The Raven

No, I haven't suddenly become a fan of Edgar Allen Poe.

Yesterday we had a huge raven (pictured above) flying around the neighborhood. We often see hawks diving for what we assume are mice and voles in the fields around our house, but never a raven. And this raven wasn't just flying around. It was flying from rooftop to fence to rooftop and flying really, really low. It landed on the stairs of the deck where Tessa has preschool and scared the kids half to death while they were playing outside. When I met William and Henry at the bus stop, I watched it chase a few kids down the sidewalk. So my friend Nicole called Animal Control.

Animal Control in Hyde Park is Rocky (also pictured above). I assumed that since The Raven was just sitting around that it would be fairly easy to catch. I was thinking he'd throw a net over it or something and take it away. But no. Rocky spent well over an hour and a half trying to coax The Raven onto his gloved hand. He fed it water and some kind of food. He recited poetry to it (yep, you guess it, "The Raven"). He even, if my ears didn't deceive me, whistle "Yankee Doodle Dandy" to it as he was trying to entice it to come sit in his patrol vehicle.

Anyway, he had no luck, since he refused to actually force it to come along with him. He left it overnight, saying that he'd be back tomorrow and try to tranquilize it or something. And all the neighborhood kids, mine included, asked to be driven to school today. Henry was afraid that The Raven would swoop down on him as he waited for the bus. We actually had to come up with a contingency plan, as in, "OK, Henry, if you see The Raven, come home. Yes, bring your backpack. I'll drive you to school. Otherwise you should be OK." Rocky had told us that if The Raven came at us, to stand still. I'm still laughing at that one. I don't think I'd be able to stand still, much less expect my 8 year old son to do so.

Rocky came by today about 3:30 pm. He was looking for his buddy, The Raven. He seemed genuinely disappointed that he was gone. And he had grapes in his truck - another peace offering, I assume.

Also, Tessa cracked me up yesterday as we were reading a storybook. We were talking about The Hunchback of Notre Dame and she kept calling it The Crunchback of Motor Fame.

Nevermore.

Riding the Bus

I just put William on the Kindergarten Bus. I'm not teary like I was on Henry's first day of Kindergarten. I'm more excited, because William is so ready to start his public school career. His backpack was full (too full, actually, but he just had some supplies to take on the first day), he had on his North Park Knights t-shirt, and was ready to go!

He did great on his kindergarten assessment earlier this week. His teacher asked him to count as high as he could and when he finally got to 100, he took a big breath and said, "can I stop now?" He's getting close to reading and I'm excited for him to be able to read to himself - that was a big step for Henry in kindergarten. His handwriting isn't the best yet, but that will improve with time.

I met Henry's teacher last night for the first time. He really likes her. When I introduced myself, she said, "He's a chatty one." Sigh. He's not disrespectful at all, thank goodness - he just likes to visit with his friends. So I'm sending him with lots of books to read when he finishes his assignments early and has a little time to spare. He took my copy of Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone today - that will at least keep him busy. We looked for some more books for him to read at the library today - I found a few new series books that he might like. It's a constant challenge with Henry - to find books that challenge him in reading but that still have age appropriate material for him. The first few Harry Potter books are OK, and then we'll go from there.

Tessa goes to preschool in a bit and then I'm free until 2:45! I actually have plans to help a friend with her pre-Calculus, but it's kid free helping. There won't be kids fighting or pestering or calling names this afternoon. I think I could get used to this.

Edited to add: I got Tessa off to preschool and ran something back to the library and to get Smoothie King for a quick late lunch and found myself crying. They are all growing up and as much fun as it is to see them try new things, it's hard to know that they don't need you as much anymore. I'm such a sap.

The Preschool Princess

Today was Tessa's first day of preschool. She has been excited to start school this year. We found a cute princess-themed backpack at Family Dollar a few weeks ago and snapped it up. So far she's kept her stickers and "scrapbooks" in it, but today she got to take it to school.

Her preschool teacher is a good friend of mine. Tessa plays really well with her daughter and has a pretty high comfort level going to their house, so I wasn't worried about her crying when I dropped her off. Before we left, she said, "Mama, I'm going to miss you." But I told her that I'd be back as soon as school was over to get her and she perked right up. It's strange that Tessa is getting ready to bop on off to preschool, because as a baby and young toddler she was incredibly clingy and didn't want to be out of my sight. She's always been a mama's girl but it's nice to see her show some readiness to branch out a bit. She was a little quiet when she first got there, according to her teacher, but she warmed up nicely. She was excited to see me when I picked her up and seems excited to go back on Thursday.

She practiced saying, "hi, my name is Tessa. What's your name?" all day. She wants to make new friends and have fun, which is just perfect because that's all I really want her to do in preschool. She'll learn alot, but at her age it's more about learning social dynamics and being around other kids.

Anyway, my baby started preschool today. And liked it. It was a good day.

Tales of a Third Grade Something

Today is Henry's first day of school. He was very, very excited. So excited that he put his backpack on about 7:30 and wore it around the house until I finally let him leave for the bus stop at 8:00 am. Not 7:59 - 8:00. Because it's only the first day of school and he's already trying to leave earlier and earlier so he can be first in line at the bus stop. I'm glad that I don't have to bribe and cajole and threaten to get him out the door, but I think leaving at 8:00 am - a full 20 minutes before the bus comes, when it only takes him about 5 minutes to walk (or run) to the bus stop - is reasonable.

He goes to a new school this year. Last year his school was for grades K-2, so he's off to the grade 3-5 elementary school. He is, in general, a good student so I expect him to have a good year this year. I haven't met his teacher yet, but Back to School Night for his school is next Wednesday night so I'll meet her then.

Last night was William's Back to School Night and we met his kindergarten teacher for the first time. She seems really nice. Actually, I've never met a kindergarten teacher who doesn't seem really nice. Beyond introducing myself and William to her last night, I haven't talked to her yet as there were too many people clamoring for her attention last night, but I will when I take William back for his kindergarten assessment on Monday afternoon.

The house seems quieter this morning. Henry isn't popping up to ask me if he can have a snack or call a friend or ride his bike around the block. In another week, William will be gone every afternoon. And Tessa will have two afternoons a week of preschool. I'm excited about having a little time to myself, but it's bittersweet somehow. I didn't think I was the kind of person to get teary-eyed as my kids start school and become more independent and just don't need me as much as they used to. But apparently I am. Who knew?

I think I need to get out more.

The Dog Days of Summer

As much as we looked forward to summer, we've officially hit the time of the year where we just want fall to come. It's hot and the kids are starting to get antsy about back to school. I won't say they are bored, but the activities that kept them busy two months ago don't hold the same allure. So we eat alot of popsicles, watch videos and/or TV during the hot part of the day, and wonder when the weather will cool down.

The irony is that this summer hasn't been very hot. It didn't get hot at all until July and the weather, in general, has been quite pleasant. One of the advantages to living in Cache Valley is that, even when the days are in the upper 90's, the nights cool down quite nicely - typically in the upper 50's or lower 60's. Very comfortable. But August is always a time to look forward to autumn, which is my favorite time of the year.

School is starting on August 20th for Henry, so one week from today. Tessa had her preschool Open House last night and starts on the 25th. And William just got his letter about kindergarten - the name of his teacher, the time for his assessment, etc. He's excited and I'm excited for him. His Back to School Night is next Wednesday but he doesn't start kindergarten until the 27th. I think it will work out for me to help out in his classroom during the week, thanks to Tessa's Tuesday/Thursday preschool schedule. I hope so.

My only concern is Tessa. She's used to having William to kick around during the day, so she might be a little lost when he's gone every afternoon. Plus she seems to think that she's going to be riding a pink school bus to preschool. Let's forget the fact that they don't make pink school busses and her preschool is just around the corner, so I imagine we'll walk when the weather is nice. Hopefully her princess backpack will distract her.

Forever 29

Today is my birthday. Not my 29th birthday, my 41st. Apparently the theme of the day in our house was Forever 29, since it was on my cake and William kept saying, "you don't look a day over 29". Don't worry, I don't have any illusions of looking 29. I'm nothing if not realistic.

Besides, I don't think I'd want to go back and be younger. I was 29 when I got married and had my kids at 32 (almost 33), 35 and 37. Since I'm really enjoying our little family, I'd hate to be 29 again and miss out on the fun we have with our children. My 30's were good to me, but (as Jay likes to point out) everyone turns 40 eventually. And he's right.

Actually turning 41 hasn't bothered me. I do sometimes think, "gosh, I'm in my 40's now", but most of the time it's not the number that causes me to really consider that I'm fast approaching, if not already in, my middle age. It's the fact that my 20th high school reunion happened 3 years ago (for the record, I didn't go because for some odd reason they had it in April and I was very very pregnant with Tessa). It's the fact that they play 80's music on the oldies stations. It's the fact that I can actually say to my kids, "I didn't even have a computer growing up" and be telling the truth. That kind of stuff makes me feel old.

Still, it's not all bad. I got cake today. A day with cake is never, ever a bad day.

Retail Therapy

I'm a shopper. It doesn't really matter what I'm shopping for - I just enjoy it. So this weekend was like nirvana for me. I took off with two good friends from Cache Valley and went shopping. We left Friday evening and hit the Target in Layton first - it's a real novelty for us since we don't have a Target here. We had a great time - they actually had to kick us out at 10 pm. After that we headed down to Salt Lake City and stayed overnight so we could get a jump on the shopping festivities Saturday. We went to Gateway, had lunch, and drove to Park City. With the help of some good sales and the judicious use of coupons (thanks to Kim, who provided us with some great deals), we had quite the successful trip. We bought mostly clothes for the kids, although I did hit the Harry and David outlet store for some White Chocolate Macadamia Moose Munch for Jay as well.

We had so much fun! It's always fun to get away for a bit and if shopping is involved, all the better. I missed my family, though, and was glad to get back home on Saturday evening. Whoever said that absence makes the heart grow fonder was really onto something.

I'm actually feeling a bit shopped out at the moment, but that's OK. The kids have clothes for fall and even a few for next spring (thanks to summer clearance sales). By the time the Christmas holidays roll around, I should be ready for another round of retail therapy.

Bobcats and Wolves and Bears, Oh My!

Look at my cute little Cub Scout. He was so excited to attend his first activity this morning. They went to the fair and saw all kinds of animals. I'm not exactly sure what they were supposed to be learning, but Henry mentioned something about goats. And ice cream. Good times.

I have to admit I'm not the most scout-friendly mom out there. I think scouting is great, really I do, but I don't see the "big deal" that some people make out of it. I think boys can grow up to be good, even great, men regardless of their level of advancement in scouting. It is pretty well organized in our church, however, and they do regular activities for the boys starting at age 8, so it's kind of a no-brainer. As long as he enjoys it, I'm good.

I was nervous, however, about putting the badges on his uniform. I don't own a sewing machine and while I can make pillowcases for my children for Christmas with lots and lots and lots of supervision (thanks, Melissa!), that's about it. Lucky for me, some enterprising soul invented something called Badge Magic. It's an adhesive that you can use to stick the badges on the uniform. It's really, really sticky (and it messed up my scissors) but it was so much easier than buying thread and conning someone (probably my good and patient friend Melissa again) into letting me borrow their sewing machine over and over and over again. If I knew the person who invented Badge Magic, I'd send them a thank you note. Seriously.

On a side note, Tessa has started saying "Oh my goodness gracious" whenever she is surprised or excited about something. It's kind of cute, but I really couldn't figure out where she picked it up. Until today. She went to the store with me and would not stop talking. She rattled on about cheese and crackers and all kind of things and was asking me a question about fruit snacks and I said, "Goodness gracious, Tessa, I just don't know." So I guess she gets it from me. That and a love of chocolate. I've done my motherly duty, I suppose.

Our Trip to the Zoo

On Monday we had to drive down to Salt Lake City and drop Aunt LeClaire at the University of Utah for a weeklong seminar that she is taking. Since we were there anyway, we decided to take a trip to the Hogle Zoo. The kids have already been once this summer, but it was a cool and rainy day and their day was cut short by a rain shower and they didn't get to see everything that they wanted. We got to see a brand-new baby giraffe - the zoo attendant said it was only three days old! We rode the train and the new carousel and had a fun lunch at the zoo. The only downside was the heat - it was 90 degrees already when we arrived at 10:30 am. But we managed to keep cool by staying the shade, drinking lots of water, and walking through the water mister stations that they have set up all over the zoo. It was a fun day!

The kids loved pushing the big, crazy ball around and around. Plus it was cool and wet:
Tessa's reaction to the reptile house:
If you look closely, you can see the baby giraffe behind the kids:

Posing on the elephant's trunk:

Baptism

This past Saturday Henry was baptized. In our church (we are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) we don't baptize children until they are eight years old. He was able to learn about the gospel and what our Heavenly Father wants us to do in this life and was excited to be baptized. He and Jay both looked so handsome dressed in white.

He was nervous, of course. Mainly because of the "baptism by immersion" part - he's not too keen about going under water. But it was just for a second and he (and Jay) did great. Before they baptized him they invited all the smaller children to come up and sit on the floor in front of the baptismal font so that they could see what was going on. Our little nephew Boston said, "he's taking a bath", which was really cute and a pretty apt description.

After his baptism we had our extended family over for lunch. It was fun to get together and celebrate such an important event. We are so proud of Henry for choosing to baptized. We love him so much!