Waffles, Photos, In & Out Burger...must be the first day of school!

       The first day of school, in our house, could be compared to a minor holiday.  Like Memorial Day.  Or the 4th of July.  Kim baked.  You've seen the legendary cupcakes - like Mt. Everest - how do you top it???

I couldn't find the ladybug or the bumblebee cupcakes...so, the kitty cat cupcakes will have to do!

Kim always took plenty of photos...I managed three:

                           Kim would always make sure the bambini looked sharp in new outfits for their first day.  Autumn is wearing her new shirt from Andrea, and I got Tonio new shorts and a polo.  They made sure I took a picture of them before we left the house and before school started.  At some point, Kim would start to tear up (sometimes outright cry), as she realized her bambini were a year older.  Cody going to high school was something she talked about...she definitely would have cried for his first day coming up.
           Kim always liked to get a photo of the kids with their teacher, but there seemed to be so many extra needy parents today, and I didn't want to add to the first day circus.  First, poor Mrs. Rienstra, was getting loaded down with bags of supplies...there she is, holding at least three heavy bags, parents just handing them off to her, all 7 months pregnant, and parent after parent, just filling her ears with what to expect from their child or how to handle their child, etc., all the while she is smiling, while the bags are sawing through her fingers. I finally snagged the bags out of her hands and took them to her supply stash.  Then, there was a parent in Mrs. Rudzena's class, who long windedly, was asking why he needed to buy 'community supplies', he only wanted to buy for his child and couldn't understand beyond that, despite generous parents dropping off 'community supplies' like copy paper and tissues, right next to where the man was whining.  Mrs. Rudzena remained stoic and professional! 

              But I did manage to take one of them together outside of Mrs. Rienstra's class.  They are so cute together in the morning, giving each other a last hug, telling each other to have a great day and saying 'I love you' to each other, oblivious to the swarms of children around them.  It always melted Kim's heart.  I didn't get a chance to bake any animal-like cupcakes.  But I did make the kids waffles with fresh raspberries for breakfast!
             After their first day of school, Kim would take the kids for ice cream for for something special to eat.  They came out ravenous, so I took them to In & Out Burger and then to Costco (the new one, where Mario works!).

Antonio's homework was to decorate his paperwork folder for Mrs. Rienstra.  He made this colorful frog, jumping for joy (Mrs. Rienstra is a big frog fan, which, I suspect was Tonio's motivation!).

I took drinks to some of the staff and teachers today and found Mrs. Rienstra with her class lined up to go to the restrooms after music class.  Tonio was the line leader and was standing still and quiet...I went to find out what was wrong.  Mrs. Rienstra told me how quiet and good Tonio was today for her and she asked 'Tonio, are you going to be quiet and not talk to me for a few months like Autumn did when I had her for 3rd grade?'.  I told her to be careful what she wished for.  As we talked, I caught movement out of the corner of my eye...Tonio had slinked out of line, unnoticed by us and was stalking a large, black bug!  'See?' I told Mrs. Rienstra.  And she laughed, and asked Tonio to get back in line.'

Meanwhile, Cody and I picked up David from Desert Willow Elementary, where he was with Andrea and Mario at Breanna's first day of kindergarten.  I took the boys to the Park Mall, got Cody some new sneaks and a back pack for high school, grabbed them lunch and then took them to the skating rink...where they stayed for 7 hours of skating!!!  When I picked them up at 8, they were hungry again and we headed for Jack in the Box for a nutritious dinner.  Their legs had to be hurting after 7 hours of skating!!

And, getting the two little ones out of bed, dressed, fed and ready went remarkably smooth this morning.  I was a little less grizzly bear, and the kids did a lot to be ready a full 5 minutes early!  It was not a crazy, running in circles, episode of Heckle and Jeckle...maybe they are maturing...?

The bambini had a great first day back at school...they were happy to see their friends again, but, I feel that their teachers made a huge difference for them today...our extended family!

Tonight, Tonio told us that the clouds looked like a beautiful painting that Mama made for us, as we wished Kim a good night...

Love,

 Dave