The Open House was sweet

I've said this before, but I struggle with the balance of my blog. I try to give you some thoughts that come straight out of my head that don't necessarily relate to our kids, but I also originally started the blog to help our many far-flung family members feel more connected to us on a daily basis. Hence, lots of posts about the kids.

So bear with me as I share with you another post about ... the kids. (I'll try to come up with something tomorrow for those of you like Paige, who also appreciate the oddity that is the occasional brain-dump.)

Last night was Open House at Nathaniel and Nicholas' elementary school. I picked Jake up at daycare first, and then we headed up the mountain to the big boys' school.

Jake would give almost anything to go to school with them every day. I don't know if I've mentioned it or not, but he cries every morning when he and Grayson get in Grayson's car and we get in the van. It's quite pitiful. But reuniting at the end of the day is such a happy time.

And this picture's just for kicks, mostly for my sister, since I didn't include a picture of Jakey yesterday in the post that was all about him. (Except for the picture of him sleeping in the crib, but you could really only see one of his ears in the dark. Sorry 'bout that.)

As they walked down the sidewalk toward the school entrance, they were joking and palling around like fraternity brothers.

And then one of them fell down, also kind of like a fraternity brother.

No tears. He jumped right back up and caught up to his brothers.

We visited Nick's classroom first, where we were treated to his self-portrait on his chair.

Umm, he got the eyebrows DEAD ON. They are a signature of our family.

 

Next, Nick was happy to show me his scarecrow, which all the other kids had decorated with cut-out patches of paper, but Nicholas chose to DRAW his own patches. He definitely fancies himself an artist, and I have to say, he actually is handier with the crayons and paints than most other kids his age. Although you wouldn't necessarily know that by the face on this scarecrow.

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After talking with his teacher, we headed down to Nathaniel's 2nd-grade classroom, where he proudly showed off his "silhouette book." It was filled with fun facts about him and our family, and on the Dedication Page, he'd dedicated it to his teacher, which I thought was really sweet.

One of the fun facts inside was, "Over the summer I saw The Sorserers Aprentis. I liked it because ther was vilens." AND THERE YOU HAVE IT. Violence is quite the draw for the 2nd-grade set. But I LOVE the idea of the silhouette book. So neat! I will treasure it.

I guess scarecrows are "in" this Fall, because Nathaniel had made one, too. I forgot to ask him why he looks like his face had been bludgeoned. I guess it was from all the vilens.

When we left Nathaniel's room, the boys wanted to show me and Jake the computer room.

Jakey immediately made himself right at home.

Luckily there were plenty of computers to go around. And apparently also plenty of high-speed Internet connections.

Jake cried when I said it was time to leave. At 7:40, 20 minutes before bedtime. When we still had to get home, check backpacks for homework assignments and get ready for bed. At that point, I felt like it was already 10:30, so leave we did.

And I'm happy to say that I was later able to relax on the couch and catch Glee, House Hunters and Flipping Out, plus check in quickly to see that the right man went home on Dancing with the Stars. Thank goodness for TiVo. I don't know what I'd do without it.

The End.