As you remember from last year we stood out like a family from Ohio traveling to the beach for the first time. Our tent was a disaster and hot and our chairs collapsed in the sand and our plastic shovel bent the first time we used it. So we bought a pop up tent, which was probably not suppose to be used in the sand because by the last day the legs would barely fold into another. The paint was chipping and I could of used some WD-40 to add some lubrication to the legs. Anyway, it worked much better then our tent. We also bought a plastic shovel with a wooden handle from the grocery store on day one so that helped with finding sand crabs. We also knew to set our tent out in the early morning so we would have a waterfront spot. So it was great to be better aware of what we were doing. I think that next year we will just us an umbrella because most of the time we did not sit in the tent and like I said it was a pain to put up and take down every day. So I think and umbrella will work better and be easier. Anyway, we had fun and the kids enjoyed the beach and undivided time with us.
Crazy Lindsay enjoying the waves. She was fearless and like I said the bigger the better for her.
Oh good she is sitting down.
Mallory and Nathan wanted to bury themselves in sand. Nathan did not want to go up to his chest so he just got his legs burried.
Sweet picture of D and Lindsay...
We had one night where Lindsay was cracking us up. We were cleaning up after dinner and took it upon herself to help herself by eating the rest of the food. Here is her eating the leftover mac-n-cheese and dipping a piece of bread in Mallory's ketchup.
We loved Mallory's hair. It was long and curly at the beach.
School and soccer season has started and it is good to be back in a routine and have the kids involved in activities. I do not like all the paperwork, fundraisers, etc. that comes along with having three kids in school and activities. Julianne and Mallory switched soccer teams this year and we both think it was a good move. For Julianne it was a chance to change teams and coach and to learn some new skills from a soccer coach. The atmosphere on the team is much different and the games are a lot quieter. I think she is enjoying it. She has not had as many breakdowns as she did with the other team but it still new so I am still hesitant to make that prediction. She is also playing a lot of different positions so we are also happy with that instead of sticking her in defense for the entire game she is moving between offensive and defensive positions. She is liking her grade and she was worried about all the homework she was going to have but it has not been that bad. She is also very efficient with her flex time at school so I think she takes full advantage of that time to get most of her work completed.
Mallory's teacher is the same teacher that Julianne had for 3rd grade. She is very funny and outgoing and I think Mallory really likes her. She is getting into non-fiction reading and I remember that this was the year that we had the hardest time with Julianne because she was still not a great reader and they bring home a non-fiction page of reading every night. Mallory is struggling a little because, frankly it is not very interesting to read about these non-fiction short stories. So Mallory is doing much better at coping with the boardem of these passages then Julianne but it is still a struggle. I think it will get better and giving her a little background on what she is reading helps her get into the story a little better.
Nathan is enjoying school. Like we predicted he did not have any adjustment issues nor did he shed a tear. That is completely different for us then Mallory and Julianne they had such a hard time going to kindergarden. So it is nice and Nathan gets to see them at school once in awhile so that helps. He has the same teacher that the girls had so that is great. The teacher just sent something home today saying that he qualifies for extra help, meaning he can go to school for the entire day and be in a special classroom when he is not in kindergarden. I have mixed emotions about that since first of all it is kindergarten, and secondly I like having him home during the morning. The assessment was taken the first day of school which just seems wrong. Mallory's and his preschool did not really drill down the alphabet/sounds as much as it probably should nor did we really practice with him. To me it seems like he knows a lot more than Mallory or Julianne knew going into Kindergarden. Did they increase the kindergarden requirements or does he not really know more than they did? Mallory needed extra help but they did not have this program when she was in school so she just went to a tutor in school. So we will see what we decide, but come on it is kindergarden and he will be fine.
Things I am grateful/thankful for:
-going on vacation for a week
-writing in my blog (when I get a chance to)
-Experiencing school through my kids (Mallory is studying rocks and Julianne is studying Geography, both my favorites)
-Lindsay and her drive/desires/persistence.
-My great husband who is working hard to be where he wants to be and still makes it a priority to spend time with his kids and his wife.
