School’s Out

Yesterday was the last day for the 2022-23 school year. Now we have a 75 day summer break. In August we’ll have two in pre-k (at two different schools since Noah will still be in ECSE), one in kindergarten, one in first grade, one in second grade, one in third grade, and a sophomore and a senior in high school.

Fritz is all done his junior year. When he unloaded his backpack he saved a pile of stuff and said there was information about applying to college in there because that’s coming up quick. He took AP US History this year and while it was a lot of work he also learned a lot.

Adrian finished his freshman year. He loves DATA in spite of the long bus ride (his best friend is going to another magnet at the same school next year, though, so the bus ride will be a bonus. There were three or four fires set at their school the last few months so he did indeed learn what happens when there is arson. He said he won’t have holidays because he’ll be going to summer school for six weeks (taking art and PE so he can get all the appropriate credits to graduate because of iCSI).

Zeke completed second grade. I have no idea where he got play tennis for what he plans to do over the summer. He’ll be playing some other sports, but not tennis. He doesn’t know why he said that either.

Mayci finished first grade. Of course she said she wants to do her summer workbook this summer because she loves school and anything that looks like school. The year was a little rough due to having a completely inexperienced teacher, but we made it through! I just hope Anthony doesn’t get her next year.

Anthony finished kindergarten. It turns out the kid is crazy smart, incredibly ADHD, and a little bit lazy and stubborn (maybe more like a lot stubborn). If Nicholas doesn’t get the teacher Anthony (and Mayci) had for kindergarten I’m going to be sad because I absolutely love her. Then again, if he has the other kinder teacher we’ll have collected the whole set (when I said that once a principal said they should totally make teacher trading cards so you can collect them all).

Nicholas finished pre-k. By walker he means the way he gets home from school. I always love how little kids answer the what do you want to be when you grow up question. I’m sad that the teacher he (and Mayci and Anthony) had for pre-k is retiring this year so Joel won’t have her. The assistant principal said they hired an amazing replacement, though, and I’ll love her.

Noah has completed pre-k3. I love that he wants to be Noah when he grows up (and even very carefully spelled it out for me). He’s made amazing progress this progress this year and his teachers both said they hope to get him in their class again next year because they just love him. It’ll be nice when he’s in kindergarten and they all go to the same school and no longer have to get him on and off his bus and deal with a second elementary school, though!

And then there’s Joel who got to be the only one at home this whole school year. He got incredibly spoiled and has been my dad’s shadow (not sure who is going to miss the other more – probably my dad since Joel will be busy in school). I love that he said he wants to be a grown up when he grows up.

Six Months Ago Me Was Smart

Starting at six months old and continuing every three months until they turned 3, I took the twins to their dental checkups together. It wasn’t a problem when they were tiny but as they’ve gotten bigger it’s been crazy. So six months ago I decided to make their appointments one day apart.

That’s one of the smartest things I’ve ever done. One twin at a time is super easy since they don’t have anyone riling them up. Their appointments were downright pleasant. The dentist is just a couple miles away so it was no big deal going two days in a row. I’m definitely doing their checkups this way for the next few years.

Something Special About Twins

Noah and Joel are best friends. They often end up cuddled up together while they sleep and sometimes awake, too. Joel has pretty much given up his afternoon nap but Noah still needs a pretty long one and during Spring Break when Noah would wake up from his nap, Joel got excited and would hug his twin for a long time. It’s pretty special to have a built in best friend from birth.

Leprechaun Snacks

On St. Patrick’s Day I decided it would be fun for the little ones to make Leprechaun Snacks while Zeke and Mayci were at basketball camp.

The boys mixed popcorn, sprinkles, mint M&Ms, colorful marshmallows, Lucky Charms, and Smarties in Ziploc baggies.

Their favorite part was the Mint M&Ms. They couldn’t get enough of those! Second favorite was the colorful mini marshmallows.

They had a really great time filling up their baggies. They loved the colors and the sugar overload. So much fun!

As soon as they filled up their baggies they set right in to eat their Leprechaun Snacks. Anthony thought they are super delicious.

Nicholas liked all the colors. He had a great time shaking his baggie to mix everything up. He was so excited with how his snack turned out.

Joel had just woken up from a nap so wasn’t super into making his snack, but he liked how it turned out and how it tasted.

Noah and Joel talked all about what they made and how tasty they were. Leprechaun Snacks were a huge hit!