Football and Ice Cream!

We were working on getting settled into the regular school routine this week.  (It was hard!  The excitement was already waning, and school wasn't so brand new.)  We began the world of 1st grade homework and learned that it takes about 40 minutes each evening of Mom and Lincoln doing the paragraph, question, spelling words, ABC order words, sight words, and math fluency. Oh, and we are supposed to read his two library books each night too!  Needless to say, there has been a lot of texting between moms trying to determine the best homework strategies and making sure we are all understanding the rules.  This is NOT Kindergarten homework!  Football practice was a welcome activity after school on Tuesday and Thursday.  The boys are still mostly working on drills and learning how to move with the ball and how to try to understand defense.  This picture is Lincoln vs. Lincoln!  It's so funny that two sweet boys named Lincoln are on the same teams and in the same grade at Bowie. 

After practice on Thursday, the boys requested dinner out.  Braum's was their choice, and they were so excited because they have never had anything but ice cream or milkshakes from there.  They were kind of surprised when they learned that Braum's had real food a few days ago.  So Braum's it was!  Chicken strips for the boys, a salad for Mom, and two ice cream cones to finish it out!  It was Lincoln's first time to eat the cone, and he loved it.  (He should have listened all of those other times when he was assured the cone was great to eat!) 

Beau really enjoyed his "chwwwwacolate" ice cream!  He didn't do much with the cone, but I guess he has two more years to gain Lincoln's extra cone wisdom.  Beau did see a friend from his new Primrose class eating dinner with her family, and we sat next to Aisnley to get to know them better.  Surely he impressed her with his chwwwwacolate beard!   

More fun is on the way!

Weekend Wrap-Up

Let's have some fun on the weekend after such a great week at school.  Lincoln got climbing bug and has been climbing the neighbor's tree. 

A busy Saturday with no pictures led to a fun Sunday.  Our first soccer practice of the season . . . we are still the Ninjas.  We have moved up a level to 6-on-6 with a goalie, and we had to add a few players to our team.  Jessie (Preston's dad) and Andy (William's dad) stepped up to coach this season.  Lots of fun and lots to work on! 

We had dinner with Nana and Pops at Mi Cocina, and the boys were excited about their activity books.  Well, Beau was excited -- Lincoln was busy working! 

We rounded out the evening with a nice bike ride through the neighborhood, and we saw a few friends along the way. 

Great weekend - ready for the second week of school!

More from the First Week of School

We got to walk in with Lincoln a couple of days this week, and these brothers were happy to hug!  Yes, only a couple of days in the school year, and Ms. McPherson had rearranged the kiddos.  Nick and Lincoln were no longer next to each other, but it's probably better that they have some separation while they are learning! 

After school on Wednesday, we had our first flag football practice!  The coaches mostly ran the boys through a few drills and gave them an idea of what skills they would be working on.   

Not gonna lie . . . it was pretty basic.  The boys are new to flag football, and there is a lot to learn.  Everyone was excited and tried to catch on the concepts.

 

Beau wasn't the most confident after seeing this first practice - I hope this isn't an indication of how our season will go!!!

We headed home for dinner and baked some yummy sugar cookies.  Lincoln transitioned seamlessly from football to baking assistant! 

This first week doesn't have homework, so we are glad to have a little free time in the evenings.  The cookies were delicious!

Beau's First Day of Pre-K

While Lincoln was enjoying his first day of 1st grade, Beau was getting ready to celebrate his first day of Pre-K at Primrose.  Truthfully, Beau had moved up to Pre-K a few months prior, but the real Pre-K school year (and more strict curriculum) began the same day that public school started.  For Beau, that meant uniforms!  Beau has a lot of opinions about a lot of things, and one of those things is handsome shirts.  He's pretty much only ok with collared shirts for church . . . and he calls them handsome shirts.  When he learned that he would be required to wear handsome shirts each day, he wasn't the happiest.  Mommy ordered the softest ones available, and they weren't so bad!  Beau's Pre-K story changes within a few days, so another post will document that upward move.  Primrose saw an opportunity for Beau to give him so new challenges, and more details are to come.  At least he gave a happy pose!

Lincoln's First Day of 1st Grade

The first day of school . . . Lincoln starts 1st Grade!!!  His precious little soul couldn't wait to get started.  He was up and all smiles in the morning.

Obligatory picture by the Bowie sign.  (Last year he requested the sign picture each day of the first week of Kindergarten.  I think he was cool with just the first day this year.) 

Brother hug walking in to school.  Beau was happy and excited for Linc's new adventure. 

Sweet Ms. McPherson welcomed the kids with hugs and pictures.  It seems like she already loves each student and is so excited to begin the year with them.  We love her! 

All of my boys at Lincoln's desk . . . love these smiles from everyone. 

Lincoln is ready to rock 1st grade!  He had the best summer ever, but he is super excited to get back to school.  A new teacher, a new class, new homework routines, and so much greatness ahead.  Great first day, for sure!  Having his besties in his homeroom is sure to cause some distractions, but it's also a great comfort.  Those boys walked in like they owned the place!  Bowie is an amazing school, and our neighborhood is such a wonderful place full of families working together to make a great environment for these kids.  Surely, God has put each of us here at this time to give these kids the best childhood experience.  Beau isn't without transition too, and he will get his own post soon.  He's lighting it up at school is getting a major bump up!  These boys are the best!

Weekend Fun Before School Starts

After Meet the Teacher, we headed to Ty's house for the boys' 1st grade pool party (that we got in the Bowie Auction).  The boys had a great time playing together . . . most of the boys have been in the same class, on a soccer team, on a t-ball team, or on a basketball team at this point.  They were a fun group. 

We spent some time swimming at the club with friends on Saturday.  One of Lincoln's besties, Riley, brought a super cool toy.  The boys loved it!!  And we love Riley!  That new boat was hours of fun.

Sunday was a little swimming and sliding before we had to get ready for the first day of school!!!!!   

We are all excited about the new school year.  Bring it on, Monday!

Meet the Teacher - Lincoln 1st Grade

It's time to get ready for 1st grade!!!!  Lincoln received his teacher announcement in the mail early in the morning and posed in his pjs for a picture!  We couldn't wait to see which classes all of our friends were assigned to . . . it was a long day because other people have a really late mail route!! 

We had heard great things about Ms. McPherson, and we couldn't wait to get to know her at "Meet the Teacher" on Friday afternoon.  Lincoln posed in front of the door (a little sheepishly)!  

He checked out the backpack rack, the reading carpet, the cool bubble lamp, the jelly bean dispenser(!!), the job assignments, then found his desk.  

When Ms. McPherson was done meeting a classmate's family, we got to introduce ourselves.  She was the sweetest!!  She asked Lincoln several personal questions (that she already knew the answers to and got him comfortable), gave him a welcome hug, and asked to take a picture with him.  She even has a covered box for him to stand on so she doesn't have to bend down so much - genius!!!! 

It should be noted that Lincoln is joined by a few girls and boys from Kindergarten (Lainey, Claire, Mayce. Leo, Levi, and Kyle).  But some of our besties landed in our class . . . our summer besties, Nick and William, are also in Ms. McPherson's room!  And Preston from soccer is there too!  Lincoln and Nick were too happy to discover that they were assigned to sit next to each other.  We had a small discussion with the teacher that she should separate them at any time she feels like they are being too silly or disrupting each other with giggles and pokes.  William and Preston were also seated together, which is pretty much the same situation.  (The parents might have been taking bets on who would be separated first . . . Ms. McPherson did us all a favor and separated them all after two days!!!  No one was being bad, just too social.) 

It was a great Meet the Teacher, and we are so excited about 1st grade!  Homework is increasing, and the curriculum is going to be more challenging, and reading and math are necessary each evening.  Lincoln can't wait to start!

Last Week Before School Starts

Lincoln had named this last week before school started "Camp Lincoln" and each day was a different thing.  Mommy and Beau had camp on Monday (previous post) and we hung out at the pool and then did some fun activities and some cooking in the afternoon.  Tuesday was Nana's day, and they cleaned up the backyard first.  Lincoln had earned a toy for his hard work, and they went straight to Target for a new Lego set.  Scooby-Doo was a must!!! 

Next up . . . Carmine's Pizza for lunch!  Who doesn't want a giant slice of pepperoni pizza? 

Wednesday was another Nana day, and my phone isn't cooperating to let me post those pics.  They had a ton of fun, and even did some painting!  It was a pretty cool evening, so we had a bike ride after dinner. 

Around 10:30 Lincoln came out of his room with a request to pull his tooth!!!  He normally pulls them himself, but he had one that was just loose enough to bother him but not loose enough for him to get it out.  Mommy to the rescue, and we got it out quickly and (hopefully) painlessly.  Luckily, the Tooth Fairy was up late to make a visit! 

Sure enough, that cool front made Thursday pretty nice.  It was Pop Pop's day with Lincoln, and they had planned to spend the day at the club doing golf/tennis/swimming like Linc did at camp.   

Tennis was fun, and Lincoln gave lots of instructions.  He is quite skilled at directing grown-ups with tennis drills.

Next up was golf!  Pop Pop couldn't caption this picture . . . seems like a normal 6 year old hanging off a golf cart to me!  Weirdo! 

Lincoln really enjoyed his week of "Camp" before school started.  Meet the Teacher and the last weekend to come . . . 1st grade is here!

More Pool Fun

Saturday at the pool . . . no better way to beat the heat!  The boys did lots of swimming, jumping, and sliding with Mommy.  Pop Pop finished golf in the afternoon and came to play in the Splash Pad with the boys.  They had it all to themselves and had a great time!

On Monday morning, we met Coach Gage at the pool early for our last swimming lesson of the summer.  (It was supposed to be at our regular Wednesday evening time, but he needed to move back to college a little early.)  Lincoln and Beau have done a great job swimming this summer, but they mostly just love to play in the pool with Coach Gage.  When it was time for lessons to be done, we said our good-byes . . . then decided we wanted to spend the rest of the morning relaxing!  Beau kept cool with a few toys in the shallow end.   

Lincoln took a break to dry off a bit.  "This is the life, Mom!," said Lincoln.  Agreed!!! 

We stayed to have lunch by the pool then came home to do a little painting and a lot of Legos.  Regular clothes seemed a little too plain, so it was costume night again.  Love their silliness! 

This is the last week before Lincoln goes back to school, so we are trying to relish the remaining days.  Our lazy summer schedule is about to go away . . .

Another Great Summer Week

The summer schedule allowed us to have plenty of late nights, and the boys loved it.  They could take an early bath after the day's activities and dinner then watch a movie or a fun show with Mom.  American Ninja Warrior was definitely a favorite this summer!  One night they even convinced me to let them shop at Lego.com at 10:30!! 

On the last week of tennis/swim/golf camp, Lincoln got really serious about his Wacky Wednesday attire.  American flag visor with bandannas tied on, a Ninja Turtle swim shirt, mis-matched swim shorts, one Christmas tree sock, one candy cane sock . . . he was pleased with his outfit! 

Picking the boys up from camp and it was all Bowie boys at the splash pad.  (Beau even got in on the action!) 

We tried out a new BBQ place, and it was delicious!  1050 BBQ was a little different than our regular spots, but we loved it.  And the boys enjoyed jamming to the music in front of the DALLAS mural out back.   

Another fun summer week for sure! 

Weekend Wrap-Up

On Saturday it was Pool Party for Shayne's 4th birthday, and we were so happy to celebrate!  The kids had a great time swimming, and Shayne's excitement was contagious!

Cupcakes for the win!  Goggle-eyed Lincoln couldn't wait to eat his cupcake! 

We swam with friends and Nana & Pops on Sunday afternoon, and it was a Shady's kind of night.  Burgers for all and a trip to Sweet Firefly!  The boys were happy to pose with their ice cream.  Chocolate for Lincoln - Chwakolate for Beau.  (He's really an over-enunciator!) 

This guy was making sure he got every last drop  . . .  that's my kind of kid! 

Great weekend spent outside and enjoying each other.  The lazy days of summer are quickly coming to an end, and school will be starting soon.  Soaking up a little more fun!