After dropping Evan off at Kindergarten, we headed to Ellena's school for her Open House. She got to show me around her classroom and do some of her favorite works. She was quite tickled that I went with her to school. Tomorrow is her first day without Evan and without Momma. I am anticipating tears and perhaps a tantrum, but she will eventually be ok.
Today was Evan's first day of Kindergarten! He was a little excited, a little nervous and scared, and a little worried about not knowing anyone in his class. But he did great and we couldn't be prouder of our big boy! He took home lunch today, but is anxious to buy lunch at the "cafe" when it's chicken nugget day. So funny, my Plateau boy calls the cafeteria the cafe! We look forward to a fantastic year for Evan!
Here he is when he finished his first day. What a smile!
We won two tickets to the Sounders game and with one of Grandpa's season tickets, we were able to go to our first (me and Ellena) and Tommy and Evan's second Sounders game. It was a blast! We ate lunch together in the main concourse area and got to our seats about 12 minutes into the game - the Sounders had already scored twice by then!!! The score ended up being 6-2 - wow! So much fun!
The kids insisted on making fresh squeezed lemonade with Uncle Stu - lots of hard work, but soo, soo tasty! Thanks, Uncle!
We celebrated our 7th anniversary at John Howie - yum! Evan made it a formal affair with his painted on mustache!
Our school district bus drivers put together a way to introduce riding the school bus to students entering Kindergarten. We got to go on a bus ride and learn safety rules. Look how happy the kids are to be riding the bus! Needless to say, it was a grouchy morning for all. Kids were in a bad mood, my neck was really bugging me, and once we started moving, I flashed back to the elementary school field trip to Lahaina that made me car sick and turn green. Fun times for all!
Evan "met" these friends when he was 8 weeks old and we've stayed in touch ever since. Can't believe how quickly the years have gone by!
It also happened to be Ivy's birthday, so Miss Wendy made some fancy cake pops that looked like ice cream cones. Yum!
Ellena had her birthday party at the Little Gym. This was her first time inviting friends to her birthday party and she was absolutely tickled. When it was her birthday on Tuesday, I said, "Good morning! It's your birthday today! You're 3 years old now!" She responded with her daily question, "Is today my birthday party?" Sorry, that's Saturday. Well, the day finally arrived and she had a blast! We're so glad her buddies could attend and help us celebrate our big girl's birthday! The above picture was taken as we were loading up - Ellena was excited!
Ellena & Jelina - 2 swinging monkeys
Blow out the candles, Ellena!
Wrangling cats!
On July 26, Ellena turned 3 years old! She had a special birthday circle at school and she got to be the line leader for recess time. I surprised them with McDonald's happy meals for lunch and then we went out to dinner with Grandma, Grandpa & Uncle Stu. Ellena got to pick the restaurant and she chose her favorite place - Similan Thai. The girl loves her tofu pad see ew! We then came back for her blue cake (homemade chocolate cake with homemade strawberry jelly in the middle, covered in homemade buttercream frosting - Ellena chose blue this year) and presents.
Aunty Kim, Uncle Mike and Cousins Aaron & Kade drove up from California for a visit. We were so excited to see them and spend time with them! We played, we ate, we ate some more, we celebrated Ellena's birthday early and ate again! We look forward to more cousin time soon!
We have been to Remlinger Farm many times for berry and pumpkin picking, but we've never tried the Family Fun Park before. Through a Groupon or one of those deal sites, we were able to get tickets for half price. What a great time we had! I'm even thinking, dare I say it, that it would be worth the full price of admission?! The kids loved all of the rides - Ellena rode a pony for the first time and proclaimed it her favorite part of the farm. They also rode the roller coaster about 10 times in a row. What I was impressed with is that most of the rides are made for the little ones and they go on it by themselves. There was only one ride that had a height requirement, but everything else was made for tiny tots! We're so glad we got to experience this other part of the farm with our cousins, Aaron and Kade!
Evan is the least excited about summer school. I think he's of the mindset where he's already finished Montessori school and is practically a Kindergartner, so why does he have to go to his old school again? When I tell him it's a school day (they only attend 2 times a week), he groans and gets huffy. This will rub off on Ellena because she does everything that Evan does. We've had talks about his negativity and it has improved a little in the last week.
