While We Were Away

 While the little boys and I were in St. George, the big kids stayed in Amarillo for "Dad Week" where they did all kinds of fun things. I'm sure part of them was sad they couldn't go with us on the trip, but between school and a few special activities, they had plenty to keep them busy while we were gone.

I left a little surprise for the kids to open each day I was gone, and on the first day they got tie dye kits! (I'm sure Dave was thrilled to do that project with them)

Davey had his PreK graduation on Tuesday night. I was sad to miss seeing him all dressed up and looking handsome in his robes, but Dave made sure to take a picture.

With his teacher, Mrs. Andrea

Dave took them to Chuck E Cheese for an afternoon

Sophie had her field day at school and loved having daddy there to watch her compete on all the games and play on the bounce houses

Davey's preschool had a last day luau party complete with bounce houses and a snow cone truck

Thanks for a great year Sonlight, and next up, kindergarten!!

Davey Starts PreK at Sonlight

It's Davey’s turn to start preschool! He is enrolled at Sonlight, which is conveniently held at the Church of Christ in our neighborhood. Several members of our stake attend here and his teacher, Mrs. Andrea, is actually a friend of mine from another ward. He will go on Tuesdays and Thursday from 9-2 and I am looking forward to just having two kids in the house during that time. It won’t be quiet, but it will definitely be calmer than when everyone is home like they have been for the last 6 months!

He is so excited to finally get to wear a backpack and bring food in a lunchbox to school so he can be just like Sophie.

Teachers are wearing masks, but the preschoolers are not required to wear one - hooray!

He gets to sit by his friend Nolan in class, but we’ll see how long that lasts because those two boys like to be silly when they are next to each other. 

Some pictures of Davey in class sent by his teacher

Sophie's Last Day of Preschool & Graduation

We moved in right before school started and really had no clue what we were doing when picking out a preschool, but lucked out immensely. Unknown to us, Sonlight at the Church of Christ, was where a lot of members attended, and Sophie actually ended up with three other LDS kids in her class, who are now her good friends. The academics were great, it was located in our neighborhood, and each day started with "chapel," where a cute, old lady that Sophie called the "grandma" would teach them bible stories and songs. I've already put Davey on the wait list for 2019.

On Thursday Sophie had her last day of school and her graduation ceremony. We always knew she would love school and this was truly a great year for her. She learned so much, but also had so much fun being in a classroom with friends. Her teacher was amazing and I heard on multiple occasions how "Ms. Elisa knows everything, never forgets anything, and never does anything wrong." Her favorite parts of preschool were recess (of course), centers (where she got to rotate through different activities), and music class. She came home almost daily with a new song to sing for us.

We got her end of year assessment back and she got 100% on everything, which was awesome. Heading into the year she still didn't know all her letters and now she knows uppercase, lowercase, their sounds, how to write them, how to count to 100, all her shapes and colors, and is starting to read! This girl is ready to start kindergarten!

Sophie on her last day of school. First day of school pictures are here. 

Her best buddy at school this year was Ethan. He will not go to the same school next year, which is sad, but he is in our stake, and I know his mom so they will still see each other. 

Receiving her diploma from her wonderful teacher, Ms. Elisa

We love this girl and are so proud of her!

Video: Sophie receiving her diploma and a video about what she want's to be when she grows up

Christmas at Sonlight Preschool

One of the things that we've enjoyed about being in Texas is how everyone still celebrates holidays without all the "political correctness." We had a big sign at the entrance to our neighborhood, put up by the HOA that said "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" and at preschool Sophie spent an entire week learning about "N" is for "Nativity." There was also a day when Santa came to school to visit the kids and take pictures, and the school also put on a Christmas program that we were able to go see as a family.

Sophie's preschool class (these are photos of photos, which is why the quality isn't great)

Sophie's picture with Santa. She told him that she would like the little Hatchimal Eggs and a suprise for Christmas. He told her that, despite all the stories, he actually likes root beer with his cookies instead of milk. 

There were almost 50 kids, ranging from 2-5 years in the program. They sang eight songs, which I thought was pretty ambitious!

After the program with her cookie

Sophie's First Day of Preschool!

Sophie started her first, and only, year of preschool on September 5th. It's a church about three minutes from our house and we can just drive through our neighborhood to get there. She goes twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursday, from 9:00 to 2:00. Her teacher is Mrs. Elisa and one of the sunbeams from church also happens to be in her class, which is fun. She eats at school so I pack her a lunch, and she would always choose Nutella sandwich if I let her. So far her favorite parts are Letter Detective, music class, and when she gets to be the line leader. It's going to be a great year!!

Her backpack and lunch box all ready to go!

My grown up girl ready to take on Pre-K!

Davey cried the first few times we dropped her off, but has since realized that life without Sophie is ok. He has especially enjoyed sneaking into her room and playing with toys that are normally off limits. 

The only part about preschool I don't like is trying to work around this little guy's naps. His ideal sleep schedule is from 1:00-3:00, but preschool ends at 2:00 so I have to try and push him an hour later or earlier to make things work. Sometimes he has other ideas though, so I have to wake him up and I hate it :(

Video: Heading to the First Day Preschool