With daylight savings upon us, this was our last week of heading to bus stop as the sun was rising. We saw some beautiful skies this week.

I still love seeing the kids get on that school bus. Last year feels almost like a dream! First grade in our house, working and schooling from NY and FL. What a wild experience. Now that we’re two months into the school year, I’m getting used to the quiet house and, for part of the day when I work from home, Sophia is here for a bit of company when I come out for air.

And I always have Sally as a companion. <3

Daddy’s shoulders are a fun place to hang out!

The kids didn’t have school on Tuesday while the teachers had professional development (Election Day) and they had a great day at home. Even when the day started with the cleaning the playroom. With Hanukkah and birthdays coming, it’s time to clear out the old to make room for the new. There’s a ways to go but they did a great job focusing and really cleared out a lot from their cubbies.

For a good part of the week (Sunday night through mid-day Wednesday) we had a boil water advisory due to a water main break. It gave the kids a chance to have sushi for dinner on Monday and on Tuesday, for lunch, the kids went to The Early Bird with Sophia.

I think I’ve mentioned before that Jason and I love getting texts from the kids. It’s just so cute. On Tuesday, Jason and I both got texts from Steven about his rubix cube. He told us later that he loved his “joke” about finishing the rubix cube in the distant future. 🙂

Tuesday was a big day for Amaya – she started gymnastics! Another mom I’m friends with has her daughters signed up and offered to do drop off and drive home for Amaya. (This particular studio is a little frustrating bc we have to re-register and get our spot every month, but they require masks which I prefer and it’s nice that there’s a friend there with Amaya.)

Ready to go! She even took off her chokers to follow the no-jewelry rule.

Laura (mom friend) send videos of Amaya. She dove right in, which was no surprise to any of us.

Steven, Sammy and Amaya made up a “principal” game. They pretend that one of them did something wrong, one of them was wronged and one is the principal. The one in “trouble” has to convince the principal that it was an accident. Whoever did something wrong in the game gets to create the scenario. The one that was wronged has the convince the principal it was intentional. Inevitably, the principal in the game uses cameras in the school to find out the truth. It’s pretty fun to listen to.

Here, Steven is the principal. Amaya (allegedly) used her super strength to knock down trees on top of Sammy.

I thought this was a cool drawing Amaya did of the bones in her hand.

SSA can take out two books from the library each week. (“Now that we’re in 2nd grade we can take out 2 books. In kindergarten we could only borrow one book.”) Steven borrowed a Star Wars cookbook and, for dinner on Thursday, Sophia made tie fighters from chicken sausage and breadsticks. They were a huge hit.

Sweet Bobes and Sweet Sal

Amaya’s class filled the compliment jar and their teacher let them have a pajama day on Friday. Amaya was able to wear her brand new flying squirrel pajamas. Now, with Sammy, we have the two cutest flying squirrels ever. Amaya reported they needed 16 stars in the jar to get a class treat and Mrs. Boomer let me know they get a star if she, or another teacher, compliments the WHOLE class for working quietly, walking down the hall together quietly, etc.

And here are some pictures of Steven and Sammy from the week at school. In the first picture, Sammy is showing the class rocks that he brought in from his Nat Geo rock collection. (A gift last year from Penni!) Later in the week, Steven showed some shells to his class.

At school on Friday, Sammy got a “Be More” Buck for helping to clean up in another classroom! Next week he can turn it in for a chance to win a prize in a drawing. We’re very proud of him!

And Amaya got this eraser from Mrs. Boomer from helping a classmate clean something up. We are also very proud of Amaya!

On Saturday, Grandma Sunshine and Aunt Annette came to spend the day. We made paper airplanes, played lots of games, went out to eat and watched Sparty football together.

Saturday night, for fun, the kids had a fort sleepover in their room. It was pretty successful and not horribly messy to clean up, either.

This morning, instead of regular Hebrew school, there was a family program that we attended. It started with a kid-appropriate discussion on food insecurity followed by an activity packing sandwiches and snack bags. It was a great way to spend the morning.

Amaya borrowed a cookbook from the Thornton Creek library and wanted to make rainbow mini pies – so we did. She is getting more and more independent in the kitchen.

The finished product!

Jason and the kids got in some touch football today. They are so cute strategizing.

Last minute, early evening, the kids and I popped over to the TC playground to meet up with some friends. It was a beautiful day – maybe the last warm day of the season – and it was a great way to wrap up the weekend.

I’ll leave you with a video of Amaya speaking in a NY accent. <3

Have a great week!