Summer Time!

I love summer time! It is so nice to play with my little boy in the beautiful weather. We don't have access to a pool so I spend most afternoons on the porch with Austin in the kiddie pool. He will ask me to get in and splash around with him. That is one of the best moments of my day. I love that wants to play with me!

Watering the dirt instead of playing in the pool.

Also, I have started watching some kids n the neighborhood. Some days are crazy and I think I can't do it, but other days are so great. I think the hardest part has been for Austin. All these kids in his house, playing with his toys, hugging his mommy. He is getting better but still has his moments. You would think after being at someone else's house pretty much every weekday he wouldn't have a problem. He never did at the other houses, but I think it is so different because it is his house. The nice part is all the playmates he has.

We went to the splash pad in The Riverwoods after dinner last night. I think that Brandon just wanted to go home but Austin didn't.

A few weeks ago we went Wheeler Farms. This is a working farm that you can visit and explore. It is totally free which is nice, especially since we can get closer to the animals than the zoo. Austin loves going to Wheeler Farms.

He was able to feed the ducks with Daddy while we were there.

He also milked a cow. After we left he told us that was his favorite part. When it was happening though he wasn't really enjoying it. When he first started milking the cow, he had the utter pointed towards him and so he sprayed milk on his leg. Oh well!

This past weekend we went to Thanksgiving Point for their Dairy Days. They had a place to make your own ice cream, little games to play, and free milk. Austin had so much fun!

Well, that is until the cow train. We went to go wait to ride it but the driver needed to take a break since it was so hot. We sat on the grass in the shade and waited. The driver passed by and asked if we were waiting on the cow train. Austin said YES! We followed him over, and I put Austin in one of the cows (which is just a big barrel). Austin had a huge smile on his face. After a little while the train took ok and Austin screamed "Yay!" His excited only lasted until the train started moving farther away. The farther it got, the more he cried. About half across the field, the driver stopped and took Austin out. I had to walk across the field to get Austin. I told Austin he was missing all the fun and he told me "yeah." I just laughed.

Happy Summer!

May

This has been a busy month. The beginning of May seems like forever ago.

I have been busy with work. Since I am not going back next year, I have been so busy packing and thinking about packing. I have been making a list of all the things that I needed to do, and I have been keeping busy checking them off. I am now done, thankfully, but still. After four years of teaching in the same classroom, you end up having a lot of stuff! I even thought I was doing a good job de-cluttering through the years. However, apparently I could have done better. ;)

Austin is in charge of doing the silverware, setting the table, and cleaning up his toys. You can always tell when Austin does the silverware. I just chuckle every time I open the drawer and find this:

Austin loves to dress and undress himself, much to our displeasure at times. He will just pull off whatever he is wearing whenever he wants and run around the house laughing. However, this is also a good thing because he has figured out how to put on his shirt, pants, and socks. Here he is putting on a pair of Daddy's socks, and ended up with one of my socks.

Austin loves to eat and will just help himself to whatever he can find in the fridge. Usually, it is strawberries, apples, or oranges. He can even peel open Cuties. One day, I went upstairs to grab something quickly and came down to find him with strawberry juices all over his face, and a half eaten strawberry. He does this regularly, even when Daddy is getting readying in the morning. At least he chooses the healthy things.

He took off his pants, put on my sunglasses, and climbed on the counter to eat his snack. Oh Austin!

 

Eating a lime! He spit it out shortly after.

He loves his Thomas the Train conductor hat.

Austin goes through phases where he is really into something, doing it all the time, and then other times where he will still do that one thing just not as much. As soon as we walk into the house, he sits down and pulls out his books. After about 5 minutes, he will come grab my hand and pull me over to read with him. He will do this for the next hour, and then picks it back up again after a 15-minute break. I love how much he loves books. Even when he isn't in the "Books Now" phase he will still sit down for about 30 minutes a day and read.

We went to the Dinosaur Museum again with our friends little boy. They had such a good time!

Austin still loves to come here, but he still hates getting the wet sand on him. He freaked out the first time he touched it that day and Brandon showed him how to nub his hands together to wipe it of. Austin still wasn't happy about it, but would wipe and wipe and wipe his hands when they got "sticky" as he calls it.

 Every year our school has a History Fair. This is a lot of work, but in the end it is worth it. Each grade picks a subject that they cover through the year and focus on it for the History Fair. This year we chose Vikings! The students loved learning about them so it was even better to spend a little more time on it. Here is what it looked like:

Entrance to the 2nd grade hall

We made a long-ship down the wall with desks, so we needed a proper dragon head for the front

Some of what was made: Helmets, shields, hammers, and boats

Viking Runes

My classroom looks so bare. I have 2 1/2 days left. I will be a little emotional leaving this place; I have loved it so much.

Austin loves his camo camping chair from Uncle Scott and Aunt Ashley. He has been caring it around all day.

Happy May!