The Kassel Family Project Life 365

…I’m not sure anything will.

It was another first for John today as he and Laura, along with Mady (our neighbor), rode the school bus.  John seemed genuinely excited today and there was no meltdown!

The school bus arrived pretty much right on time, which is unusual for the beginning of a school year.  Laura, the big Second Grader, led John and Mady, the little Kindergartners, safely onto the bus.  As the bus pulled away, Andy, Katie (Mady’s Mom), and I were amused to note that all three kids were sitting together in one seat.

Despite a bus issue this afternoon, the kids arrived home safely and John said he had fun on the bus.  Another successful day!

We officially have two kids in school!  I just can’t believe it!  Andy and I took the kids to school this morning so that we could get some “First Day” pictures.

Laura was ridiculously excited to see all her friends and couldn’t wait to get going.  When I asked her to pose for me in front of the school, she threw her arms out wide and said, “This is *MY* school!”

John was excited, but also apprehensive.  He didn’t fight me on taking any pictures though and seemed to understand that it was a big day for him.

After some time on the playground, it was time to head inside.  It was at this point that John broke down and started crying.  This was really hard on me and I finally had to leave him with the rest of the Unit A students and walk out of the gym.  Mrs. Hanney, his teacher, stayed with him for a moment and got him calmed down.  By the time he lined up with the rest of his class, he was better and even waved goodbye to Andy as his class left the gym.  I didn’t get a goodbye wave from him because I was hiding behind some other parents just out of John’s line of sight because I didn’t want him to start crying again.  On the opposite end of the “kid spectrum,” Laura was ready to go to class and she didn’t even bother to turn around to wave goodbye as her class left the gym.  What a different two years makes!

We picked up the kids after school and John was much happier.  He said he had a good day.  Mrs. Hanney called to let us know that John had a great first day and to reassure us that all was well.  It was great to hear!  John declared that Choice Time was the favorite part of his day.  Laura wouldn’t stop talking and said that she can’t wait to use her “B Bucks” to buy her teacher’s chair for a day.  All in all, it was a successful day!  Oh, and how am I doing you ask?  Well, I am sad and I had a good cry when I got home.  My youngest baby is in school.  Let the next stage of life begin.

Their backpacks are packed and ready to go for the first day of school!

You know you don’t have babies anymore when Daddy and Uncle Jeremy have to replace the main posts of the swing set with taller 4 X 4 posts so that Laura and John can actually swing without hitting their feet on the ground.  I don’t know whether to smile or cry.

With all of our travels and other events this summer, the kids have not had many chances to play all day with their friends.  That changed today as we stayed home all day.  Kathryn was here for about six hours and we had different neighborhood kids in and out of the house all day.  To say that Laura and John were tired this evening would be an understatement.  This is what tired looks like after a very long day of playing, playing, and more playing.  John was done and Laura was struggling to smile.  I *think* it was a successful play day.

Laura has had Girl Scout meetings and activities throughout the summer, but today she actually had all her new Brownie materials.  It took me quite a while to iron on all the patches, but her vest is now done and ready for meetings!

Today, Laura’s Brownie troop met at the public library.  The girls began work on the “World of Girls” Journey badge.  Journey badges take a very long time to earn and are truly a “journey.”  There are four different ones that they can earn.  As part of the “World of Girls” badge, the troop will learn all about different countries around the world.  They got to begin with France and were lucky enough to have a special guest at their meeting, Ms. Suby, who took a trip to France just this past summer.  Ms. Suby works at Ridgeway Elementary and the girls all thought it was “awesome” that someone they know got to go to France.  They very much enjoyed hearing Ms. Suby’s stories and seeing her pictures.

Also, the girls worked some more on the “Snack” badge.  Each girl brought in a fruit or vegetable to share.  The girls learned different facts about each fruit or vegetable and talked about food miles.  They should complete the Snack badge in September.  On to another great year of Girl Scouting!