August | 2014 | OUR LIFE IN 3D

23 Aug 2014

First Grade for the First Week

Or is it, “First Week in the First Grade?”

I am in the process of finishing up the planning our ~~summer~~ family vacation coming in September. Yes, I know. I am late. We were busy…

Its more like ‘Cheap’ as the prices and crowds / lines go down after every other 6 year old is on school. Right? And since planning a Disney Cruise in the Caribbean during the height of hurricane season is kinda like planning Russian Roulette (you just can’t reason with hurricane season), I opted for ~~Dad’s~~ our girl’s tried and true vacation spot of summer vacations past, Ocean City, New Jersey.

Do you remember Skylar’s first adventure on a miniature golf course there…

So on the way to school today I was trying to see how stoked Dylan was about making this trip up to a kid’s magical Wonderland again.

So I asked, “Dylan, have you thought much about our trip up to Ocean City, NJ yet?”

She replies, “No. Not so much, I would rather go to school instead.”

Wait! (sound of brakes screeching!)

Who are you and what have you done with my daughter?

Yes, it is the first week of school around here this week. Dylan started her first day of First Grade on Tuesday. She was a trooper!

Dressed for her first day of First Grade; complete with her favorite Tangled Diary

Even though all of her friends, I mean every last one of ’em, was in a different class this year, she still was eager to start. And you know how hard making new friends can be sometimes for kids on the first day of school.

Sure enough, she did not even make it until 1:00pm on that very first day before I received an email from her teacher. It read:

Hi Dylan’s Parents! I wanted to email you and let you know that Dylan is having a great first day! She is such a helper! There was a child outside that was very scared to start first grade and apparently she knew him. She told me she knew him and asked if I would like her to talk to him. So sweet! I’m looking forward to teaching her this year! I’ll speak with you soon!

Looks like she is starting the school year off on the right foot. (Mommy was a teacher’s pet too. Not Daddy…. but Mommy sure was). I do hope she decides to join us on our trip I am planning to Ocean City and not stay in stinky ol’ school instead. Her grandparents will be so disappointed if she doesn’t join us.

“But Daddy, how else am I going to get to the second grade?

And get that college scholarship you keep talking about me needing?“

I love school thiiiis much

So next stop is Ocean City, New Jersey. I will let you know what she decides to do and what surprises I may have in store for her and her sister along the way.

I have an important 1 year anniversary coming up too.

Stay tuned…

Posted in Archives and tagged big helper, boardwalk, I love school, Nothing but A's, ocean city new jersey, vacation, Wonderland

05 Aug 2014

12 Comments

Celebrating 3’s in 3D

Hey, it’s me again! Remember me?

I hope everyone is having a great summer. We have been staying busy, having fun, but, unfortunately, not too many blog worthy things. We have become so average here lately. Average?

Ahhhhhh!!!!

I hate average

Yes, it’s been that kind of a ho-hum life lately. Forgive me! I will do better in the fall.

Have you ever noticed things travel in 3’s?

I guess that’s what the saying is.

Well this past weekend I had 3 quick things happen worth celebrating.

First, after years of my belt getting tighter and tighter, and using one more belt hole after another, this past Sunday I was able to comfortably us one less belt loop when getting ready for church in the morning.

(yes it’s come to that…celebrating victories in belt loop loss ~ so sad)

Anyway, this past Sunday I was able to easily use one less belt loop when putting on my Sunday best, instead of sucking in the gut, holding my breath, and working up a sweat wrestling that belt to get it latched. It was very gratifying!

I thought maybe, just maybe, I have arrested this aging issue I have had over the past 10 years or so of slowly but surely gaining weight. For the first time in many years I went back on a belt loop instead of forward! It felt great!

Maybe I lost some weight? Maybe I was looking more youthful? Maybe I wasn’t getting older after all? All that hard work was finally paying off!

So I was all smiles as I strolled downstairs to the kids to get them in the car. In fact, I felt GREAT!

I felt invincible!

I attribute this waist of a waste to my training the past month of Saturdays for this Stairclimb I was doing for the American Lung Association, which happens to be celebration number two this past weekend.

You see my second celebration came the day before this victory with the belt, I was the third fastest overall male to finish the Climb For Air Stairclimb!

That’s right!

I had a good time. While the overall amount of participants seemed to have gone down this year, I was quite proud of my accomplishment after a year of ups and downs with my health and cancer treatment. Yes, I was all smiles last Saturday.

some of the medals

Ok, you had to be pretty slow not to get a medal on Saturday…

So…..

After church was over, and I had given thanks for some completely selfish reasons, we all went out to eat for brunch. We tried a new restaurant in our area, the Bonefish Grill, which as it turns out, is part of the Outback / Carabbas chain.

The place was nice; it looked upscale and boasted of fresh fish from our local seas. The brunch menu was amazing with so many great things I wanted to try. And so, once again, I was paralyzed by alternatives, not able to decide on which brunch entrée to pick. I selfishly considered my conquest with the belt that morning and then my placing in the stairclimb the prior day and so asked the server if I could have TWO entrees?

Yes, I couldn’t decide. I wanted to taste them all! And so I chose a well written Western Omelet in the menu and some fabulous French Toast, served with Grand Marnier crème brulee and sliced strawberries.

complete with a Grand Marnier Creme Brulee topping…..oh my goodness!

The server said, “Oh yes I could chose two entrees” as her check average climbs but challenged me to finish them both.

Oh no she didn’t!

Yes, I am such a pig!

So Third, not only did I finish them both, I was actually the first one done at our table.

I am such a pig!

Take that you unbelieving restaurant server!

Score another victory for the ‘garbage can man’, as I am loving known at our dinner table for my propensity to finish the kid’s plates each night. (I had Depression Era parents and nothing was wasted at our dinner table).

And so that’s why I haven’t blogged much lately when a mild grooming victory, coupled with a mediocre athletic feat and my ability to make a pig of myself are the top events this summer in our ho-hum life.

But when you have wonderful kids, that’s all the magic you need! Right?

We have a 5 month pregnant nanny. She is quite pronounced in her belly right now. And yesterday Dylan asked her, after thoroughly analyzing her situation, “How was the baby going to come out of her?”

Our nanny politely responds, “She will have to ask mommy that question to explain it to her. That mommy could explain it better than she could.”

Dylan chimes back, “but mommy got us a different way. They wanted a baby so bad that they asked God and they got me and my sister and they love us so much.”