Owen’s after-school athletics program

If we leave when we should to pick him up, we get stuck in bad traffic and what normally takes eight minutes takes about 20 (not bad in the grand scheme of things, but awful when you’re used to eight) and we barely make it on time. If we leave early enough to beat the traffic, it takes the eight minutes but then we’re there 30 minutes early.

Today we left early. Amazingly, Katie sat in the chair (with her dolly) for quite some time.

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This is what we got to watch. Owen is behind the instructor (in orange).

I’m hoping they have another class like this in the spring—he LOVES it and there’s only two weeks left!

Lunch and library with my little man

Ironically, I had planned on coming in for Owen’s lunch today (since Tom was going to be home!) and he was super excited about that. When I got there, I saw them still out at recess.

I watched him play for a good five minutes before one of his friends saw me and pointed me out! Then he came running over to give me a hug over the fence. 🙂

Eating lunch! He is SUCH a card—I was stealing his apple pieces and he thought that was hilarious and kept laughing and telling all his buddies that I was an apple stealer. I do have to say that I am glad Owen eats all of his lunch—I’d say maybe one kid aside from Owen ate his whole lunch, maybe four picked at about half of it, and two didn’t eat more than a few bites.

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While we were there, his classroom assistant teacher came up and said hello then said “Aren’t you proud of Owen for his award?” And I basically said “Yeah, but I didn’t know anything about it so we weren’t there! And his dad was home, too!” You could see the light bulb go off and she apologized, saying they were working late at school last night and totally forgot to email or call, that she remembered at 10 and assumed it was too late, and then forgot in the morning. She seemed to feel badly. I felt a little better since she did apologize, but honestly I was still pissed. Of course it would be US this happened to and no one else since the beginning of school. 🙁 She did say she had him keep the award so they could take a picture of him with it sitting in the teacher’s chair so hopefully I’ll at least get that. [[Note: Owen didn’t bring the award home and I haven’t received any word of any picture and he said they didn’t take one. Sigh.]]

Anyway.

I heard her mention that they were going to the library after lunch and Owen asked if I was coming, too. I said I sure could!

It’s a process, let me tell you. They all had their coats (since they had had recess right before lunch) and their lunch bags (since they had just been at lunch) so they had to deposit all that stuff outside the library! Well, actually, the coats went in a pile outside the door and their lunches went in a pile inside the door. Then they all filed in to the story area where the librarian read them a book.

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Then she handed out apples with their names on it (which I later learned has their borrower code on it for checking out books) and told them to go get their books! I had thought we would be in there for 10-15 minutes with kids looking for and picking out books, but by the time the last kid got his apple, the first ones were checking out. By the time I walked over, Owen had his book already checked out, had his lunch box, and was waiting in line to leave! Apparently the library is a very well-oiled machine. 🙂 Then on their way out, they had to grab their coat (which the teacher had lined up all along the hallway). I hugged Owen and said goodbye!

Katie takes flight!

We had a MOPS get together at Flight, a trampoline park (the same one Owen went to recently for a birthday party). She LOVED it—as if there was any doubt. 🙂

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There was one tiny accident at the end where another little girl slid down the trampoline and apparently ran over Katie’s finger. Both were crying but Katie was over it in about a minute. 🙂

It’s a little expensive (we had a group discount today) but we’ll definitely go back. 🙂

Katie was actually shy. At first.

Katie was napping when Sheryl arrived and had asked if Katie would be shy. I said NO WAY, she doesn’t have a shy bone in her body, she will be a total show off, and will warm to you immediately.

Ha.

She spent the first 45 minutes laying in the bean bag with her hands over her eyes and then when we made her get up, this is what she did:

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Then she started to come alive and be her cute self. 🙂

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HOA Fall Festival

I had to make her an MSU Cheerleader today!

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Craft table! Which I had to do while also carrying their bags, his light saber, and my camera. 🙂 Tom was running late because he was finishing up the back steps.

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Katie LOVED the train. This was the first of many rides.

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Snack time and water break!

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Costume contest! (A puppy won it.)

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Attempting the Mummy Race. Owen understood he had to wrap Katie up, but he wasn’t careful and the toilet paper kept breaking and he just kept wrapping it around her neck so she was screeching “I’M STUCK! I’M STUCK!” It lasted maybe all of 45 seconds. 🙂

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Piñata!

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Anakin meets Darth!

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Owen’s first martial arts experience!

He was invited to a birthday party at a local martial arts place…and boy did he have fun. We would actually have been interested in sending him there, but it’s expensive (not to mention 4-5 days a week).

Here is a video compilation of some of the stuff he did.

But I had to put this video in all on its own—he was SO excited and SO proud of himself for breaking the board! GO OWEN!

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Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

Owen’s first out-of-school class field trip was to a local nursery that has a pumpkin playground. I really wanted to go and help chaperone but I couldn’t take Katie on the bus, so we just met them there.

I actually went to the school first so I could follow the bus, so we got to visit Owen’s classroom for a few minutes. One of Owen’s classmates said to him “Owen, your sister is sooo cute!” and Owen said “Thank you!” 🙂 The classroom assistant said the two looked a lot alike and I said “Really? You think?” But then she said it was the eyes. 🙂

It was only about a 10-15 minute drive from the school. We parked while the busses unloaded so this was waiting for Owen.

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Owen’s class (the assistant is on the left in the green tee and his teacher is on the right in the white tee):

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Owen grabbed the hands of two of his classmates in his group and off they went!

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Their first ride on an old-style merry-go-round. THEY LOVED IT.

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A quick climb on a train…

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And then off to another merry-go-round!

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Time for a hayride! Well, a tractor ride—there was no hay.

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He went right down this slide with no hesitation!

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Katie wanted to go down the slide so I sent her up with Owen and instructions to help his sister (or go down with her), but of course it didn’t happen!

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After I helped her up the slippery walk twice she could manage on her own!

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I think these were her first horsey rides! It was great because they didn’t take coins—you just pressed the button!

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You can see how dirty she was. It had rained A LOT the day before and everything was wet and muddy. I had thought about the ground being gross so Katie had boots and Owen had old tennis shoes…but I hadn’t thought about the climbing things being covered in muck…so they were both a mess.

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We got to pick a small pumpkin on the way out!

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She loves pumpkins and wanted another one!

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Katie took a tumble right as we were leaving so she was really muddy. We got to the car and I literally stripped her down, changed her diaper, then put her in the car seat. 🙂

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