First day of . . .

KINDERGARTEN!!! 

I can't believe my only child is old enough to be going to kindergarten! I am proud and happy for him but at the same time it breaks my heart. He is growing up fast and I am sending him out into the world. 

Last week we were able to attend his school's open house. We met his assistant Ms. Hunter (above) and his teacher Ms. Just (below). We explored his room doing a little scavenger hunt and learned about things unique to his classroom. 

Finley is attending a magnet school for science and technology. He is really excited about attending the science lab every week! 

His first day of kindergarten was Monday August 25, 2014. 

He is five years old and wants to be a police officer when he grows up. 

He is most excited about playing with some new friends at school and hopes to learn math. 

Mommy is going to miss her little boy!

Because Finley's school is very close to daddy's work they will get to ride in together in the morning! 

Finley had no trouble saying goodbye and getting right down to work on his first day. 

I will be picking little man up each day from school. 

Oops! He caught me spying on him! 

For a while I was trying to figure out a good plan of what to do while Finley was at school all day (besides the normal cleaning, laundry, errands, etc). Last week I got a call from my old librarian who had learned about a media assistant position opening up at another magnet school. I interviewed last week and got the job! It fits perfectly with our schedule as it is part time from 9 am - 1 pm each day. I can still pick up little man when he gets out of school and even have a little extra time to volunteer at his school or run errands. I am very grateful for this opportunity that fell into my lap! So now we are both looking forward to a great school year! 

Camp

I can't believe the summer is almost over :(. Only two more weeks with my little man at home with me. I know I won't be able to hold it together when we send him off to Kindergarten. I guess we better make the most of these last two weeks together! Here are a few things Fin man has been up to this summer. 

Back in June Finley was able to attend a very fun safety camp called Safety Town put on by the county. He went with two of his preschool friends, but unfortunately they weren't in the same group.

The children learned all about bike safety, gun safety, how to cross the street, fire safety, stranger danger, water safety, etc. They have this adorable little town where they practice some of their safety and bike riding skills. And every night he had some homework to help reinforce when he was learning. 

Even though Finley had to make some new friends he had a great experience and wants to go back again next summer! 

Last week Finley participated in a Ninjago Lego camp at Bricks 4 Kidz. 

They did lots of ninja 'fighting', spinning, and building. 

He was on the younger side for this camp, but still really enjoyed himself. 

There was one little friend his age. They got along great. 

Finley really enjoyed working with perler beads. You can build shapes and patterns with the beads and then iron them and they melt together. Finley made a poke ball and a dragon he named fly fire. They also enjoyed doing Lego spin art too. 

Finley had a great time at both of his camps. He is already picking out which Lego camp he wants to do next summer. We were also going to do a dance art camp at Mimi's ballet school like he did last summer, but alas, being down to one car prevented us from making this happen :(. Hopefully it isn't too much longer till we buy a new car! Fingers crossed!

Jacob's Pillow

Last weekend Fin man and I traveled up to CT/Mass with my parents to see my amazing sister perform at Jacob's Pillow. 

My dad and Ed

We arrived on Friday and stayed with my mom's former business partner and her husband. They live in Barkhampsted, CT where they built their own home doing a lot of the work themselves! It is only about 45 min away from Jacob's Pillow so it was perfect. 

Ms Gretchen

They have a gorgeous 4 acre lot surrounded by rolling hills, gardens, and fruit trees that over looks a pristine lake. 

It was like heaven! It also didn't hurt that the weather was perfect and felt like spring again!

We thoroughly enjoyed running through their yard, picking blueberries, and keeping our eyes out for the local wildlife. 

Apparently right after Fin and I headed to meet up with a friend a mama bear and her cub came into their yard and were 'playing' and wrestling with one another. I can't believe we just barely missed it! Boo! 

Seeing the mama bear and her cub along with wild turkeys are apparently a regular occurrence up here on the 'mountain.'

 Gretchen and Ed spoiled us all weekend long cooking amazing meals for us!

It was like a mini resort experience. I wish that it was one weekend later so that David could have come and enjoyed a relaxing weekend with us too! 

He had to stay behind during his final weekend to study before he took the SC bar exam. Thank goodness it is behind us now, but I still feel bad he missed out on such a great trip!

Check out these cool 'wings' Ms Gretchen made for Finley using wild turkey feathers. 

On Saturday morning Ed took us down to the lake to have a look around.

Finley and I enjoyed throwing rocks in the lake and searching for treasure. 

The 'beaches' were very rocky. 

But I was amazed at how clear the water was and not that cold!

Me and my little man. 

After we got back from the lake Ed brought out the sprinkler. Finley was being a little timid at first, so 80 yr old Ed had to show him how it was done! 

After seeing Ed jump over the sprinkler, Finley was a little braver. 

Saturday night my parents along with Gretchen and Ed went out to dinner and to see the late night show of my sister's performance. Since it would be too late for us, Finley and I went to go meet up with one of my good friends from college who lives in CT, Miss Amy. 

We met up at a little farm/park called Westmoor Park. 

It was a really fun petting zoo with all kinds of animals. 

But we weren't allowed to pet the animals today because of some rabies outbreak in CT. Oh well!

We still had a good visit though!

And we got to meet Miss Amy's new friend Jayne. 

After seeing the animals we explored the wild flower gardens. 

Again the weather was just gorgeous! 

Finley was such a trooper walking all around. 

After our fun visit we headed out to dinner at the Cheesecake factory before we were all worn out! 

The next morning we headed up to Mass to a little town called Becket where Jacob's Pillow is held. 

The summer long dance festival is held at this old converted farm. 

It is so green, lush, and picturesque! My sister and her company, Dorrance Dance, performed here last summer too, and after selling out last summer, this summer they were invited back for a two week run! The show this summer was called ETM: The Initial Approach. ETM stands for electronic tap music. This show featured a suite of tap instruments with sensored platforms designed to play specific notes when touched by the dancer. I can't even describe how cool it was! The show was amazing! It was very unique show casing the dancing and also creating music at the same time. 

Here is my sister and her dance company! 

After the matinee, which was their last show, we were allowed to check out the dance platforms. 

Finley had such a great time jumping on the boards and making music! 

Uncle Donovan was in charge of the computer part and making the boards make different music. 

Checking it all out with Auntie Michelle. 

After the show we had a little time to visit with Michelle and Deez before heading back to Gretchen and Eds. 

We had such a fabulous time and are so proud of Michelle! There have been several wonderful reviews and her co-producer/creater Nicholas Young was nominated for a Bessie for his work in creating the electronic tap boards!

Jacob's Pillow is already talking about booking Michelle next summer. 

We hope that next summer we can all get back there together. 

This time with David too. 

Congrats Poopie!