Back to School

Leo was the first to go back to school and he was really excited, mostly because he wanted to see his friend Ryder. He started with a short day where I go with him to the school and meet his teachers. I was so excited to see that he has great teachers this year, and we found out that Ryder was once again in his class. He had been talking about this friend all summer! His main teacher is Kristine Burns, but he has three other helpers who are always in there with them as well. We played with Play doh and other things in his classroom. The next day was a full day and the bus came to pick him up. The driver, Sarah, is so nice and I am really thrilled with the way things are going for Leo. He is going to Renfrew for his second year of preschool, and then will be going to RDL with the other kids next year. We are hoping for a lot of growth from Leo this year and will be getting him assessed a bit more to see if there are any learning disabilities or help that he will need. 

Bentley and Deacon started a week later and were also really excited! They were happy to wake up, wear their new clothes, and see their friends. Bentley is in Grade 3 this year with Mrs. Lindved-Jensen, or as they call her, Mrs. LJ. She is such a great teacher and Bentley has already raved about how organized and nice it is (as last year was a bit chaotic with the joint class). She is with most of her friends, including Violet, Penny, Presley, Truett, and her new friend Hope. 

Deacon is in Grade 1 this year, which means he goes every single day, instead of every other day. He is with Mrs. Felske, and I hear that only the good kids get to go to her class, so I'm not surprised he's one of them! Bentley had Mrs. Felske and we really enjoy her. The class is pretty small and I just know he is being well taken care of. He is with his friend Spencer.

It was fun to drop them off in their line-ups and feel the excitement! They came home raving about the great day they had.

Boston is my buddy now! Leo is still home in the mornings, of course, but Boston is my full-time friend. Here's a pic of us shopping for shoes for the kids for school.

Summer

Back at home, we got creative and found some things to do! We planted a garden with strawberries, cauliflower, tomatoes, red onion, and goji berries. The kids had fun picking them out at the store, planting them with me, and then watering them and watching them grow. 

 We went to the splash park once and Sundance Lake quite a few times. Scott and Kellie would let us in and the kids loved that!

I put Leo in a bike camp, hoping to help him learn to ride. He's never taken to the strider, and just started to learn to pedal with training wheels. He had a pretty good time, although some days he didn't want to go. He did not learn how to ride, but it was still good for him to have something different to do. He especially loved the last day where I came to watch the "parade" at the end as he showed me his skills he learned. They took off his training wheels, and basically pushed him around the course. 

We decided to get a membership at Heritage Park. We went about 3 times this summer and will continue to go throughout the year. The kids loved the coal mine, the rides, ice cream and candy store, and many of the other random things there. We even took Jade along with us one time. We like how it's never too busy there, and just a good place to chill on a Saturday. 

We also got memberships to the Science Centre, which I am more excited to use this winter! We went with Emily and the kids once though, and it was a lot of fun.

We love to take the kids on dates each month so we kept up with that, although I only seem to have pictures of Deacon's dates. I took him to Edo and the pet store to see the animals one day. Jeff took him to Monster Jam in August, and he even got to go with his bud Huxley. He LOVED that and was so excited to buy a new monster truck. It's become tradition! He also started Karate in August and is loving that. A new place called "Choi Martial Arts" opened up right in Legacy and there was no guarantee of a place for him if we waited until September, so I started him early. It's so nice to have it so close and he is so fun to watch! He's definitely a natural in all athletic areas.

A Lemonade Stand was on our bucket list, so we finally made that happen! I put quite a bit of effort into it and made freshly squeezed lemonade instead of the powder stuff, and it was delicious. I also made chocolate chip, red velvet, and Oreo cookies for them to sell as well. We set up our stand at the orange park in Legacy, and it was the perfect spot. A couple people I had told about this came, but mostly the business came from people at the park. We decided to tell them it was free and have a tip jar (because it was mostly for the experience and not the money). However, everyone was so kind, and we ended up making $48! I couldn't believe how nice everyone was, especially the teenagers who told us how good the lemonade was and went home to get money for tips. I loved watching the kids, especially Deacon, walk around to find customers and telling them we have free lemonade..."but you can give us some tips if you want." Also the process of Deacon doing the ice, Bentley pouring the juice, and Leo putting the lemon in was pretty adorable. It was such a great experience!

We went to Granary Road with Lena, Jaycie and her sister one day. It's always a good time there, and I especially loved catching up with friends who we hadn't seen for a while!

As much as I love summer, it can also be a lot having 4 kids at home constantly. I was feeling the urge to go back to the cabin, so we made a hole in Jeff's work schedule and went to Ashley Lake again for 4 days. It was definitely better than nothing and worth the drive! This time the Loewen's were there, so it was nice to hang out with them. Boston was a pretty good car sleeper this summer, and Deacon lost his very first tooth right when we got to the cabin! The tooth fairy still found him in the trailer where he slept though. 

We had lots of fun on the quads and playing pickleball this time, as well as lots of tubing, swimming, hot tubbing, and going in the bubble. We also played lots of games and it was great to hang out with Mason before he left on his mission in September. The kids definitely thrive at the cabin and just love being outdoors so much and having cousins to play with!

Another bucket list item this summer was Cobb's Adventure Park. We've been wanting to go there to pet the kangaroos, and it did not disappoint! The kids were given food for them and had so much fun walking around to different kangaroos and feeding them. They are so fun to watch hop around. They also had an iguana and some tortoises, which were a big hit as well. We rode the train around the park, went mini golfing, did some archery, and played on bouncy slides and playgrounds too. It was a lot of fun! Unfortunately, Bentley didn't make it because her foot was hurting her, so she stayed at Grandma's house that day. 

I never made it to Calaway Park this summer, but Don and Cindy took Bentley and Deacon one day. It was so special for them and nice that they could hang out with their cousins! They even did the log ride, although they were very nervous about it.

The last week of summer was filled with swimming in our backyard! Jeff did his BBQ and smoked a brisket. After that, I invited some of Bentley's friends from her class over for a little party. Then I invited our play group friends, which was a few more people than I realized! Our backyard was quite the party place. It was a great way to soak up the last of summer, though, and the weather has been amazing!

Bentley, Deacon, and Leo also did a gymnastic camp this summer at Altadore. It was nice to get a little space from them and they had lots of fun with it. Bentley also did a couple semi-private gymnastics lessons with her friend Violet at Gymstars and absolutely loved it! One day I took the boys to a park in Okotoks while she was there, which is what the pictures are. Parks have saved us this summer as well, they're always a good thing to do! I never want Bentley to grow out of parks. 

Looking back, we sure did lots this summer! It was nice to be able to sleep in, and even Boston got into a rhythm of sleeping in until about 8. However, that meant everyone went to bed really late too. Sometimes it's nice to just go with the flow, but I was also very ready to get back into a schedule and send the kids to school. Even they were excited to go when the time came!