First Day Of School

WELCOME BACK TO SCHOOL, KINDER!!
1st Day of School Smiles. They were very excited!


1st GRADER, EMMA!


4th GRADER, ALYSSA!
I don't have many other pictures of Alyssa from the morning that school started. As soon as we got on the playground, and she was able to find out which teacher she had, she ran over to her line to see her classmates. When I walked over to check on her she was busy talking with kids, and it's no longer really cool in the fourth grade to have your mom walking you to your classroom on the first day. So I'll have to wait until I help out in her class one day to spend more time over there. She seemed happy and comfortable right away in her new class, and her teacher is Herr Klein which is who she had been hoping for all summer long. She couldn't be happier.


When we arrived at school, we parked right next to two of Emma's friends, Claire and Lydia. It was nice to get out of the car and see familiar smiles right away. Unfortunately all 3 girls got split up into different classes this year.


Emma was so excited to have her friend, Jonathon in class with her again this year! They sat together at the same table for a good part of their Kindergarten year, and they get along very well. I think the sun was in their eyes. Rebekah's in the background with her birthday picnic basket. We were helping out at the school for a little while in the am, so we packed some snacks and toys in there to keep her busy :-)


I snuck into Emma's class for long enough to see her settle into her desk. There were no other parents in the room at the time, so while I kind of felt like hanging out for a little bit, I didn't want to linger too long. She loves her new teacher, Herr Haase (his name literally translates to Mr. Bunny in English). The girls have never had male teachers before, and this year they both do. I think it's valuable to have the chance to learn from a variety of different teachers each having their own "teaching style." From everything the girls have told me over the last few days, I think they are both going to have a great year with fun teachers.


After dropping the girls off at school, Rebekah and I had a little time to play out on the cul de sac. She rode her scooter around and had fun. It seemed so quiet in our neighborhood with all the kids in school and her being the only one out there playing. We also made the big girls each their own speical pan of brownies for a first day of school dessert. As I was taking the mix out of the cabinet, Rebekah was all eager to help and she told me, "Let's make them brownies...Brownies for happily ever after."


Emma's brownies had pieces of reese's peanut buttercups broken up in them. She liked them, and Dave said they were the best brownies we have ever made.


Kamele sampling the brownies she helped make.


Ka'iulani's brownies had chocolate chips in them, her favorite!


Emma holding her 1st Day of 1st Grade sign that we colored for her. She was excited and seems like such a big kid now. When they are still in kindergarten, it's easy to feel like they're still "babies." The jump up to first grade is big! They definately don't seem like the littlest kids in the school anymore.


Alyssa holding her 4th Grade sign. At our school the transition to 4th grade is seen as the most challenging. I was told by her teacher all last year how the expections for the kids change dramatically in the 4th grade. I know she's in for a challenge, but I also know she loves that and will do really well.

Something I should have noted before, closer to the top of the post is the coordinating outfits the girls are wearing that came from Grandmommy and Granddaddy on Kamele's birthday. I loved how the outfits were matching, but not the same. In fact I didn't even know if anyone would notice, but of course, my friend Cheryl (Claire's mom), who is a total "fashionista" and usually knows exactly which store specific pieces of clothing came from, noticed the minute the girls stepped out of the car. Coordinating the girls' clothes has become increasingly difficult (I usually don't even bother anymore) now that Ka'iulani is getting older and definately having a fashion sense all her own! But I will savor each and every time I can continue to get away with this matching business, because I know it won't last much longer!!

Last Minute Summer Fun

The week before school started we tried to do some of our favorite things...
I took the girls and their friend, Jaydon to the Public Museum. Here, they are looking out over the desert scene.


Emma, Jaydon, and Alyssa in the tropical rainforest.


Pretending to sleep on a huge ice chunk in the Ice Age Wisconsin exhibit.


We always have to take butterfly pics when we come here, it's got to be one of our favorite areas of the museum.


So pleased that she got the butterfly to land on her finger.


Rebekah thought that if she just stuck her finger out like this and waited, a butterfly would come right to her. The funny thing is, that each time a butterfly came close, she would pull her finger away, flinch, and blink her eyes like she had a last minute change of heart.


Alyssa is like "The Butterfly Whisperer." They LOVE her!


And they love her hair too! As we were leaving the exhibit we had to coax this one off her head. I actually meant to get more of her face in this photo, but I guess I was too focussed on the butterfly.


Kamele getting close to the butterfly on Emma's finger.


Emma and Jaydon by Em's favorite, the Buffalo.


Alyssa by the lions, we love how cute the baby ones are.


Kahiwa by another favorite, the elephant.


We also went to play Mini Golf on this day because we had a coupon for buy one get one free, so we thought we'd take advantage of that :-)
The course was a little challenging for the 6 and under crowd. Way too many sand traps, water hazards, and rock gardens to lose the golf balls in ;-) They had fun, it just became a huge game of who could putt their ball into the pond, then fish it out with the nets that were provided.


The four kids on the 4th hole.


Kamele and Kahiwa trying to hit into the same hole at the same time.


Rebekah proud of her shot, and Jaydon happy for her to.


Alyssa taking a turn.


This one had a tricky loop to either hit through or around. Two (E and J) of them tried to go through the loop, and two of them chose the more conservative hit around method (A and R).


This was their favorite hole on the course. There was a tube to hit the ball through, and they discovered that the ball would shoot through and go flying when they hit it through backwards from the bottom of green. I had to drag them from their repeated attempts to play the hole backwards once the group behind us started catching up.


Sitting on the bench after the game. Rebekah had lost all interest in taking photos by now, and was bargaining with me to get them all ice cream.


At the same course, but a day earlier the kids had fun with Dad on the driving range side.


Emma on the putting green.


Alyssa practing driving. She loves golf, and I loved her outfit choice, the cute purple hat and silver shoes.


Dad and Ka'iulani at the tees.


Alyssa had a sleepover with her friends, Hannah and Faith. Hannah and Faith are two of a set of triplets. Their brother did not join the girls for their "dress up party." :)


Emma built a magnetic structure that she wanted us to take a picture of.


We went to the zoo...
The zoo always does something cute with these bushes and the flower bed area that the girls are standing in front of.


Sister hug.


I somehow lost a few of the photos I took this day, I think I accidentally deleted some that I inteded to save. Usually these orangutans look very solemn (out of all the animals at the zoo, these are the ones I feel sorry for. Some animals benefit greatly from the protected habitat at the zoo, but for orangutans, I always get the feeling that they feel all caged up and would much prefer their natural habitat, although I know they need protecting too). But today both mother and father were joyfully playing with a baby that kept walking between them. This is not the best picture I took of them that day, but it's the only one that remained on my card when I went back to look at them.


Eating a picnic lunch.


Peeking at me from behind her sandwich.


Checking out a peacock. Alyssa was puffing out her chest trying to get a reaction from the bird, and at first it hardly noticed her, but before we left it jumped over the stone ledge they are standing in front of and started following us all around.


The girls by a pretty floral bush. This is another pic I lost, I had one of them facing me too.


Looking out at the swans on the pond.


Emma liked the bears.


Alyssa loved the giraffes. I have since seen her write on a homework sheet that giraffes are her favorite animal. We have a really cool looking giraffe here that looks like it's colors are flipped, it's the farthest one on the right. It's very light in color, and in person you can especially see how different it looks from the others.


At the zoo playground. Soaking up our last few days of summer!