Back to School

Life changes so completely for me when school is back in session. This year is a big one for us - Spencer started 6th grade (middle school!), Tyler's in 4th and Dallin's in 2nd, and Brennan is in a pilot program called Transitional Kindergarten. The school year came quicker this year (our summer was 9 weeks instead of the usual 10), but the boys were super eager to start. They love school, and they couldn't wait to wear their new clothes.

We are loving the TK program! The cutoff date to turn 5 for kindergarten in California is December 2nd, but they will be moving it up to September 2nd within the next couple of years. So they started a new program just for kids with birthdays between Sept. 2nd and Dec. 2nd (that's Brennan - Nov. 28th) who are still technically old enough to start but really not ready (that's definitely Brennan). It's regular kindergarten hours, every day for 4 hours, and it's at an elementary school down the road from us. Plus it's free, since it's through the school system. It's kind of a step between preschool and kindergarten, and he loves it!

He had a wonderful 1st day as a Pifer Panther! He loves his sweet teacher, Mrs. Root. He made 2 best friends - one of whom was born the day before Brennan and whose mom and I shared a room in the hospital when they were born - what are the chances of that? There are only 12 kids in the morning class and 11 in his afternoon class, and they overlap for 1 1/2 hours/day. After 3 weeks of school, he still loves it and comes home excited every day.

So it's just me and Levi at home for a few hours. I love my schedule! The boys make their lunches the night before to reduce craziness in the morning. I exercise at Curves a little bit earlier this year so we can have scriptures and prayers at 7:15. Spencer leaves at 7:30 to ride his bike to school with his cousins and friends. Then Tyler and Dallin walk to school at 7:45 and Dave leaves for work around 8:00. Brennan and Levi play together for a couple hours while I do my morning routine - breakfast, shower, dishes, etc. We drive Brennan to school at 10:15, run a quick errand or two (so easy with just 1), go home for lunch and put Levi down for his nap. Then I have 2-3 glorious hours all by myself to read, clean, organize, bake and nap. I love it! I usually have to wake Levi up to get Brennan at 2:15. Tyler and Dallin walk home at 2:45, and Spencer gets home around 3:30. I love that it's staggered so they can take turns telling me about their day. Last year the 3 oldest would rush home and compete to tell me their news first. About the above picture of Levi: the downside to our new wood floors is that he can easily slide the chairs anywhere he wants and get into any of the cupboards. See those knives? and marshmallows? He sure keeps me on my toes!