The First Day of Kindergarten

Today was the first day of school. Claire was soooooooo excited! She woke up, had breakfast, took a bath, got dressed, ate lunch, then hopped on the bus just before noon. After the bus pulled away from the curb, we raced over to the school to wait for its arrival (I had to drop something off at the nurse's office.). It took much longer than we expected, but finally the bus arrived. Our big girl got off of the bus and walked into the school to line up just like she'd been doing it her whole life.

Getting on the bus

After school, I waited at the bus stop for the bus to drop off my kindergartner. Claire came off of the bus with a huge smile. She absolutely LOVED kindergarten! She told us that they put one straw in a container since it was the first day of school, that Mrs. C. read them a book during snack time, how she earned a sticker for being really good and she tried to remember some of her classmates' names, but couldn't recall them all. We were thrilled that she was so happy after this first day. She can't wait to go back for day 2.

Miss Independent arriving at school

Kindergarten Prep

I always get excited around this time of year. As a "former" teacher, seeing all of the school supplies on sale in stores, the Back to School clothing sales and thinking about the start of the new school year is always exciting. Of course, I always mourn the end of summer, but the start of the school year is something I've experienced my whole life in different capacities. First, as a student myself and later as a teacher. This year, with Claire starting kindergarten, it's been a whole new experience as a parent. I can't put it into words, it's just been a different experience than any other year.

We received a letter from the elementary school explaining who Claire's teacher is and inviting us to visit the school to see her classroom. We eagerly waited until the day arrived, then headed to the school enthusiastically. Mrs. C. was there to greet us and tell us a few things about kindergarten. Claire looked around the classroom and found her cubby. I was able to tell the teacher a few things I needed to tell her about Claire. It was a great visit and it only made Claire more excited to start kindergarten.

The day before school started was the perfect time to take Claire for a pre-kindergarten mani-pedi. She chose purple nail polish for her fingers (to match her first day of school dress) and pink nail polish for her toes. She loved being pampered before her stressful school life was about to begin! : )

We finished our pre-kindergarten activities by going out to dinner with friends. 

Kindergarten, here we come!

Ryan's 6th Birthday

It's hard to believe that Ryan is 6 years old! It seems like just yesterday he was a tiny baby and now he's a soccer-playing, book-reading, two-wheeler-riding first grader!

We helped Ryan celebrate his birthday at a fabulous miniature golf course complete with knights, water features and a castle! Everyone had so much fun playing through the course, playing games in the arcade and feasting on pizza and Lego cupcakes.

Afterwards, we had a little family party back at his house complete with extra rare hamburgers and ice cream cake. Ryan was thrilled opening all of his gifts (Note to self: Buy Lego stock) and being the center of attention on his special day.

Legos!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A Day at the Beach 2

We were able to squeeze a second visit to the beach in before my cousins and Claire went back to school. It was a gorgeous and fun day!!! My aunt, cousins and cousin's children always make us feel so welcome. We arrived around 11 am and stayed the entire day. After having pizza for dinner, Claire and I left for home around 9 pm.

Claire and Scott building a sand castle.

Claire and Tiffany
(Claire picked Tiffany's bathing suit out so they would match!)

Buried in the sand

10:53 pm -- Almost home!

Mimi's 91st Birthday

We celebrated my grandmother's 91st birthday today with a small family get together at my parents' house (My husband couldn't attend since he was flying over the Atlantic Ocean on his way to London. He was greatly missed.). The little kids played so nicely together all day while all of the adults chatted and caught up. Since we don't see each other that often, it's so nice when we have the opportunity to spend time together.

We managed to take our annual "wagon picture." Next year there will be 5 kiddies in the wagon as my cousin and his wife are expecting. They shared the exciting news today when they gave my grandmother a picture frame containing a sonogram as a birthday gift. We are so excited for them!

When the sun was perched high in the sky, partially hidden behind some fluffy white clouds, a rainbow appeared. One of my cousins said that it was his mom (Aunt Karen) making the rainbow in the sky to let us know she was there. Shortly thereafter, the heavens opened up and it POURED!

At the end of the day, before everyone had to start their journeys home, we sang Happy Birthday and enjoyed some delicious birthday cake. It was such a nice family day!

Our Mini Pennsylvania Vacation

We had planned to get away for a few days last week, but were unable to because of Aunt Susana's passing. Luckily we were able to reschedule for this week.

We left town on Wednesday, went to PA and took care of some business matters in Montgomery County and Philly, then drove to Harrisburg to our hotel. Basically, we spent all day in the car. Claire was a trooper! Thank goodness for our DVD player. Claire watched Lilo and Stitch about one hundred times in the car, so it really helped her to pass the time.

After getting settled in our hotel (Note for future trips: a queen bed is not big enough for tall people and always insist on a room away from the elevator.), we went to a fabulous restaurant, The Firehouse, then made a quick stop at Bass Pro Shops to pick up some men's footwear appropriate for a day at an amusement/water park. We would have loved to have explored the store, but we only had 10 minutes before closing time.

On Thursday we woke up bright and early (Okay, around 8:00.), grabbed some breakfast on the go and drove to Hershey Park. Following a friend's recommendation, we walked all the way into the park and secured a locker by The Boardwalk, Hershey's waterpark. The Lazy River, wave pool, Sandcastle Cove and East Coast Waterworks were where we spent most of our time. Claire's favorite was the little wave pool where we spent over an hour.

Several hours passed and, when we had had enough water, we went to a few dry rides, then packed up and went back to the hotel to relax in the pool and whirlpool. Without a plan for dinner, I suggested we go back to The Chocolate Avenue Grill where we had gone last year, so we drove 20 minutes back to Hershey where we enjoyed a delicious dinner. The Chocolate Avenue Grill was a good choice. Again.

When we woke up on Friday morning, we packed up our belongings and drove to Easton, PA to visit The Crayola Factory.

It was such a fun little place! Claire created many art projects while there -- a print of a fish, a seahorse stick puppet, crayon rubbings, sand art, a Model Magic sculpture, etc.

It was fun exploring the "factory" and we especially enjoyed the demonstration where we learned how Crayola makes crayons and markers. A visit to the Crayola store was the last stop on our journey. We saw lots of fun Crayola products as well as the world's largest crayon, but we didn't find the one item Claire wanted to get as a souvenir (something her friend, Ema, had gotten there). She settled for a paper doll art project and we promised we'd see if we can order what she really wanted to get online.

It was a wonderful, albeit exhausting, little family trip! When I put Claire to bed on Friday night, we had the following conversation:

Claire: Mommy, I liked going to Hershey and The Crayola Factory, but I really love being back at home.

Me: It's fun to go away on vacation, but it's always nice to come back to our home, sweet, home.

Claire: There's no place like home.

NJ State Fair

After much discussion and preparation, we went to the NJ State Fair so my husband could compete in the chili competition. He set up his amazing display aptly named "Lake Chili" and we set out to explore the fair while we were awaiting the judging to begin.

This state fair is probably similar to most state fairs. There are all kinds of fun rides, games of chance and tons of amazing, extremely unhealthy artery-clogging foods! This fair also has lots of 4-H events.

After walking around and letting Claire ride a few rides, we went back to the pavilion to give the chili a good stir and watch the judging. My parents were with us and my brother, sister in law and nephews arrived with our close friends and their boys shortly before the judging began. We watched the judging and a few of our entourage left to ride some rides, get drinks, etc. Another couple we know stopped by with their daughters to check out the action. Most of our entourage sampled the chili before/during the judging and everyone commented on its deliciousness. But was it ribbon-worthy?

Lake Chili

After close to two hours of judging, the winners were announced. Unfortunately, my husband was robbed and his chili didn't even place!!!! It was a huge disappointment shock. However, he did win "best presentation" for his Lake Chili display. We were very, very happy about that! I know I am biased, but his display truly was the best!

After a few beers in the beer tent, a few more rides and a scrumptious, hot powdered sugar covered funnel cake, we bid adieu to our crew and went home to relax and cool off (It was a hot and humid day!). We have a whole year to come up with a strategy for next year including a new and improved chili recipe and another creative display.