(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. :)
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