig, scrape whatever) the raisins up for me. They ended up moving all the furniture off of the tile and then swept and mopped the whole thing. Then they put everything back (in a new arrangement) and it looks great! They had so much fun too. The other helper that comes in is one of my student's brothers. His favorite job is setting up the Kindergarten Store. We use a ticket currency system in my class (kids earn the tickets for good behavior etc.) and they buy fun trinkets and treats each Friday from the store. Fabion loves setting up the store and helping the kids buy their stuff. I just feel like so much weight is lifted off of me on Fridays when these great kids step in and make all the hard stuff look so easy!

Number Three-
Friends. I know, not the greatest photo with the sun right over your heads girls, but I had no other photo of Adrienne on my camera, so it will have to do. These are a few of the gals I get to hang with once a month for CANASTA!!! This month, we didn't actually play (we sat on Adrienne's couch and watched American Idol) but the food and the chatting was SUCH good therapy! This week was particularly fun for me, getting to snuggle with new baby Allie and just relax a little. I always look forward to our get togethers and I think you all must too. We seem to find ways to sneak other "girl's nights, park days, shopping trips" into our schedules. I think we are all better moms for it.

Number Two-
My Super, Great Spouse. This is not the best picture either (I seem to only take pictures on "Pajama Days" at school. . .we have had at least three pajama days this year. Go figure?). Anyway, this photo represents something I am so grateful for day in and day out. Being able to work with my husband! When will I ever have THIS opportunity again? It is a once in a lifetime situation that I have enjoyed so much. I love walking around the school and hearing his voice or seeing him busy running the show. I especially love knowing that Steve is just seconds away if I need him. He is extremely fun to work for and I have been blown away by his ability to deal with the enormous stress that is is to principal a school. Indeed, it has been a wonderful blessing to be together at work and our family has benefited from the extra time together.

Number One-

Nate The Great Pancakes! This one is long over due. Steve keeps asking me when I'm going to do a post about our favorite Saturday tradition. Well, here it is! Lewis found this great pancake recipe in one of his Nate the Great books. One morning, Steve decided to try it out with the boys and they were absolutely delicious pancakes! The boys have been preparing our Nate the Great breakfast every Saturday since. Steve is such a patient dad, letting Conner and Lewis do most of the work (including cracking the eggs- Conner's favorite part). I am usually trying to get the mattress off my back while all of this is going on. Conner usually comes in to get me, "Mom, the pann-a-cakes are ready!" "Okay!" I say. . . "Let's Eat!"

Okay. This has ended up to be a truly long post! Thanks for staying with me if you did! It was a fabulous look back on my FAVE FIVE!!! Hope it got you thinking about yours.

Okay. . .Picture This!

This morning, when the alarm went off, Steve and I got quite the shock. It said 8:10!!!! What happened? We scampered out of bed, showered, got the kids and ourselves dressed and bolted for the door! He was freaking out that by the time we pulled into the school parking lot, it would be time for "School Square" (our morning pledge of allegiance/announcement ceremony that Steve runs each morning). I was feeling guilty about missing the meeting I was supposed to be to at 7:30 that had long since ended. As we lifted the garage door and got settled into the car, it didn't dawn on us that the sun was not shining (we are so used to leaving before the sun comes up, that we really didn't think anything of it). Then, Steve glanced at the clock just as he was about to put it in reverse. "Wait a minute," he said, "this clock says 6:30!" "WHAT?" I looked down and confirmed, then I ran back in the house to check the microwave clock. Yep, sure enough we were not AT ALL late, just a couple of hours EARLY! I went back out to the garage and saw my little family sitting there in the van and we just all buckled over laughing! How did the alarm clock get sooooo messed up? Steve thinks he must have pushed a wrong button when he thought he was hitting snooze? "Well," I said, "let's go eat some breakfast!" What a funny, crazy way to start the morning! Just another crazy occurrence to jot down in the record books for our adventurous school year!

Denny's Day

Steve has to go out of town for meetings every month. Since we're always a little bummed when he has to go, I decided we needed something to look forward to for the week that he is gone. Denny's is the PERFECT retreat for us! (Kids eat free on Tuesday nights ya know!) Our awesome neighbor, Carolyn; who also teaches with us, is one of our favorite Denny's dates! We just pack up our things at the end of the day and head to Denny's for a delicious, stress free meal. I swear, my kids lick their plates clean and I don't have to hear, "Mom, I don't like this!" Last night, Lewis chose the chicken star basket and Conner went with a Grand Slam breakfast (which I was so happy about because then I got to hear him say the word "pannacakes" over and over again (I love that he still has a hint of "baby-ness" left in him))! Carolyn feasted on a great looking salad which made me feel even guiltier for ordering the French Toast Slam (with strawberries and whipped cream). As I was getting ready to pay, I realized I had my camera and I'm so glad. I think this is the first picture I have of the boys with Carolyn. She's such a fun, fun person and we are so glad she likes to spend time with us. Anyway, we love it when it's Denny's Day! There's only one problem with it and Lewis informed me of this, Dad will never get to be one of our "dates" if we always go when he's out of town!

Smitten

Valentine's Day this year was so different than it has been in many years past. In the past few years, some friends and I have gotten together and taken our kids to an afternoon movie for V-Day and then Steve and I would get a sitter and go out to dinner later that night. This year was a far cry from that! Not only did we not get to go to the movie (we were all at school) but both Lewis and Conner wound up being pretty sick. Poor Conner. He wanted to stay at school soooo badly! He did not want to miss the party! However, he came down with a fever and Steve ended up taking him home. So much for getting a sitter! We spent the night administering meds to our boys and disinfecting the house! All was not lost however! Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays. Those sweet students of mine loaded me up with stuffed animals, chocolates and all sorts of other goodies! My favorite had to be the little framed heart from Fabiola with the card she picked out to go with it. Her parents do not speak any English and so the card read, "To Two Very Special Grandparents on Valentine's Day." She was beaming to give it to me. Their family is very poor and I could tell it was a sacrifice for them to give me this gift. I will cherish it always! Also, two of my students gave me some stuffed dogs. I let Lewis and Conner adopt one for each of them and they have been constant companions all week long! My kids have never been real big on stuffed animals, but they have been so cute with these dogs. Conner named his Sparky and Lewis named his Golden. Both boys tuck them in to a little bed each night and make me "babysit" them when they need to go off and do other things. They are truly smitten over their Valentine's Day pets. Perhaps my favorite part of this Valentine's Day though came in the form of flowers, delivered to the school by my sweet husband. I think this is the first time he has sent me flowers at work. It was super fun to get them and they are still making our home look beautiful! So, although this V-Day did not include any of our tried and true traditions of years' past, it ended up being just as memorable and fun!