The Grand Adventure of School

Starting this post out with something completely unrelated to the rest of it, but here's another updated picture of our yard. Pretty incredible, right?

The day before Pierscen started school, I told him that we could go somewhere fun - so naturally he opted for the Aquarium and Gardens. Below are a cool beetle we found and a picture of the outside of the giant pumpkin. It's huge. 

Back to the butterfly pavilion - where Devry's squealed every time she saw one. 

Pierscen's teachers left him with some homework during their home visit. This is a poster he needed to fill out telling about somewhere he went this summer. I helped him with spelling, but he did everything else. He seems so grown up!

The day of school arrived. We had some time in the morning, so we did our chores and I made P a first day of school sign for pictures. 

We headed out front and had a great photo shoot. Can you tell he was a little excited?!

Devry did not want to be left out. She was just as excited as he was and as soon as we went back inside, we took a turn wearing his backpack, strutting around and showing off. 

For the first drop off, the parents signed in the kids, then walked them around to the backyard after hanging their backpack on the fence. Each day following this we walk them straight into the school, they hang their backpack on their peg, then head to the backyard with a teacher. But for the first 20-30 minutes they allowed parents and siblings to hang out and play while one of the teachers took first day pictures with each family. Before we left the house, Pierscen had collected a pretty big jar of squash bugs which he was determined to take with him. I let him show them to some kids during the first few minutes and then I took them home with me. Here is Pierscen with some new friends checking out his bugs. Pretty creative. Show a boy a bug and they are instant friends! Haha

Pierscen, Devry and I took our first day of school picture and that was that. They asked Pierscen if he was ready to say goodbye and he nodded, but he didn't say anything and then mostly ignored me as I tried to say goodbye. It wasn't his "shut down" refusal to say goodbye like he does when we have to leave Utah. It was a "get out of here already, mom" sort of silence. He was having a great time playing and really did not care if I left. That's the best way for it to be, I think. 

On the way out they told the parents to pick up a goody bag. On the outside was the following poem. I was absolutely okay with this whole thing until I read that. Punks!

For me the last part resonated the most. "I love you for giving me this wonderful day." I know preschool isn't the most important thing in the world, but I absolutely believe that this is where he needs to be and that he is really going to grow and have some incredible experiences here. 

Devry was super excited to go pick him up. When we pulled up, I said, "Devry, should we go get Pierscen?"

She yelled, "Piersey!" I recorded this as we were about to go pick him up. 

Pierscen said he his first day was fun, though he admitted as we were getting in the car that there were parts that were "REALLY boring." I asked him to expound on that and it came down to the fact that they spent a lot of time going over rules and that they didn't get to play with much of the stuff that first day. And he was greatly disappointed that they didn't get to play in the volcano yet. Haha. Well, I guess we did kind of set him up for disappointment telling him how much fun it was going to be. We didn't tell him that it's not all fun and games. Hahaha. Since then, he has had an incredible time. He comes home so happy and so excited. He loves doing his homework and telling us about what he learns. I'm telling you, this school is magic. 

And I have a child in school! I do miss him. It's strange being without him. But it is good to be with Devry and have some one on one time with him. Mostly I'm just thrilled that he gets this experience. He is going to thrive here. 

8 Week Challenge

This is a surprisingly difficult thing for me to post... but here it is. 

Way back in April(ish) I was going to join a Facebook group doing a 8 week health challenge. You pay in $25, but there are winners every two weeks for highest points, and then overall winners for points and weight loss. I hadn't sent in my money yet, but I was planning on doing it all the way up until the morning of. Then I said, no way. Can't do it. Mostly it was about the weighing in. I don't feel like the number on the scale is a great indicator of how you are doing. Yes, it can be a big part. But what I mean is, there is a big difference between 200 pounds of flab and 200 pounds of muscle. 

I opted to stay part of the group, even though I didn't participate in the challenge. I watched people lose weight and better their health and by the time that competition ended, I was ready to join. 

This challenge started the Monday after the 4th of July. Here are my before pictures: 

I was not trying to be a grumpy gus. I just don't like taking these kinds of pictures. And they certainly weren't flattering. Clothes certainly make a big difference. 

The daily point categories are contact with teammates, drink 64 oz of water, eat 5 fruits and/or veggies, no sugar (6 days a week), no soda, keep a food journal, workout for 45 min (5 days a week) no taking seconds at any meal (including no grazing), no eating after 9 pm, a personal goal, plus weekly challenges. 

I was determined to be perfect, but the very first week I had two back to back genuine mistakes - but big ones. The first one was that after dinner on Friday I sat for a while and then realized I was still hungry and went back for more. No seconds! I asked the group about this and they said since I waited for a while it could be considered a snack. The food was put away in the fridge after all. However, I wasn't thinking about it like that when I went back for more. I wasn't thinking period. I would have been willing to excuse myself... but it was pizza that I went back for. If I had gone back for a snack of Brussel sprouts that might have been different. This ended up killing me because the no seconds rule was worth double points that week. The other thing that kicked me in the rear was the Chunky Monkey. Remember than teeny tiny taste of ice cream I got? I had intended for that to be my sugar day. Even though Devry got all of it, I didn't care. I was okay going without sugar that week - which if you know me, is a really big deal. But the next morning I made German Pancakes and had syrup on them without even thinking about it. Whoops. There go my sugar points. Natural sugars like honey and agave are okay. I typically put yogurt or applesauce on my pancakes, but not that day! Oh well.

The first week was really rough. My energy was in the basement. I felt like I was dying. Seriously. I asked the other people in the challenge if they felt that way and they said that it is a natural reaction - a literal withdrawal from sugar. Oh boy. After that, things were much easier. 

I wasn't perfect. Well, I was for weeks 3-4, so I won my money back in a four-way tie for 1st place. After that I was typically perfect one week, but not the next. However, I lost a lot of weight. This was really unexpected. My goal was to lose 8 pounds. One pound a week. I followed the caloric intake recommendations from my food journal and in the first week I had dropped 6 pounds. I was shocked. I know that's probably not the case for everyone, but by the end of the challenge I had lost 14-16 pounds. I put the variation because 16 was pre-shower in the nude, and 14 was post shower dressed. Though I do feel that the 14 is more accurate. Either way, I feel better than I have in a long time. And I won first place in the weight loss percentage category. Woot woot!

I really loved this challenge because it's not a diet. Sure, the no sugar and the no soda are technically restrictions, but they are not good for you anyway, so it's not a bad thing. You can eat what you want as long as you follow your caloric intake. The challenge ended two weeks ago and I have not done so well with my eating. Not totally fallen off the bandwagon, but still. They are starting another challenge this Friday and I am totally on board. I have also convinced Ryan's siblings and their spouses to try it - though as a family thing with no buy in. Should be fun. I just want to take better care of my body. It is not about weight. It really isn't. It's just about making better choices. And being accountable really helps. I'll let you know how it goes!

End of August - Countdown to School

Back at home, life resumed as normal. We went to the library... 

(Don't give his girl a license. Haha)

We went to the park...

(Which was totally awesome because school started for K-12 so the parks are quiet and filled with young kids.)

And went to a new place called Hoots with our Casper pals, Heidi, Emma and Will. I do not have any pictures of P or Emma because they were off playing together. Hoots is an indoor bouncy house place with a giant jungle gym and slides. Devry and I climbed around together, which was quite the work out, and had a great time with our friends. I'm so glad they moved to New Mexico!

For date night in August, Ryan and I opted to go running together. I don't think we have ever been running together. (Likely because I didn't start running until just recently.) We went down to the Bosque area and hit the trail. It was so nice! We talked, and laughed, and counseled and had a really great time. It was one of the best runs I have had in a long time. We weren't sure how far we were going to go, but we finally settled on a 10k distance. There at the end we really pushed it. Okay, Ryan pushed it. He took off so fast! I don't know how he did it, especially since this is the farthest he has gone since he was in track. He has only recently started jogging at night. I did speed up, but I didn't have much left to give. However, we finished strong at 1:03 point something. That's a whole six minutes faster than I've done it before. Go us!

Afterward we went to Jimmy Johns and then to Keva Juice. It was perfect. I hope to do it again in the future. :)

A few days after we got home from our Utah trip, Pierscen's new preschool teachers came over for a home visit. My mind may be sluggish with the mass of blogging, but I don't think I have mentioned the preschool thing yet. 

One of the very first things I did when we moved into the ward was started asking around for preschool recommendations. Many of the parents recommended the same school, but when I looked at it, I had major sticker shock. But as I looked around, all of the schools were that pricey. I was really discouraged because I wanted him to have a good preschool experience, but it is just so expensive. Kindergarten is all day here, so I really felt that he needed some type of transition. And I was struggling to find a school that was just a school. I didn't want a daycare/school because there is not way they can really keep up a strong curriculum with kids coming on different days. It's just glorified daycare.

After looking around, I realized the first school was actually the best value as far as days of the week and time the spend at school. But by then, I had missed registration. I'm brand new at this preschool thing. How was I supposed to know registration was in February?! My friend still encouraged me to call them and see what we could work out. She told me that often the T/Th classes don't fill up as fast, especially the afternoon classes. So I called and as it turned out, they were able to get him into a M/W/F afternoon class. I went over for a tour that day and on my goodness, guys. This school is INCREDIBLE! It is located in a little house that they have converted into the school. Each year they study four different units in addition to the traditional shapes, colors, numbers, letters, etc. I was really excited about that because P has known all that other stuff for years. Each unit they decorate completely redecorate each of the rooms to go along with what they are studying. When I visited in May at the tail end of last year, they were studying the body. In one room there was a nurses station, in another a station all about the five sense, etc. I can't remember everything now, but I was totally in awe. Pierscen was going to thrive! This is EXACTLY what I was looking for. Not only was the time/days of the week ratio better (not by much) than other schools, but the investment into real education is unmatched by ANYTHING I have ever seen. 

The theme for the year is "Oh, the places you'll go." The first unit is Dinosaurs, studying everything from environments, classifications, fossils, and more. Next will be New Mexico, followed by Around the World, and then Space. 

A few days after the home visit, we went to the preschool to help with the fall cleanup. Here are a few pictures of the inside and how they have decked everything out for their dinosaur unit.

This volcano is only a little shorter than myself and the kids can climb inside and roll "lava rocks" down it. The library has since been stocked with tons of dino books.

In the picture below, there is actually a sandbox behind that black sheet where the kids can dig for fossils. There is a lot I didn't take pictures of, but literally everything in there goes along with the theme. 

Before Utah, Pierscen had been really excited about going to school. For a long time he told everyone we met that he's four and that he's "old enough to go to school!" But as we neared the end of our Utah trip, he became really negative about school. He said he didn't want to go and that he didn't like his teacher. Uh... you've never met your teacher, kid. Good try. Having the teachers come over to our house and spend time with him was the greatest thing we could have wished for. He was much more excited. Then when we went to the fall clean up and he got to see what the school looked like he was practically begging to go to school. Heck, I wish I was a student there. 

In fact... I left his preschool with this overwhelming desire to teach preschool someday. The school left such an impression on me that I legitimately went home and started researching classes and degrees. Someday... someday far down the road when we are done having kids and they are all in school, teaching preschool would be an ideal job. The hours would be perfect! Who knows. I may never do anything with it. But that's the kind of impression this school made. 

We had a few more days to kill before we had a back to school pot luck with his class the following week. In the mean time... 

Pretty awesome, right? I love that these boys like to play sports together and I love, love, love that Ryan is willing to teach him and work with him. They make a pretty great team. 

While we were in Utah, my mom gave Pierscen this bank. We went home, emptied his regular piggy bank, figured out tithing and spending, then put the rest into savings. Pretty impressive right? This little boy is a hard worker!

Just a fun moment in the kitchen. No, we weren't playing hide and seek. She just climbed in and started playing with the stuff in the cupboard. I just loved her little feet sticking out. 

The night of the potluck arrived. Pierscen had a fantastic time. Everyone was able to eat, do a little scavenger hunt for things around the preschool to help them become better acquainted with the location of everything, and play in the backyard. It was a really great night. 

This skeleton is their job board. The little yellow cards to the right are cartoon paleontologists with pictures taken during home visits of the kids as their faces. They hang these little cards on the various jobs so that each child can take a turn helping out. 

Here are some pictures of the incredible backyard play area:

This "mud" kitchen was the area that I cleaned during the fall clean up. Lots and lots of dirt! 

You can spot Ryan in the picture below by this play house. I totally want something like this house on the side of our real house. It's huge and amazing!

I think my favorite thing about potluck night was having Ryan there. I have been raving about this school and how amazing it is for months. This was the first time he was able to see it and hear from other parents about what this school means to them. It may have been tough for him, but he admitted that it is a pretty special place. :)