Last week, Phoebe's class had a fieldtrip to the Indianapolis Zoo and I couldn't pass up one last chance to do something with her class at Shalom. They had a great time and the weather cooperated.
Best friends Hadley and Phoebe hanging out in the dolphin arena.
In all our visits to the zoo, we'd never seen (or knew there was) the dog show. The kids were impressed with their tricks!
Kindergartners unite!
We had Kindergarten Info night and got to meet Miss Gorby, Phoebe's teacher. There are 23 kids in her class and it was a little busy in the classroom so we just opted for a picture outside of school.
Maverick wanted to get in on the action, too.
Phoebe's backpack arrived JUST in time for school to start!
Of course Maverick wanted to put on a backpack once she put hers on!
Thursday morning, after dropping off the dog and kids, Ryan and I headed to Chicago for a surprise get away. We flew out of O'Hare (after missing our initial flight (thanks, Uncle Steve!) and an extra four hours wandering the airport (at least it was a big one!) and landed in Minneapolis, land of the lakes, no sales tax and the half-way point between Indiana and North Dakota. Ryan had strategically planned a little trip to see my college roommate whom I haven't seen in seven years. It was SUCH fun! We spent most of the next day shopping at the Mall of America. It was crazy how many people were there on a Friday and I'm so thankful we didn't go on a weekend! It was so nice to eat meals in peace, go see a movie and just sit and chat without being interrupted. We sure wish Zack could have made it and determined that we MIGHT just bring the kids with us next time...
Saturday we hit a farmer's market downtown for some coffee and homemade donuts.
We walked a total of fifteen miles on Saturday (at least that's what we're saying). We took in the sights, ran through Polish Fest, did MORE shopping and ate Greek.
While we were catching up in Minnesota, eating too much, going to bed too late, Phoebe and Maverick spent some time with YiaYia, Papou and Auntie Kate. Based on the pictures we got, they obviously had a blast.
Maverick LOVES his Papou and had a great time at Eagle Creek!
Needless to say, they were tuckered out!
YiaYia introduced them to her love of camping. It was, after all, National S'Mores Day!
They survived the night IN the tent and everyone was asleep by 10:00 so we'll count that as a success!
I'd planned to take a couple days off before Phoebe started kindergarten but after missing the last part of the week, I only took Monday and Ryan took Tuesday. Monday we did a lot of school shopping for clothes, lunchboxes, etc. We also had to make our six-month visit to the dentist. Phoebe was a champ! When given options for toothpaste flavors, she originally chose chocolate. Luckily, she changed her mind to bubble gum before it was too late!
Tuesday, Maverick and I drove downtown alone and it wasn't nearly as fun for this little guy. He kept telling me to turnaround and asking where Phoebe was...
She was home with Daddy playing hopscotch in our driveway.
And in a movie theater watching Despicable Me 2.
And at one of her favorite playgrounds!
We are SO excited for this new adventure with Phoebe attending public school. Albeit, I've got a lot of emotions about this new season in life. I got my hair cut and colored Tuesday night and had a nice, ugly cry with my stylist. Then cried at home, too. Perhaps I was just getting it out of the way so I wouldn't embarrass the family in front of our neighbors Wednesday morning... Last year, Ryan had driven through the neighborhood to check on the construction on our new house and saw people eating together the first day of school. We were thrilled that they've kept the tradition going so we could participate this year. The weather took a crazy turn and it was a mere 50 degrees the first day of school as we waited at the bus stop.
There are two buses that run through our neighborhood for the elementary school. There are children everywhere and we are SO excited to meet all of them!
We didn't get any of the cute first-day-of-school pictures but we got out the door, ate breakfast and made it to our stop on time so we'll take it!
Getting on the bus wasn't even an issue, she just hopped right on!
And then the tears came. It was inevitable really but I didn't put mascara on until I got back home so I was prepared!
I've switched my work hours a bit so that I can pick Maverick up at 4 and get to Phoebe by 5 which means we have an extra hour of daylight at home and we have been taking advantage of it.
Maverick LOVES coming home to see his goofy big sister and we love hearing all about her day!
