Grandparents' day

Today was Grandparents' Day at the girls school, and M&M Dad and I filled in as "special people." Since this was Jr. Princess's first year, she got to pick which parent came to her event, and she picked me. All the Kindergarten classes started in the gym with a few poems and songs for the crowd (she now has all kind of options for the Thanksgiving family talent show!!)...

We then went to her class room for cookies and photos

and then we were set loose in the school so she could give me the grand tour of the school. It was cute as could be to hear about the school in her words. It did give us a chance to go down the 3rd grade hallway to spy on M&M Dad and Starshine doing the activities in her classroom. They were busy talking about school "when I was a kid" (which I'm sure is more impactful with grandparents. Honestly, their school seems very similar to what M&M Dad and I had), and playing math games.

It's a joy to see our kids at school because we can see how much they love to be there.

Crazy things my husband claims - a new (recurring?) poll

So I'm not sure how we even got on this conversation, but a few days ago M&M Dad claimed he could dig a hole big enough for him to stand in -- in one day. Now, I don't usually like to rain on his parade, but I couldn't let this one go. I had to call him on it. After some quick bantering on the ground rules:

• one day means sun up to sun down
• We're talking a 6 foot tall hole - he has to be standing in it
• All standard shovels and picks can be used, but no power tools, help, etc.

Seriously - he still thinks he can do it. He must not remember the tears and swearing (my tears, his swearing) during the planting of our two front trees. Those were small, maybe 2 foot holes. We have some seriously hard clay soil here.

I thought about making Sunday "dig a hole day", but quickly realized this was a losing proposition for me because I don't NEED a hole dug, and this would distract him from raking leaves and other helpful activities.

So, he said I could put it up for a poll. So, please comment on whether you think M&M Dad can dig a 6' hole, that he could stand in, in one day...

This could lead to other "Crazy things my husband claims" polls in the future :)

A beautiful fall day

Friday, M&M Dad stayed home with the girls because they did not have school. Unlike last weekend when we nearly froze to death at their soccer games, it ended up being 85 degrees outside. What a perfect day for a leaf pile. I found these cute pictures on the camera when I got home...

Seems like a lot more fun than my boring day of meetings!

CNN Marathon

Again this year, the YMCA after care program had a running club that built up to running the final 1.2 miles of the Twin Cities marathon. Starshine has been looking forward to it all year, so she signed up eagerly. Jr. Princess, however, was disappointed because she didn't meet the minimum age requirement - bummer. She is an awesome support crew, though, making a cute "Super Starshine" sign to wave near the finish line.

So, last Sunday Jr. Princess and I went down as the cheering section for Starshine and M&M Dad, who volunteered to run, too, this year. She did great! We didn't see any other elementary aged girls run by ahead of her, and M&M Dad said she was totally squirming her way to the front of the start line to get a fast start.

After the race, there were snacks and medals, but we were all disappointed there was no visit from Jillian Michaels like last year. Oh well, we had to head out to go to the Twins game anyway. It was quite the busy day.

Starshine's Weekend

This year in school, Starshine has to track the minutes she reads everyday on a calendar. The goal for this month was 180 minutes, which, because they didn't send it home until halfway through September, works out to about 15 minutes a day. So, I had to take a picture after the first week of keeping track because she is already at 531 minutes! OK, it's really only 400-some minutes, because Thursday was double minute day, (which I think she took as a personal challenge), but seriously - she is such a fabulous reader. No joke - unprodded by us, she read for 173 minutes on Saturday afternoon between her soccer game and having a friend over that evening. I wish I was 8 again and had 173 minutes to read in an afternoon...

Today she couldn't read nearly as much because she's in charge of the "Art to Wear" Try-it badge for girl scouts tomorrow. After a lot of shopping and organizing, she had to practice one of the activities - face painting. Guess who was super excited to volunteer as her model?

Super Face Painting

Friday night we went to the Back to School Dance at the girls' school. Luckily we spotted the face painter early in the evening, because the line was super long later. But boy was she talented...

It also gave me the opportunity to ask what supplies Starshine would need for her upcoming Girl Scout "Art to Wear" try-it badge where, for one of the activities, the girls will try face painting. I'm pretty sure we'll go for something a little easier...

Soccer Update

Both of the girls are enjoying soccer this fall. Jr. Princess is particularly happy because Dad is coaching her team for the first time. Here he is setting up for her first goal kick. She has already scored her first goal this season, and loves that she is one of the big, fast kids this year in the 4/K league.

Starshine is finally in an all girls league. Last year it seemed like the 2nd grade boys were so much bigger and faster than the second grade girls that the girls barely got to play, so this year is lots of fun. Here she is dribbling down field.

I missed most of her games last year because I had to take Jr. Princess to hers while M&M Dad coached Starshine, so it's really fun to see how much better this age group is.

Wolf Pride x3

The girls' school hands out Wolf Pride certificates to reward kids for making good choices. They then have weekly prize drawings, which Starshine is totally annoyed that she has never won.

After 2 weeks, Jr. Princess has already earned 3! (She says the other one is still in her desk.) So far she has earned them for:

1. Being quiet walking through the hallway

2.Reading to another child in class

and my personal favorite...

3. Not punching kids in line!

Me: Were other kids punching in line???

Jr. Princess: yes, lots of kids were punching

Wow, really?? Anyway, we're very proud of our big girl.

Probably not the way his Dad taught him...

M&M Dad was the cutest tonight...

This year in soccer, Starshine's age group has to learn about being offsides. The last practice was a bit confusing, so I suggested she ask her Dad to try and explain it better. So, truly adapting to the fact that he has daughters, here he is demonstrating the concept using a smattering of Polly Pockets and Barbies. I'm pretty sure this is not how Grandpa M explained it to him :)!



Don't you love how he used a marker to draw the field lines on the vinyl tablecloth?

First Day of School

Tuesday was Jr. Princess's first day of Kindergarten! She has been counting down the days (literally) for a long time, so she was up with a spring in her step and a smile on her face. In celebration, we are updating the blog picture because the original picture was one of Starshine's first day's of school. (yeah, yeah, I need to update the header, too, but I'm way too busy with our disaster of a water leak this past weekend. Maybe next week...)

After a cold, wet and windy wait for the bus, she ran off without even looking back, just like her big sister 3 years ago.

When I picked her up from afterschool care, she was mad at me for picking her up so early, but then chatted on and on about all the great stuff at school. We're very proud of our big girl.

It's hard to believe I don't have any babies anymore - sniffle, sniffle.

Oh, and Starshine had an awesome first day,too! She lucked out and has her two best friends in her class and the teacher she was hoping for.