Hannah Starts Kindergarten!

Today was Hannah's first day of Kindergarten. She has been looking forward to this for a very long time, although I think I have been looking forward to it more! Being a teacher, I couldn't wait for my little girl to be a part of a classroom and have a great teacher and make new friends. She has always been the type of kid who loves to learn, so I have had confidence that she will thoroughly enjoy school.

Last Friday, we went to a Meet and Greet at the school. She had already met her teacher several times, but we wanted her to see her classroom all set up for the new year and possibly meet some of the other kids. Her teacher is Mrs. Poole. Most of you wouldn't understand what that means, but let's put it this way. I would never want my daughter to have any other teacher for Kindergarten. I first met Mrs. Poole when her son was in third grade with me in Mr. Poole's class. At that time she wasn't Mrs. Poole just yet. Mr. Poole was my absolute all time favorite teacher. He was hilarious and inspiring and I loved him. Truth be told, he is part of the reason I decided to become a teacher myself. Years and years after third grade, I had the opportunity to teach with him when he came to my school for a change before becoming a Dean at a middle school. During that time, I got to know him more as an adult, and he and his now wife Jill came to several school functions. Last school year, my niece Milla was in Mrs. Poole's class. She was so wonderful with the kids and clearly enjoys her job so much that she inspired my sister to go to college to one day become a Kindergarten teacher herself. The Poole's are amazing people without whom my life would not be the same. I am more than ecstatic that Hannah is in her class.

A few weeks ago we went on the hunt for a first day of school outfit, and Hannah fell in love with this pink top with silver sparkly stripes. When Grandma Monty took her shopping for a ton of school clothes, she returned with some silver sparkly shoes that just matched perfectly. She is quite the fashion diva and loved her first day outfit. I was disappointed at how the pictures I took at home turned out until I realized that she was nervous! I took a ton but she has this strange expression in all of them. She was silent the whole car ride there, and it wasn't until she saw her cousin, who we picked up at Grandma's to take to school, that she relaxed a bit.

We dropped Milla off in line and then it was Hannah's turn to line up. Her teacher handed out nametags for all the kids, and before I knew it the line began to go inside. I hollered, "I love you!" one last time and put my hand to my cheek. Hannah did the same (If you haven't read The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn, you are missing out). Then, she went around the corner and into the building.



At the end of the day, 2 hours and 50 whole minutes later, I picked her up and got the biggest hug ever. She was bubbly and excited and couldn't wait to tell me about her day. We went out to lunch, just the two of us, then went and got frozen yogurt. The whole time she kept remembering more and more about her day. There was a boy who wouldn't listen to the teacher. There was another boy who doesn't have a hand (?). She made 2 new friends, but doesn't remember their names. They made Gingerbread Men (I happen to know that later this week the cookies will "disappear" from the classroom. The class will have to search the whole building for them, checking the nurses office, the front office, and other important areas, until they are finally discovered in the Principal's office. It is a sneaky way lots of Kindergarten teachers take the kids on a tour of the school.). She got to pick up some sort of papers and give them to the teacher. She didn't have to use the bathroom or get a drink--not even once! All of these wonderful little nuggets of her day kept coming all afternoon.

I have never been so happy to have taken a sub day. Last night I was so nervous I had trouble sleeping and was quite emotional today. When I came into her room this morning she was sitting in bed, hair all crazy and sleepy-eyed, but the sight of it brought tears to my eyes. I held it together until she got in line, and then I was really glad I had sunglasses on. After I dropped her off I headed inside for "Tissues and Tea" which was a gathering for the parents to cry on each other's shoulders as well as learn about the PTCO and volunteering. The minute I walked in the door, I saw my former gym teacher (did I mention Hannah is attending my old elementary school and he is still there?!?!) and a girl who I went to third grade with (yep, in Mr. Poole's class). I've seen them around the district and at orientation and everything, so it wasn't a surprise. However, the nostalgia of seeing them and the emotions that were already running high enough caused another small meltdown of tears. I got a big hug from my elementary school gym teacher, the same guy who used to make me run the mile, try to ski (still hate it!), and made all the coolest games you ever imagine. It made me feel better, and I held it together all day after that.

This little comic was in Hannah's first day packet. It explains exactly how I was feeling today. How could my little girl, the one who cries when she sees a spider, still takes naps, can't tie her own shoes, and is still such my baby go to school? It seems just yesterday she was colicky and making me question my entire parenting skills, and now here she is, a beautiful little girl heading out into the world...at least for almost 3 hours a day.

California Vacation

Ever since Hannah was little, Justin and I have talked about taking her to Disneyland before she started Kindergarten. After a little research, we found out that Noah was going to be too short for most of the "bigger" rides, so we started second guessing ourselves. When my friend Brooke's wedding invitation for a July 23 wedding two hours North of Disneyland came in the mail, we took it as a sign and booked the trip. I am so glad that we did! The trip we took lasted 9 days, and it is officially my favorite vacation I have ever been on. That's saying a lot, with 3 cruises, several Mexican vacations, and many more to compare it to! The key to this trip was the fact that it was the first real vacation that Justin and I planned, booked, and payed for ourselves. What grownups we are!

Our first two nights were spent in Carlsbad, which is just North of San Diego. We flew into LAX and drove there right away. Going to beach to spend the rest of the first day just seemed like a natural thing to do, and we found a terrific beach that wasn't too crowded, had a cool ambience and perfect weather.

Justin took the kids one at a time out pretty deep (deeper than Mommy felt safe doing--the waves were pretty decently sized!). They loved jumped over the waves with Daddy. Then he would come back and switch kids. I loved watching them have so much fun with Justin. Part of what makes him such a wonderful father is how much fun he has WITH his kids. A lot of Dads I see enjoy watching their kids have fun, but Justin loves to get right in on the action with them. After a great afternoon at the beach, we picked up pizza and headed back to the hotel. Sitting in the restaurant area of the hotel eating our pizza, we were happily surprised when the staff brought out fresh baked cookies for us. A very sweet way to end the first day of vacation. We took a dip in the hot tub and "warm tub" (Noah's name for the pool) as just a sprinkle of a rain shower passed overhead. The kids happily went to bed, knowing the next day LegoLand awaited them.

What an incredible place LegoLand is! The rides themselves are much more geared for younger kids, and you'd have a hard time enjoying them if you went after Disneyland, but for us it was great and we were glad we spent a day there.

Everywhere you turn are landscapes and characters made entirely of Legos. I was reminded of my brother the whole time, as Legos were a huge part of his childhood. I couldn't help texting him a couple of times while we were there.

One huge area of LegoLand is devoted to miniature landscapes of famous cities all around the U.S. Justin and I really like the area designed like the Las Vegas Strip. The detail on these things is incredible! Here Hannah is walking in front of a tiny part of the Las Vegas model, designed like the New York New York Hotel.

Hannah and Noah both had a blast on the rides. Our only wish was that LegoLand was open a little later, as we seemed to find the part of the park with the best rides awfully close to closing time.

The next day we got up and relaxed at the pool. The kids also got the first of the creative souvenirs we brought for them. Instead of spending the whole trip hearing "I want _____!", we spent some time online before we left and picked out some great stuff. Each day of the trip, the kids got something. They loved it! Each night they looked forward to coming back to the hotel, and they knew that they could get a couple things from each park, but we weren't spending the entire trip shopping! Here they are sitting by the pool with the first of the souvenirs; Disney beach towels.

Hannah has turned into quite a swimmer over the course of swimming lessons and spending a lot of time in the water during the trip!

After the pool, we packed up the car and headed to Anaheim. The drive was only an hour or so, but the kids both napped for a bit and were refreshed when we got there. After checking in to the hotel, we headed to the pool (again!). Then an early dinner and early bed time got us ready for our first day in the happiest place on earth!

The last time I was in Disneyland I was 13 years old, so I was happy to be back, but even happier to be able to navigate my way around just fine. For such an enormous park, it sure is layed out well. Each time something with my kids happens (Halloween, Christmas, etc), I find myself saying this, but I truly think that as a kid you think you are the lucky ones, but doing things like this as a parent and being able to watch my kids have the time of their lives is 1000% better than doing it myself as a kid. There were many occasions over the next 5 days when I would catch myself tearing up as I watched the joy on their faces.

We met many characters, took pictures with them all, and had them sign Hannah and Noah's autograph books. However, there were a couple who really stood out above the rest. One of these was Tinkerbell. We stood in line at Pixie Hollow to meet her, and we knew Hannah would be excited. She LOVES Tinkerbell. Her visit was great, but when it came to be Noah's turn, he was very shy. He actually wasn't very excited about meeting any of the characters until we walked away from them. But Tinkerbell was so wonderful with him! Instead of just paying attention to Hannah, since Hannah wasn't scared of her, she plopped herself right down on the ground next to Noah and started talking to him. She went to find his name in the front of his autograph book, and we hadn't put it there yet. So, she labeled it for him: Noah's book. So cute. He warmed up to her a little and we got some great pictures of the two of them. SO! Note to all you relatives who complain Noah is not friendly enough with you: YOU need to be more friendly with HIM! You are the grown up, after all! LOL. I mean, look at him!

There is just too much to write about with our Disneyland adventures. I've picked out some of my favorite pictures and I'll narrate as necessary. Also, our concern about Noah being too small was not a big deal at ALL! They offer something wonderful called "Switch Passes". Basically, if Justin, Hannah and I want to go on a ride that Noah is too small for, we tell the attendant we want to switch off and show them Noah. Then, Hannah and I wait in line (or get a Fast Pass--coolest inventions EVER!) while Justin and Noah do something else. Hannah and I ride, then Justin and Hannah take the switch pass and have hardly any wait to get on the ride again. It was WONDERFUL!! Hannah was too young to totally understand, but she got the best part of the deal: riding everything twice while only waiting in line once! Noah never felt left out, and everyone was happy.

We got into Toon Town an hour earlier than it officially opens one day, and went to meet Mickey Mouse in his little cottage. Classic!

Noah and I staked out a great spot for the parade one night while Daddy and Hannah went on a ride or two. He is so much fun to hang out with these days. I just love this picture of him and me!

You can't go to Disneyland with the trademark hats, although they've changed a lot since I was little! You can still get the classic black hat with black ears, but my kids are anything but "go with the original" kids. They loves their hats, which are embroidered with their names on the back. Hannah's also has a pink veil. Very Princess!

Justin enjoyed meeting some characters more than others. Here is is with Woody, making a finger-gun with the Toy Story character. What a goof ball.

The classic family photo just inside the entrance, with the Mickey flowers in the back. Notice Justin and I sporting the Disney shirts ourselves. Seemed like a great idea at the time, but I'm not sure I can wear that out of the house again. Oh well.

For the last day and a half of the trip, the Wills family came and started their trip. Overlapping like this was intentional: each family had their own time at the park, but we got to spend time together there as well. We met up at The Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney when they got to town. Our planning ahead and getting reservations meant we had an awesome, private table. The kids loved the restaurant (well, most of them did--sorry Aiden!).

We took Milla and Hannah to Ariel's Grotto, a fancy restaurant where you are greeted personally at your table by four or five Princesses. It was a wonderful experience, and the food was excellent as well!

Having the cousins together was a priceless thing and I am so glad we did it.

Noah on his favorite ride: the Ladybug ride from A Bug's Life in California Adventure. Think Tea Cups only giant lady bugs. He was absolutely hilarious to watch!

After a terribly depressing last few minutes in the park after 5 days of total bliss, we went to bed to get ready for the wedding the next day. We packed up and headed out in the morning, and it was a good think we left some extra time, since California traffic means you spend 3 times as long in the car as the Navi system says you will!

My friend Brooke made such a beautiful bride, and it was such a blessing to be able to be a part of the special day. The moment that choked me up the most was when Brooke and Matt's son, Victor, came running onto the dance floor to dance with his parents during their first dance as man and wife. The picture captured the moment perfectly, with both of them smiling down at him. At the end of a trip that was so much about family for us, this was very touching!

So, that's our trip in a nutshell. Did we have fun? Let's just say that Mr. Noah is going to get a pre-Kindergarten Disney trip as well. We can't wait to go back!

Let's try this again...

Life has been flying by at what seems like an incredible speed for us. Every time I thought about updating the blog, the list of things to do that must be done first was always just too long. I love documenting the fun things my family does, though, so I'm going to forgive myself and just post from here on out when something inspires me. On that note, I bring you, in my next post, CALIFORNIA!