first day of first grade

Yesterday was Koby's first day of first grade. His teacher this year is Mrs. VanderLaan, whom all the kids refer to as the "grandma teacher". Koby was both excited and nervous yesterday morning. First grade means: school five a week, more work, and thankfully more recess time.

After a very long bus ride home (because Emmons is the only school in session right now, the bus route will be different until September), he appeared to have had a good day. His favorite part of the day was recess and reading. He was able to meet back up with a bunch of Kindergarten buddies at lunch and recess, so that was fun.

The first day of first grade was a success...however, the reality of school everyday is starting to sink in and in his opinion, one day of first grade is plenty enough!

oh, child!

It's hot here...finally. Tonight we decided to take a dip in the pool to cool off. After our swim, Ky dismissed himself so that he could use the bathroom. A while later, I noticed he was still absent and became concerned. I came inside and there he was. I went upstairs to change out of me suit and when I returned, he was gone yet again. I looked out the garage door and....

there he was......



fishing in all his glory!

accomplished

Two years ago, when I turned the big 3-0, I began to run. I wanted to be healthy for my children and figured this was the way to go. When I began, running a mile was not easy. Not only was I slow, but I couldn't fathom being able to run a distance any greater than that.

Two years later, I am proud to say that today I accomplished my first 5K race. My best friend from high school, Mya, recently moved back to Grand Rapids and ran the race today as well. A first for us both. For the past several years, we have discussed the possibility of running races together once she was back in Michigan. Well, she's back and so off we went!







There were over 600 participants today. Here is our breakdown:

Linz:
time - 27:23
overall placement: 260th
placement among female racers: 64th
placement among females age 30-34: 4th

Mya:
time - 30:14
overall placement: 355th
placement among female racers: 127th
placement among females age 30-34: 16th













Not bad for a couple of old farts!

invasion

today we were invaded. invaded by frogs. plural. (stop laughing) i am not talking two, twenty, or even ninety frogs. in fact, i am not even talking about hundreds of frogs. i estimate this invasion to be well into the thousands (no, really, stop laughing)

when i left for work this morning, ky and i had captured about twenty from the pool and about seven from the basketball court. i figured at that point we had gathered about half of the invaders.

wrong...way off.

the boys and i returned this evening only to find kevin holding a bucket which contained about 400 frogs. (gross, i know...so why are you still laughing?) there were also about 100 frog carcasses on the bottom of my pool. frog count at this point...well over 500.






two hours later, after cleaning out the pool and eating our dinner...the boys all went out for a little game of b-ball. as i walked outside, i noticed all three of them sifting through the grass...bucket in hand and, you guessed it, more frogs. (this is truly becoming a scene from a frog horror movie now...seriously, stop laughing...this is becoming a nightmare!)










you walk in our grass and you can see the little buggers hopping...hopping everywhere! we began running, screaming, gathering frogs by the bucketful again. hundreds and hundreds of more frogs. "i just can't believe this!" is all i could say, over and over again.

finally, i turned to kev and said, "this is a complete waste of time. we will never catch all these frogs" he agreed to an extent (although he was still capturing them by the handful)

so, he took the box o' frogs and drove them off to another pond...a far away pond in hopes that they will never find their way back.




believe me...when we wake up tomorrow i know those little suckers are going to be back. i can hear them croaking now...AAH!!!!

seriously?

This being my second post of the day, you know it can't be good news!

Seems simple enough...Ky wants to make himself a glass of strawberry milk. He has just watched Koby successfully make himself a glass a chocolate milk...



Ky grabs the necessities from the fridge and moves to his workspace. He carefully places the strawberry sauce on the counter and then proceeds to shake the gallon of milk over his head. First, we are not quite sure why the milk had to be shaken over the head, which in itself would not necessarily be disastrous...however when the top is not on the gallon of milk, disaster ensues.





Seriously?

Shortly after the milk incident, Ky decides he would like a brownie for snack. He is hollering from the kitchen, "Mom! I want a brownie!" As I approach, I notice the saran wrap has been removed from the brownies and Ky is standing dangerously close to the frosted delights. Standing over the brownies, I notice that my scrumptious goodies have now become Ky's latest art project....



Seriously?



Oh, yes, SERIOUSLY!

last day

Today was Koby's last day of Kindergarten. To say that this year flew by would be such an understatement. I honestly do not know where these 10 plus months have gone. As I lay in bed last night I could vividly remember August 11th 2008, his very first day. While my emotions are more in check today then they were then, my gut still aches knowing that yet another year has come and gone.

He received his report card and it was exceptional. Not only was the year a success academically, but Koby also made some wonderful friends. It is scary to let go of your child and let them find their own way, even if only in Kindergarten.

When I asked him how he felt about this morning about his last day of Kindergarten, he replied, "happy." He is happy to be on summer vacation, he is happy that next year he will be a first grader and that means two recesses and finally the opportunity to play on the purple playground.

I am happy too. Happy to have him home. Happy to know that he is a strong boy capable of making good choices. Happy that he is a good friend and student. Most of all, I am so happy that he is mine.

Koby, we are so proud of you. You continue to amaze Dad and I every day. We love you probably more than you will ever know. Enjoy your summer vacation...first grade will be here before you know it!

Koby's first day of Kindergarten 8.11.08


Koby's last day of Kindergarten 6.8.09

the boot

yesterday ky was fitted for a boot that he will have to wear for the next 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 weeks in order to heal the fracture of his great toe on his left foot. the boot is a beast...much larger than a toddler's foot and required kev to pull out a saw and saw off the end simply so ky could walk. after many, many tears, ky is finally trying to walk with the boot. it is not a pretty sight though. he is pigeon toed and sometimes tries to walk on the side of the foot rather than the bottom. he has attempted to ride his bike and play a game of baseball with koby, so we are optimistic these are signs we are heading in the right direction.

his skin on the toe has been "filleted" and requires a burn cream to be applied once daily, gauze and tape. his nail bed was also injured and as a result, he will most likely loose his toenail. because he is so young, the fracture should heal just fine. his body will grow extra bone surrounding the injury and then over the next year or so, any bone not needed will essentially dissolve.

WARNING: pictures contain images of toe that are not suitable for the old, the young, those who hate the sight of blood, anyone with a weak stomach, anyone with a stomach at all for that matter, mothers, fathers, grandparents, cousins, friends, relatives of any kind, anyone who has OCD tendencies related to the feet or toes.