Dash Starts Kindergarten!

Dash has been in Kindergarten for a week now!  He was so excited for his first day he woke up and was dressed before 7 am.  Actually, he did better than I did.  I don’t think I really slept that night at all.  Dash mostly loves school.  He hates nap time and how he has to sit at a desk so much, but he loves p.e., which he has every morning.  In fact, his music teacher told me he asked all the kids to introduce themselves and say one thing they like to do.  Dash’s reply : “My name is Dash and I like to win races.”  Notice the distinction he made between participating in and winning races.  When I ask Dash how school went he always has lots of stories to tell about the other kids, few of which he can actually name, but he is still waiting to learn something.  He is getting concerned that so much time has passed and he still can’t read.  He did, however, get to ride the bus this last Monday, which has been a dream of his for over a year now.  I had a doctor’s appointment in Rapid City, so we set it up so that Dash could ride the bus over to the high school and meet Brandan after school.  Dash was thrilled and has been counting down the days until my next appointment and his next bus ride.

I’m glad the first day is over and we are all starting to settle into a routine, but we still really miss having Dash at home.  And I still like to stand at the fence in the morning and watch him playing on the playground before school starts.  And at lunch time, I still wonder if he wipes his face and chews with his mouth closed.  And when we pray, we still say an extra line or two that Dash will be okay and make good friends and choose the right.  But, I guess maybe that never goes away now, right? 

Dash's first day!

Tidbits

A quick update on each of our lives...
Brandan - Just finished a massive sprinkler system on Saturday, with some help (?) from the boys. Has started school, coaches football everyday, starts his next Master's class on the 27th.
Candie - Continues to run most days, though it is as painful to watch as accomplish.  Eats massive amounts of cucumbers, zucchini and yellow squash since that is what the garden actually grows and no one else likes it.
Dash - Lost his second tooth at the school faculty potluck.  Didn't want to give it to the Tooth Fairy, so he left her an old soda can instead. Disappointed that he still can't read after attending a 3 hour Kindergarten Jump Start Day.
Colt - Took a Frisbee to the face at the faculty potluck. Told a story about a movie he watched where a boy was drunk, a horrified while later, we realized the movie was Fern Gully and the boy had been "shrunk" not "drunk".
Sport -  Refuses to wear any shirt that doesn't have a ball on it, preferably a "bap-ball" (basketball). Loves jumping on the tramp, rocks, and climbing on the counters.

Colt's swollen eye the morning after the accident.



So far in August...

August has started off extremely busy for us.  The first weekend in August, we drove down to Dan and Jill's and then into Denver to purchase...a van!  Funny how a lot of people wouldn't see this as such an exciting milestone in their life, but we are thrilled to have more room to haul around all our stuff, oh and the children.
The following Monday, we met Dan and Jill and the Howards at a campground outside of Rapid City for a sleep over.  The campground had a swimming pool and the kids spent a couple of hours swimming that night and then the next morning we all went in to Rapid City to see some sights.  I should mention that this all took place the same week as the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and for those of you who haven't heard of this, let me just say that it is crazy and all happening about 35 minutes for Rapid City.  We literally saw thousands and thousands of motorbikes.  I mean seriously, we counted for a while, but that got old.  Anyway, that adds an interest level to a Rapid City trip.

First stop was Story Book Island.  This is a park full of story book characters and scenes with play equipment and a little pond and theater.

Kamber and the boys at the top of the Troll's Bridge at Story Book Island.

Colt and Dash on the Merry-Go-Round.

We thought this was funny. Dash was very innocently taking a break from running around.  Unfortunate hand placement.

Dash, Colt, Boe and Kamber on the teeter-totter.

Dan and Sport are best friends.  Seriously.  Sport repeatedly hurt Brandan's feelings by insisting that he hold Dan's hand rather than Brand's.

Colt and the duck.

Sport has a thing for seeded out dandelions.

Next, we drove to the Dinosaur Park which is a collection of life sized dinosaur statues on the top of a hill in Rapid City.

Dan, Sport, Colt, Brandan and Boe at the Dinosaur Park.

Finally, we drove into downtown and went to a Splash Park in the middle of the city.  The kids absolutely loved it.  It was such a hot day, I was tempted to join them.  But only tempted.

Sport and Kamber at the Splash Park.  Sport circled the perimeter for a while before braving the water.

Shortly after running through the water, Sport took a direct spray to the face and decided he liked watching the waterfall better.

Colt was hilarious to watch.  The water came up through the holes sporadically and unpredictably and Colt pretended he was fighting the spray like it was a bunch of naughty guys. 

In this particular shot, Colt mistimed the spray.  Funny.

Dash, on the other hand, ran through the spray like it was a mine field.  He dodged in and out so quick it was hard to get a picture.

Dash and Boe sitting on the fountains.

August hasn't been all play, however.  Colt gave his first talk in Primary, very successfully, and Dash is still hard at work prepping for Kindergarten.  Because he has to have a seperate pair of shoes for gym, Brandan decided it was time for Dash to learn to tie his shoes.  It only took a day and Dash had mastered the skill.

Daddy teaching Dash to tie his shoes.

And then there is Sport...

One night Sport insisted he be allowed to try on a newborn baby outfit that was somehow left out of a storage tubby.  It was a little snug.

The boys are really obsessed with swimming goggles right now, even to the point of wearing them in the bathtub.  Sport doesn't love goggles, but he hates to be left out.

Other than that, it's just same old, same old.  Lots of housework and laundry for me (the boys go through several outfits a day because of all their outside play) and Brandan has started working on one more sprinkler system he has to finish before school starts next week.  I'll be keeping everyone posted on how that progresses, I mean the sprinkler system, not the laundry. 

Dash's 6th Birthday!

Dash has been very impatiently awaiting his birthday and was more than thrilled when the day finally arrived. To help us celebrate, Dan and Jill and the kids made the trip to our house for the weekend. Everyone enjoyed themselves swimming, playing computer games, and eating cake. And Dash was super excited about his gifts and the birthday cash he received in the mail. Colt, on the other hand, didn't love Dash's special day. Outside of his piece of the cake, he kind of hated seeing Dash get all that attention when his own birthday is still 3 months away. Colt handled it pretty well, however, until that evening when Dash opened a card that contained six dollars. At that point he muttered to himself, "this is fair (his word for 'unfair')" and stomped out of the room.

On our way to the pool, we stopped to water some plants for a friend who had gone out of town. The kids rode in the back of Dan and Jill's pickup...all except Sport, who you can see peeking out the back window.

Dan and Jill throwing Dash in the pool.

Dad, Sport and Colt. Colt was feeling particularly brave and spent most of his time swimming minus his floaties. He is really getting pretty good.

Dash coming down the slide.

Colt coming down the slide.

Sport coming down the slide.

Brandan made Dash's birthday cake this year. Well, I made the cake, but Brandan decorated it. Dash had a very specific idea in mind for an Angry Birds cake and Brandan nailed it. It looked fantastic!

Dash and his cake.

Overall, Dash had a great day and is now excited for his next big adventure...Kindergarten!