Oscar's First Day of Preschool

My baby boy started preschool today, he'll go 3 mornings a week now that he is three years old. I pack him a lunch and he'll eat with his classmates. He loves pbj's and the school is nut-free so we'll be exploring new lunch ideas.

Who me?

"You mean I get to go to school today like Ellie?" He is so excited to be a big boy!

Walking across the school parking lot.

"Mommy, why didn't you park down there in the shade?"

All business, right outside the classroom prior to walking in all by himself!

First Day of First Grade

Eleanor had a wonderful first day of First Grade!
Eleanor chose a pretty green dress with sparkly silver shoes & a matching headband to wear.

It was a perfect morning to walk to school.

We joined up with our friends and the girls walked hand in hand, talking excitedly, while their little brothers were pushed in strollers, talking away to each other as well.

Hugs & kisses from brother on the front steps of the school.

We had to remind her, she was ready to head in for class without them!

American Indian Museum

We went with Marthalee to the American Indian Museum for her birthday.

Oscar really liked this statue, he was so excited to find a wolf, turtle and a gun. I was proud of Eleanor for recognizing George Washington.

Aerial view of the main lobby.

Oscar insisted on wearing his Superman cape...I had a cafeteria worker tell me she felt safe b/c he was there!

Happy Birthday Marthalee!

Posing by the sandstone waterfall we enjoyed through the window during lunch.

Beauty Salon

Eleanor, Grandma Judi and I all went to the beauty salon together! It was a fun afternoon for us all. Eleanor had FOUR inches cut off, revealing lovely healthy hair. She has been growing out her bangs for a year now. It was so fun to watch her dance and make faces at herself in front of the mirror while I was having my hair done. This summer she mastered putting in her own ponytail elastics, so between that and headbands she will be quite self-sufficient in the morning.

There are no photos of Grandma Judi's new hairstyle...she fell down the steps outside her house and fractured her nose and is sporting double black eyes. Eleanor & I witnessed the fall and know how lucky she is...headfirst down 10 stairs and landed on concrete. Her angel was definitely present. I was fearful that she wouldn't be conscious, she took quite a fall. All this while Poppa is out of town hunting for 2 more weeks yet. Made it hard for us to leave her and head back home.

Tourists

Oscar fell asleep again this year on the Seahorse Trolley tour.

We played tourist for a day and had fun seeing the sights in Ketchikan, shopping, and enjoying a meal at Annabelle's. We had fun recalling a meal there when Eleanor was a toddler and we were in town for Kristian to take the Bar Exam!

Big Cedar

Oscar enjoying a lift from Daddy.
The big cedar tree we saw along the Lunch Creek trail.
We went down to the beach afterwards and the children had fun throwing rocks in the water at high tide.

Da Girls

Poppa Ronnie wanted to treat his Granddaughters to American Girl Dolls...they were thrilled to be the recipients! Eleanor chose Emily Bennett, the English friend to Molly in the WW II era.
Madisen chose Elizabeth Cole, friend to Felicity Merrimen during Colonial times.

Opening their dolls together with Auntie Meredith supervising.

Madisen is enamored with her first AG Doll, who will be archived soon.

Da Boys

Dad making last minute adjustments on the camper before heading north on he and Mark's annual Moose Hunt. They built a special 4-Wheeler rack so they could each bring one. The Caribou season opened earlier this year, it was their first time hunting caribou and moose in one trip. They used the 4-Wheelers to get back in off the road about 40 miles....and Mark got one on opening day!

While the big boys were finishing up packing, the little boys were picking berries and playing in Poppa's big wooden trailer.