First Day of Kindergarten!

 From the time that I was a student myself through all my years of being a mother, I have  loved 'first days of school'. The new school supplies, the excitement of new beginnings, the smell of the school, meeting new teachers!! I think it is a magical time of the year.  I am so glad that I got to be a part of Isabella's FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN!

Orientation - August 23, 2021

First Day - August 26, 2021

No tears!

No nervousness! Except maybe from Mom!

She climbed right up onto that big bus with confidence and joy!

Monica and I drove over to the school so we could see her walk into class.  She certainly didn't need us there as she skipped and hopped with obvious excitement as she found where the afternoon kindergarten classes wait for their teacher to come get them.

There were 2 little girls from her church class who are also in her kindergarten class. I envision them becoming good friends this year.

My admiration for kindergarten teachers grew as I watched her get 20 kids lined up to walk into the building.  All were excited, some nervous, a few hanging back with parents, some listening well, some not so well!  I'm glad she has 24 years of experience teaching kindergarten!

Her name is Mrs. Ciaveralla.  When Isabella's daddy was in kindergarten, his teacher was Mrs. Gorczyca and that same year Matt had Mrs. Aipperspach!  It took me awhile to learn how to spell those names.

Mrs. Ciaveralla did get them lined up and they walked into the building.  Just like that our little girl starts on this big adventure of learning! And yes, she is very tall and happened to be in line by a girl who is very short!  Another memory - Mary was also quite tall in kindergarten and her best friend Sara was very short.  When I met Sara, she said, "I'm Sara. I'm 5 and I'm short but I'm also very smart'.  Love that confidence!

Here is Isabella's daddy on his first day of Kindergarten at Summerwind Elementary school - September 1990.  Posing for photos wasn't his thing but he did have the same confidence as his daughter!  Parents were supposed to go with their children on the 1st day of Kindergarten so I thought he would want to drive over with me but NO WAY, he wanted to walk with the other kids from the neighborhood.

When I look at Isabella, I see unlimited possibilities! And many years of exciting 'first day of school'!

Shopping With Isabella

I got back just in time for a much anticipated school clothes shopping trip with Isabella. To be honest, I think I was more excited than she was!

We started out with Weitzel's Pretzels cinnamon/sugar bites and 'red juice' AKA Dr. Pepper.  Shhh....don't tell her mom!  I actually got her strawberry lemonade but she much preferred my 'red juice'.

Since her favorite thing right now is rainbows, we went on a quest to find shirts and jackets embellished with them.  Then to find matching pants. Success on all fronts!

  Last on the list was a quick trip to Claire's for accessories.  She liked the hair bows and bands and the jewelry (most with rainbows) but her favorite was the magic wand.  I love that she asked me where we could buy one that really worked.  When I told her Diagon Alley, she was ready to fly off to London.  Reminds me of her comment when talking about snorkeling in Hawaii next time we went. She expressed her enthusiasm about this idea because she was so excited to see real mermaids.

A new annual 'Isabella and Grandma' tradition is born!

I just love her so much!

Fun in Harper's Ferry

 My days in Harper's Ferry included lots of fun afternoons at the park.....

Good food from Mary and Mark's garden....

Sunday afternoon naps....

Hours playing in the sandbox....

Mark had the very clever idea to turn a boat that he had built into the perfect little sandbox.  For a boy obsessed with all kinds of trucks and construction vehicles, this is like Disneyland!

 Jackson even cooperated a few times for photo shoots....

Although it isn't his favorite activity, we managed to get a some good shots!

I'm particularly enamored with this one!

National Zoo

One of the many reasons that I love visiting Mary and family is that there are just so many places to see in the Washington DC area.  This trip we decided that Jackson was at the perfect age to make our first visit to the National Zoo.  What a fun day we had!

He had been talking for days about seeing giraffes and adding the descriptive 'tall' at the end.  Unfortunately the giraffes had died and hadn't been replaced.  I don't think it ruined the day for him however. We saw lots of animals.

The gorillas were very active which is always entertaining! They are so playful and almost childlike.

This Alligator Snapping Turtle reminded me of home. They are native to the southeastern part of the US and I remember one at our local Fish Hatchery in Lonoke. This particular guy studied Jackson intently for a long time. I thought it was kind of cute until he lunged at him.  I think the staring was sizing him up and determining that he was small enough to bite.  It scared me but Jackson wasn't fazed.  Thank goodness for strong plexiglass.

Seriously, he stayed this way for a long time just looking at Jackson.  Kind of freaky!

We were there for the celebration of Xiao Qi Ji's 1st Birthday!  Pandas are like big furry teddy bears! Pre Covid you could actually sign up for a 'Panda encounter'.  Hopefully we will get to do that on a trip in a few years.

Another Jackson favorite was the carousel.  He kept trying to get us to go back and ride again.

Another big day for our precious little boy, his adoring Grammy and devoted Mommy!!!

Happy 3rd Birthday to Jackson!

I endured almost 11 hours wearing a mask so that I could attend Jackson's 3rd birthday party!  It was worth every itchy- nosed moment on the airplane to celebrate this adorable grandson's big day.

He's obsessed with Paw Patrol so a theme for the party was easy.

A  Paw Patrol cake and some well organized and easy games equal party success!

Mary was very creative and had activities for each character.  Jackson loved it all.

3 Year old boys really are adorable!

Jackson got into the whole gift opening routine really quickly!

Each evening while we were putting toys away, Jackson would quiz his uninformed Grammy to see if I had finally learned the names of his beloved Paw Patrol puppies.....Chase, Marshall, Zuma, Tracker, Skye, Rubble, Rocky, Everest....I think I have it now!

I am sure that Jackson was meant to be in our family as his favorite candy is Reese's Cups. His favorite drink is Dr. Pepper (which he adorably calls, "Red Juice"). He has a keen sense of direction and he is bossy.  Sounds like other members of our family!

Oh how much I love that little boy!

1st Flight in 17 Months

 The last time I was on an airplane was for our exciting trip home from Dubai through Ethiopia in March 2020, right in the early days of the pandemic when no one knew if the US borders would close, if all planes would be grounded....if we'd be stuck in Dubai or Addis Ababa. Never in my adult life have I gone this long without flying somewhere.

Now I have four pandemic flights under my belt with 4 more scheduled in the next few months.  Wearing a mask for so many hours is not my idea of a good time but I am happy to do it in order to travel again.

My first trip was to Portland (only about an hour flight plus time in the airport so probably 4 masked hours) so that I could help our friend Martha after bunion surgery.  I arrived on Monday with surgery scheduled for Tuesday morning.   Just as Martha had finished giving me all the instructions I would need take care of her and of her house, the phone rang.  It was the hospital reporting that for the 1st time in 20 years the doctor had to cancel and reschedule her surgery.  And it was scheduled for the day AFTER I had to leave. Luckily she had another friend coming to take over when I left, so she was still going to be well taken care of.  Change of plans no more surgery or care giving, now it was just a girls' week party and it was great!

I caught up with my walking buddies.  Oh how I miss them!  It seems that we never run out of things to say!

I celebrated my birthday with a delicious brownie and a FaceTime rendition of "Happy Birthday" from George.  

That sweet guy even had flowers delivered to me.

I got a guided tour of Scott's new basement apartment.  It is roomy and well appointed.

I think he is going to be very happy there.

That apartment is at the stables where he works so it's very convenient.  I can report that his horse neighbors are very friendly!

I was thrilled when I found out that the famous Burgerville onion rings were on!  They are only served  when Walla Walla onions are available. Most delicious onion rings I've ever had....made even better by the Garlic Aioli sauce.  Yum Yum! At 750 calories per serving, I hate to admit that I had them twice!  Oh well!

To celebrate my last night there, we ate at one of our favorite Lake Oswego restaurants which is right on the lake.  A wonderful evening with good friends, delicious food and a beautiful sky!  Isn't Martha the cutest???

FYI, I'm going back next week now that she has actually had the surgery.  This time I will be caregiving and not just vacationing!