Pumpkin Patch Field Trap

Yesterday I volunteered to go with Jack's class on their first field trip of the year. It was Jack's class and the other two kindergarten classes that went on the trip. We visited the pumpkin patch at Remlinger Farms in Carnation, WA; about a 20 minute drive outside the city from Jack's school. I have to say, having seen nothing but city and urban sprawl for the last 3 months of my life, it was great to get out and see a little nature.

I had 4 kids in my group to keep track of, which seems like it should be completely do-able, but in a gaggle of 60 kindergartens keeping track of your 4 kids can be a little easier said then done. We got to go on the train ride, learned about bees and pollination, watched a man perform silly songs, looked in a "old-time" farm house (seemed pretty spacious compared to what Grammy grew up in, must have been "well -off" farmers), and go through a hay maze. All of the kids had a great time and it was so fun watching them get so excited over all the new things. At the end of the trip each child got to pick out their own pumpkin. Jack was especially discerning when picking out his, he had to have just the right one and didn't want any dirt on it.

I really wish I would have gotten some pictures of the trip, but I forgot to put new batteries in my camera before I left for school.

This weekend

This weekend we headed back to Portland for the second weekend in a row. Needless to say I was overjoyed. There is something magical to me about Portland in the fall, it might be because I moved there in the fall when I was 19. Fall in Portland always seems to make my heart burst with love, I love everthing about that city--absolutely everything, the bridges, downtown, I am loving getting to know the Pearl District area--when I moved there, the only time you went into certain parts of the Pearl was to go to art galleries during First Thursdays, now it is thriving. Its great.

Jack had a great time seeing his family, he was so excited to share his reading and show off his loose tooth. On Saturday afternoon he got to go to the family fun center with his dad, uncle jeff and papa. They played mini-golf, Jack says he won. They rode the bumper boats and he got to drive. They also drove the go-karts, Jack says that was his favorite because is made his hair fly away from his head. Randy said Jack was laughing the hole time and yelling at him to keep going faster.

It was a great weekend and one I am sure we will not live down for awhile. Next weekend we will be staying home in our jammies for awhile I am sure.

Its been awhile I know

I know, I know, it has been awhile since I have posted anything new. It seems like once school started for Jack we have been going going going. Jack is doing just awesome at school. He has made some good little friends and is busy learning as much as he can. He can already read! There has been nothing more amaizing to me in this journey in motherhood then watching my little boy read a book, it is the most magical and special thing. I have been volunteering in Jack's class every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon. It has been a really rewarding experience, I love getting to see the little kids every time I go in, they all call me Ms. Kristin and are so excited to see me, it is the best self-esteem builder ever.

Jack's favorite things about school so far:
1. Getting to take lunch from home
2. Going to the library and getting to check out books
3. Getting to ride the buss home

Here are a few of my fall favorites so far:

First Days of School

Well Jack's first days of school have come and gone so fast he seems like an old pro at school now. In fact this afternoon when I picked him up and asked him what he did he said, "Mom you know, the same things as yesterday." So I asked what he had for lunch and he followed up with, "You know--a a burrito."

Here are a few of the highlights from the last few days:
1. His teacher's name is Miss Gaines, she has been a teacher for 7 years. She seems to be very nice and some of the other parents of older students have told us that she is a great teacher.

2. Jack was able to carry his lunch tray just fine, I worried for nothing. He does have a lunch code that he has to enter to pay for lunch everyday. He is pretty jazzed about the hot lunch in general-- I think it is because he can choose between regular and chocolate milk everyday.

3. He has discovered the school library. He said in the car on the way home, "Mom, did you know that you can check out a book and bring it back?"

All in all I think this year is going to go great, we are discussing the option of him riding the bus home from school. He really wants to and is kind of upset that he is not getting to. I guess Randy and I will be talking about that and discuss whether or not he is ready. I am sure he will be just fine.

Here is Jack on his first day:


Here are 3 of Jacks favorite things from the past few days (sounds like he is enjoying the independence of being in elementary school)
1. going to the bathroom all by himself when he needs to
2. picking his own lunch (this one is really true he has picked the bean burrito the last few days and it comes with a green salad with tomatoes on it--he said he has been eating the tomatoes)
3. afternoon recess is really long and you get to play where you want to

Extended Summer

Jack and I have been enjoying the last few weeks of his extended summer together. We have started meeting Randy for lunch at work for a picnic outside everyday. After our little mini-picnic we have been going either to the grass lawn park or to the park behind our house. Every night after dinner we have been going for a bike ride, we think he is almost ready to take off the training wheels...almost. He has been coming right along with his reading, we try to work on it everyday. It is shocking to me that Jack can read. I am so surprised every time he reads a new word, I don't think I have been this excited since he started walking and talking.

We've had a great weekend so far. Friday night we had chicken and noodles for dinner--Randy and Jack both really loved it. Jack wanted to bring it to school for lunch one day he liked it so much. We played a few board games Friday night and yesterday we all went mini-golfing and finished up the night with some Wii Sports.

Sounds like the teachers union and the district are pretty close to settling the contract, hopefully Jack will be in school on Monday. He's getting pretty anxious.

Tidds out on the town

This weekend was a rather social one for us Tidds. Friday evening we had dinner at CPK with a few of Randy's old friends. It was nice being out and the weather couldn't have been better. Jack had a good time, he is always excited whenever he can order his own Hawaiian pizza.
Saturday evening we met my aunt & uncle for an early dinner in downtown seattle. They were coming through town to go on an Alaskan cruise and had Saturday evening free to spend with us. We ate at a great seafood place on the waterfront a great evening was had by all.
After dinner we made the drive from seattle to vancouver to visit with Bethany and Mason. We love going to see them. Jack always has fun playing with their daughter Mason. They got to play with Bethany's lego castle set and Jack ran through the sprinkler in the afternoon. It is always great to spend the weekend with them as they are such good friends, especially now that we are pretty much alone up here. Its just perfection to sit on their porch in the late summer evenings talking and laughing and enjoying such good friends.

On a side note, the strike is still on so I need to come up with some ideas to do with Jack this week. Otherwise I think his mind is going to rot with all the cartoons we have been watching.

Not quite the end of summer

Well the Teacher's Union where we live went out on strike. While I don't specifically agree with the idea of teacher's striking. I do fully understand and support the decision to stand up for what is right. It is not solely based on an increase in pay--which is deserved--also the thing that has me concerned is the mandated district wide curriculum. Having grown up in a household with a teacher I know that not one lesson plan can fit each class. Every child is different and every child is special and learns in different ways... making each class different so how can one lesson plan fit for each class across the district? It does not make sense with me and I do not agree with it.

So Jack and I have been enjoying these last few stolen days of summer. He will start school soon enough. For now we have been hanging out and going to the park and watching movies together. Not to mention reading and working on our homework book.