First Day of School 2021-2022

School is back!  Our district is full in person learning with masks required for everyone inside.  I am grateful they are requiring masking since no elementary students are currently eligible for vaccinations.  Parker's first day was last Wednesday.  He is doing morning adventure club and taking the bus home.  As will many schools around the state and country, there are severe driver shortages. Special education bussing is being contracted out to other transportation companies, so he arrives home in a van.  He has a new teacher this year after two years with Ms. Anne.  Ms. Stacy has been teaching for a very long time and I am looking forward to getting to know her better.  He has lots of friends from past years in his class and a couple new ones.

Esme's assessment was also on Wednesday.  We got to visit school again for some one-on-one time with her teacher.  Esme got a quick run-through for what coming to school would look like, then she sat alone with her teacher for a while.  I assume she was getting some baseline educational information, but don't know exactly what they talked about.  During that time, I filled out a goals and dreams sheet for her.  Her favorite thing so far is the xylophone out front.

Her official first day was yesterday.  She was so excited to go to school.  I am excited she is letting me put ponies in to make it easier for her to get her mask on.

I made her an adorable "Kindergarten Rockstar" shirt, which turned out to be on theme.

We are not using bussing for her this year to minimize close contact.  She was also going to have an hour long bus ride, which is too long for a 5 year old only 2 miles away.  She got out of the car pretty quick, but got shy and I had to hop out to help direct.

She conked out pretty quick after coming home with her new crown (there is the theme).

Great job Esme, I know you are going to do great!

Finally Another Nebraska Trip!

It's been over 18 months since we've been able to visit my grandma in Nebraska.  We were supposed to visit in July, but both kids ended up in close contact quarantine and we had to cancel.  It can be tough to find an available weekend for Jimmy, so we made the trip with Nana.  We took my parents truck in order to haul back some stuff for my dad.  We hit the road as soon as Parker got home from school and made it there in a little over 7 hours.

We were able to bring along the kids' bikes with the extra cargo space.  Parker ended up preferring the bike my grandma pulled out.  He thought it was a hoot to ride the big bike.

Esme didn't care for her breakfast cereal, but shared it with the resident turkeys.

It took a bit for Esme to warm up, but she loved playing Dump with grandma and Larry.

They spent some time coloring together too.

Grandma never disappoints in the meal department.  She always has a full meal for us.

We were getting a little stir crazy in the afternoon, so we took a drive to Dairy Queen for an afternoon snack.

That tuckered Esme out enough to lay down for a little rest.  My mom was able to get away to meet her youngest sister for supper about an hour away while we stayed back.  After supper we took a ride to the the school park nearby.

Parker was more interested in the school's AC units than playing, but we still had fun.

Even grandma and Larry got in on the fun.

So much love in this picture.

After another great night's sleep, we awoke early to head back home.  A rouge cow greeted me as I was loading the truck.  I hope we get to visit again soon and that the kids will have some really great memories of their great-grandma.

We took a bit more time getting home.  We made a lunch stop in Windom for pizza, chicken, and playing at the park.

We made a slight detour to grab the best milkshakes around at Peppermint Twist in Delano. It turned out to be their last day of the season, so I am glad we were able to make a stop.

Thanks for joining us Nana!

Ice Cream, Cookies, and Bicycles

The first week of school had us all over the place.  Parker started Wednesday, but Kindergarten does a staggered launch.  The first two days are individual teach assessments followed by two days where half of the kids go.  We got some ice cream to celebrate.

Esme's assessment went well, but she ended up having a pretty strong reaction to the dog at daycare and possibly has a little cold coming on.  She was supposed to go to school today, but stayed home sick with me instead.  I am hopeful we can get her healthy to return Monday.

Jimmy got some more cookies from Crumbl and they were delicious.  This week is a breakfast theme.

We've been taking lots of bike adventures lately.  I started by taking Parker on our very first ride to the park.  He led the way with me close behind, offering support and instruction.  It was a very proud moment.  Esme was getting a little jealous of our bike trips and started joining for rides around the block.

Both of them will need new bikes soon, so we ordered a couple online.  They are a little big, but we will work on getting more comfortable riding.  Here is Esme taking hers for a spin.

Beyond 100 Parks #101 - Sunnylane Park - Brooklyn Park, MN

After a few weeks off, the adventure continues.  It won't be at nearly the pace we've had for the past 10 months, but why not keep exploring.

Key Features

This was actually a fun place for hide and seek because it had a utility building.  Esme thought she was outsmarting me on this one.  It also had one of Parker's favorites, the wobble sphere.

This was a fun little neighborhood park, solid 8 swings.