kindergarten thus far

We are one week into kindergarten and so far so good. I have only received one e-mail from school about behavior (more to come on that).

Shane is loving being a purple cat- he got the job of taking the papers down to the office with a buddy two days in a row- he thought that was really cool. Shane has also had library and music & art. I only got a report on the library that they had books there that they could READ! Shane is making lots of friends and has been invited to a play date next week.

Jackson is doing O.K. in kindergarten but he "rather be at home with his toys" according to him. Yesterday he didn't participate all morning and sat out in gym class, then he took a nasty fall off the play structure at school and really banged his back. Hopefully today is a better day for him.

Soccer is great! We had our first game on Saturday Green Team (Bryants) vs. the Yellow team- some of their friends from BCNS were on the yellow team so they had fun. Dave and Karen also came to cheer them on- big smiles from Jackson when he saw David Lilley come onto the field.
Both Shane and Jackson are tired but that is to be expected, we are hanging in there. Mommy is also getting into the groove of dinner, making lunches and getting everything set in the morning.
It is a wild ride but a great one!

We made it to kindergarten!

Kindergarten started this week and we have made it through 2 whole days of school. S&J seem to be loving school and are making new friends. I feel like I should be writing a formal letter  to each of the boys about their new adventures but I'm at a loss for words.

Jackson started as a brown bear with Mrs. Cox- he took off a little too eagerly for our liking into the classroom and made some fast friends. To quote Jackson on the first day of school: I made 2 new friends today! Shane responded in a sad voice:" I only made 1 friend".

Jackson and Shane are in separate classrooms- Shane is a Purple Cat with Mrs. DeBello for a teacher, i think he misses Jackson a little. Because he was asking when is he going to be a brown bear with Jackson? Shane has visited the library at school and really likes it- he continues to talk about his trips to the library and has invited me there as well.

Daddy had the hardest time sending them off to kindergarten, he couldn't hold back the tears but the principal re-assured him that they are in good hands and that everything would be O.K.

This is a week of firsts. Soccer also started last night-here are the boys- Shane left, Jackson right- they are on the green team with Daddy as one of their 3 coaches. So far, so good!

Above, Shane created a contraption for Snowball last Friday on their last full nana day. He walked around the block saying here is Snowball, King of the street.

Life is changing pretty fast for us on Payson Rd. and Mommy and Daddy are trying to keep up! I love you with all my heart Shane and Jackson and can't wait to see how much you grow and develop this year. I hope you develop a love for school and meeting new friends and all of those fun things!

Love-
Mommy

lemonade stands and pool parties

 The boys playing air hockey at the Boys & Girls club after swimming.

 Hard to see in the photo, but Shane and Jackson are actually holding hands as they watch a video.

 Jackson at his lemonade stand during our yard sale. The boys made 5$.

 Chillin' at the pool with Fiona.

 Let's add the girls into the picture...

 Shane, Jackson, Sabine & Dahlia

 Monkeying around at the pool

An old selfie- last summer Shane, Mommy and Jackson.

Last days of summer & kindergarten orientation

The last days of summer means that school is starting. Above, Fiona comes to babysit with Trish.
Shane on the left, Fiona and Jackson painting at the island.
Below: Shane, Jackson and Trish getting ready for kindergarten orientation.

Kindergarten orientation went well. Jackson had no problem meeting his teacher: Mrs. Cox and he ran off making friends in his classroom. Truman is not in their class but both boys ran up to Truman and gave him a big hug! Shane was with mommy and we went to meet Mrs. DiBello- he was a little shy at first, but he did move his name on the screen and we did complete the classroom scavenger hunt- which involved finding his cubby in the hallway and a few other items. After a while Shane let go of my hand and went and played with some other boys, they made pizza and a salad out of the wooden food we have at home. Within 15 minutes Shane wanted to go find his brother Jackson. So, we left Mrs. DiBello's room and found Mrs. Cox's classroom and Shane and Jackson played with some other boys for a few minutes before we had to leave.

It was a little chaotic- this kindergarten orientation and I think Daddy had a rougher time than the boys- it is hard to believe that they are going off to school every day starting next week. But we did O.K. there were kids there holding onto their parents and not talking so I think we did O.K.
Let's see how the official first day of school goes next Tuesday Sept. 9 at the Wellington School!

Movie Night at Moozy's

This summer Moozy's has sponsored Movie Nights, this week we attended.
Above: Jackson, Eric and Shane.
It was COLD out for August- you can see that Nana has a blanket wrapped around her. The boys had Ice Cream & Popcorn!

Kindergarten School Supply Shopping

 School sent home a list of supplies that everyone needed to bring to school. Prior to going to the store, Shane and Jackson were riding bikes down the hill on Lawndale Street and Jackson fell and scraped his leg and elbow. Jackson was covered in band-aides and was "in  too much pain to go shopping for school".
So, Shane and mommy went to Staples to get school supplies. I swear- half of the school system was there buying school supplies! Before we went to Staples, Shane got a snack at Panera Bread and then he had  a grande time in staples. I love both boys with all of my heart, but it was actually fun going shopping with just Shane- wasn't crazy, no fights and he listened!

The last days of Summer 2014

Here we are at Pine Point Beach in Maine, enjoying our Labor Day weekend. Shane in White, Jackson in the blue shirt- they dug a whole so big that they could both fit in it! This Labor Day weekend we drove to Portland to visit Mommy's friend Missy and her family. We went to the beach and went swimming a lot at the hotel! We went over to Peaks Island by Ferry and enjoyed island life for a day. Here are more photos of the weekend: We took the PACKED ferry to the island, on the way home- 2 ferries were needed to get everyone back to the main land. 

 Digging.....

 Happy Jackson in his hole!

 Shane digging; Shane desperately wanted to play with a family speaking French and all day he tried to play with the little boy- but he didn't speak any English so would just ignore Shane....

The hole...

 "Fishing" off the docks in Portland. Both Shane and Jackson were very interested in the fishing so this kind gentleman would give Jackson the fish that he caught. They were small fish and he let Jackson throw them back into the ocean either to swim away or for a Sea Gull to eat.

 Jackson was all smiles on the ferry to Peaks. We sat in Front to watch the waves and look for seals (and sharks)

Shane and Daddy looking at the clouds. Missy and Eric put on a big party for all of their friends and the boys couldn't remember Missy's name. So, Shane took to calling her the lady that lives here.
Shane even had the following conversation with Missy:
"Excuse me, Lady that lives here"...(Shane taps her on the skirt)
Missy: Yes Little Keith?
My name isn't Keith, it's Shane!
I heard the deserts are out?
Missy: Well yes they are, they are on the table behind you.
Shane: Well where are the plates?
And once he found his food, he walked away a very satisfied customer.