August 27-First Day of School-First Family of 6 Carride

School began for Bryce (first grade with Mrs. McIvor) and Deacon (preschool with Mrs. Rust) way back on Monday, August 27th. The boys are loving being back at school.
 Last Friday night was Back to School night, and the first time Bryce got to have a hot lunch at school (Fridays are typically order from a fast food restaurant days). After school Bryce told me, "That roast beef sandwich was awesome". Not even with an exclamation point, but a solid carved in stone very-important fact that should be noted, and repeated. He continued, "I got potato bites and two cookies". Pretty much his best lunch ever.
Speaking of lunch: Phil has convinced this child that butterscotch pudding is better than chocolate--so in his school lunches each day he gets the butterscotch pudding, and Deacon eats a chocolate pudding at home each day, and Kyle refuses to eat any pudding products. I limit myself to licking the chocolate pudding lid--such self control.

And speaking of that first car ride, I attached a noisy buttony toy to the side of Sean's carseat that's nearest to Kyle, so that Kyle has something other than Sean to poke.  So far, so good.

Basketball Camp Treat

 

Bryce loves his school. To pieces. Getting to go to basketball with his principal was enough to float his boat. Getting actual basketball jersey sets from Grandma Greta was even better . . . but getting to choose candy from Mr. Whitling after the last practice??? So happy. Bryce divvied his M&Ms with his brothers, so they thought he should go back.

Brotherly Hug

Love 'em.

Kindergarten Graduation

 Bryce is our first Kindergarten grad!  These pictures show: 1st Bryce listening attentively whilst Mrs. Sawyer said wonderful things about him and read a scripture for him.  2nd Bryce looking adoringly at his medal.  3rd Bryce looking adoringly at his diploma.  4th Bryce smiling ear to ear with his beloved Mrs. Sawyer.  5th Deacon proudly posing with Bryce proudly wearing his medal, showcasing his diploma, and tightly gripping his happy graduation pack of gum (which he has shared with his little brothers).

We are so proud of Bryce!  This year he learned how to read.  This year he became a whole lot bigger and even more of a delight.  I am so glad that he is home with me all morning all summer.  Today was our first day of no school, and he spent it giving himself away to his brothers: playing with them, reading to them (oh yes!), and also looking at me imploringly for extra snacks.  What a blessing this young man is to our family!

The graduation was wonderful.  Mrs. Sawyer had sincere, thoughtful words for each of her 18 pupils, and I'm pretty sure the audience had more folks dabbing away tears than not.  Most of these kids I've been praying for since before they were born.  It's hard to think about years from now when I'll be taking photos of protocol. 
Time to slow down the clock!

Pete the Panda inspires . . .

Thursday night we got to host Pete the Panda.  Pete's backpack contained not only his toothbrush and jammies, but also his own pillow and blanket.  Deacon was inspired.  At rest time, after Bryce lovingly laid Pete down on said pillow and covered him up with said blanket, Deacon was not to be outdone.  The kitchen played host to his crazy menagerie of stuffed pals: each tucked into his own cradle, and covered by his own tissue blanket. 
Later Phil helped Deacon fashion tissue clothes for the bears--Deacon wanted them to be "just like Pete!"
My favorite part was when Bryce somehow sweettalked me into a full screening of Kung Fu Panda, "'Cuz Pete's a panda, Mom!"

After rest time, Deacon took to the boys' new swing--hours of fun, and so far no concussions [fingers crossed].

Cowboy Day

 

Last Friday the Logos Kindergarten had Cowboy Day. This was pretty much the highlight of highlights. All week Bryce was thrilled to discuss his cowboy attire. The morning of was a bit hard for a certain younger brother, who was convinced that if I only called Mrs. Rust, she would agree to have a Cowboy Day in preschool too. Usually Friday-TieDay is the best, oh but how can a tie compete with a stick horse, ten-gallon hat, neckerchief, vest with badge, boots, holster, and gun . . .

Christmas Program

 

Finally, here are fuzzy photos from the 12/15 Logos Christmas Program. We were thrilled to have Nana & Papa join us for dinner beforehand (and I served them a partially cooked roast chicken that I ended up having to cut into pieces and broil. Fancy eh?)
Thursday afternoon when we got home from a thousand errands, Bryce & Deacon waxed on about how much they wished they could use Daddy's big green snow shovel to clear the walk for Nana . . . finally I realized what a goof I was, and remembered the kid-sized snow shovels from our Christmas morning stash (alas, the weather here is being all Scroogey and it looks like we won't have any snow until 12/27).
Their concert was great--it's fun to see all their little friends dressed up, staring out at the crowd from stage. Deacon took his pre-concert prep time to rearrange his tie, and display it on the outside of his navy blazer (btw, I sent several mothers into a panic by including in my email reminder about the concert a request that all boys wear navy jackets--whoops . . . making friends everyday!).
Deacon's class recited a very long scripture, and Bryce's class sang a song that Deacon LOVES, and sang along with from the audience . . . the Mary Had a Baby song. So much better than my 5th grade class singing Up on the Rooftop!

Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree

Frisky Fox came into sight.
Spied the treetop, rubbed his chin.
Opened the sack and stuffed the top in.

Bryce's theatrical debut.

Thanks Hannah!!

I can't get enough of this reading thing

 

Kindergarteners? Reading? Seriously???

Turtle Hat

 

Deacon loves preschool, and when he has projects to show he cannot wait to unzip his backpack and whip out his folder . . . but when he has project that is too [big, bulky, heavy, delicate] to fit into said folder we barely get to the car before he's carefully presented it for ooos and ahs. Love it!

Psalm 100

 

Our little kindergarten man kept his eyes on his teacher for his whole recitation--I was worried he'd never look as us! He was so happy to see when it was all done, and he was trekking back to class. Later he did say he wished Deacon had been there too . . . so cute!

Deacon's 1st Day!

 

We woke up so excited yesterday! Deacon spent the whole entire morning beaming, as he waited to get into his new clothes: super hero undies, fast school shoes, duds from Grandma Greta and a tie! (Bryce has long waxed on about the joys of Friday-TieDay, getting to wear a tie on a Monday, his first day was ridiculously joyful) Deacon wore his monogrammed backpack from Nana all morning (even while eating breakfast), and was cool as a cucumber when we bid adieu to Bryce in Kindergarten and trooped him over to Preschool.

In the Preschool classroom Mrs. Rust had dinosaurs out on the activity table to greet the kids--but Deacon sat in his desk so we could take a photo. He already loves his teacher, Mrs. Rust, and was bursting to report at pick-up that he'd gotten no pink slips, but wasn't allowed to bring home his scissors or crayons . . . a great, great, great first day!

Organized Chaos

 

Bryce loved Logos Basketball Camp (isn't Mr. Whitling a trooper). Phil took Bryce the first day, and stayed to watch for a bit--and thought it was hilarious. I intended to stay for a bit the next day . . . but it was too much for me to just sit there and watch. That's why it's so good for Bryce to be a part these sorts of things, and why it's so, so good for me to not be allowed to run out there and organize.

I'm working on appreciating chaotic joy, exuberant fellowship, thunderous delight. I have a long way to go, but am thankful I get to learn with two adorable boys, rather than twenty plus eager would-be basketball players.

Over five or so years ago I was visiting with a friend, and at one point she was changing her almost-toddler aged son's diaper. For some reason this was taking much too long for him, and so he determined that kicking his mother would perhaps speed things up. He gave it to her good and she winced in pain. I didn't realize it until she spoke, but I had unconsciously been expecting her to be all sterness and say, "No! No kicking! We never kick!" and then finish changing him. But . . . she didn't (and this was huge for me) she very gently and cheerfuly said, "Honey, we don't kick in anger. We kick for fun!" as she took his little legs and kicked them for him, smiling and laughing.

And every now and then I remember her example, when I'm in the midst of one of these sorts of exchanges,

Mom: When do we spit?
Kids: When we brush our teeth!
Mom: We don't spit all the time because . . .
Kids: We're not llamas!

Or, another favorite around her [yes, that does mean we have to say it a lot]

Mom: Silly! Don't lick me:) I'm . . . not . . . a . . .
Kid: Popsicle!

Kamiak Hike

 

Friday was perfectly lovely. Deacon and I were delighted to get to chaperone the Logos kids' hike at Kamiak Butte with Mrs. Sawyer (who will be Bryce's kindergarten teacher this fall). Highlights included the twisty log, a giant stick nest, and spotting wildflowers or patches of miners' lettuce to show the teacher.
Mrs. Sawyer explained to all the kids about how you could take cover under a rock outcropping if you got caught hiking in a rain shower--Deacon then pulled me aside to re-explain everything and demonstrate.
Bryce had a blast, and told me several time that this was the best hike. When were finally on the way home, I asked him what had been his favorite part: the playground. So be sure to drive 30 minutes out of town to hit that Kamiak playground!

Last Day of School, 2010-2011

 

Back in the day my mom started a fun tradition of taking my sister and I out to Gooey's at the Coeur d'Alene Resort Dockside for any school related accomplishment . . . so what better way to celebrate the last day of Logos preschool than follow her lead!

My sister suggested the (perfect) idea of ordering each of the kids a "Big Cookie" that comes with a little side dish of embellishments. Fantastic! We followed up with a visit at Opa's and then a fun afternoon playing at Granddaddy Dan's.

Preschool went by so quickly, and we loved Mrs. Rust--hopefully she likes us back since Deacon is all geared up for preschool this fall! Sometimes I cannot believe that the 1st Day of Preschool was nine months ago. Look at little Bryce!

Grandparents Day 2011

 

This was our first Grandparents Day at Logos, and not actually being Grandparents ourselves, we weren't really sure how much there was for parents and siblings alongside all those grey heads! We missed what sounded like an adorable 1st grade play, Stone Soup . . . but loved what we got to do!

We, joined Nana Judy and Papa Ron to catch Bryce's first theatrical performance: the recitation of a funny poem. All twentysomething preschoolers were lined up across the auditorium stage with their eyes covered by their hats--which were kept on for the whole poem, to be dramatically lifted off (in unison, no less) for the last line, "I found my old head, it was under my hat!" It was cute and preschoolery, and the kiddos took it upon themselves to advance it to a sort of an impromptu round.

Afterwards Bryce got to show off his classroom, and make a potato head with grass seed and all for hair. Here's Bryce being distracted by me when Mrs. Rust gave out directions--thankfully Nana was there and paid attention. The school was so sweet--all the grandmas were given lovely pink corsages!

Later that night there was an open house--Bryce was not so interested in showing us his classroom, as he and Deacon were in playing outside at school. Also, there was an art auction. (Guess who is now the proud owner of a bighorn sheep signed print? Which happens to be too big to fit in my secret closet of no return!)

Principal's Preschool Observation

Tons of cute photos of the MWF preschoolers can be found here!
They are painting . . . it looks like our son is particularly adept at mixing lots of colors together. 
I'm so thankful for Bryce's school, his teacher, and in this case I am especially thankful that I am not the one teaching him how secondary colors are made.
Another fun thing about Bryce's class, is that we know a little bit about each family in his class; which makes seeing each kid in all their painting cuteness especially adorable.

First Field Trip: Latah Co. Fair

Deacon and I accompanied Bryce's class to the Latah County Fair--Bryce even got to ride the bus!
Trains, sheep, pigs, Legos, pictures, crowns, popcorn, juice boxes, friends, goats, fruit snacks, and a tractor to climb on! Who needs rides anyway?

Homework!

This week Bryce had his first homework assignment (which really meant that I had my first mom-homework assignment).
Here he is drawing a picture of his family--he drew me wearing what he tells me are a beautiful princess dress and shoes (perhaps a subtle hint for mom to step things up a bit?), Deacon has a gigantic face, Phil very long legs, and Bryce got to be orange.
Bryce is loving school but doesn't come home with as much info as some of his friends--but we do get a lot of information about the school bathroom and the swing set! I think his yet-unrealized dream will come true tomorrow, when he'll to wear his PE shoes for the first time!

Knights in the Foyer

There are so many reasons to love Bryce's school!
I'd forgotten about the knight in the foyer . . . but I think Deacon had remembered, because he was pretty adamant about bringing in his sword when we picked Bryce up yesterday.