First Day of School ...and then some

The first day of school is always an event around our house. The kids were up really early and ready with time to spare. Nicholas was especially excited because they had really gotten the kids excited about first grade at the end of kindergarten and he had been waiting all summer. The wait was finally over. We had already met Mrs. Whitmire and Nicholas really liked her. There were also several of the kids in his kindergarten class that would be with him in first grade. He has already had his first spelling test and was thrilled to get 100% plus 2. (He got the bonus words correct as well.)

Jeremy LOVES fourth grade. His teacher, Ms. Hansel, has more energy than the kids and that has been so much fun. Jeremy comes home each day with stories about what Ms. Hansel did during the day to make learning that much more fun. The biggest difference this year is that Jeremy is in an all TD class which means that all the other kids in his class tested high. He is surrounded by kids who think the same way he does. It is a challenge and he is rising to it!!!

Naomi started Joy School twice a week and although it started off a little rocky, she loves it now. She asks every morning if it is a Joy School day. The other school highlight of her day is picking up the brothers. They have decided not to take the bus again this year so Naomi and I go to the school each day to walk home with the boys. There are plenty of other parents who are there to meet and walk with their students and some of them even bring their dogs. Naomi absolutely loves petting all the dogs. She knows most of them by name. One day she asked the owner if she could take the dog home with her. This is part of the normal routine. Usually the person says "No" and Naomi leaves it alone. On Friday, however, the lady said, "My kids would miss Scooter. It would make them very sad." Naomi thought about this for a minute and then responded, with a huge smile on her face, "But it would make me VERY HAPPY!" Everyone got a good laugh out of that one.

Lincoln's real assassin finally identified

For years the world has been fooled into thinking that John Wilkes Booth was the person who killed Abraham Lincoln, but I have the evidence and witnesses to prove otherwise. It all happened during an ordinary presidency meeting at my house one quiet afternoon in late August. We were discussing the usual agenda items when there was a loud crash and then a scream. The crash was my family heirloom Lincoln head mug (that used to be in the kitchen of Grandma Hansen) hitting my tile floor and shattering into a thousand pieces. The scream was my own when I realized what had happened. It wasn't until after the whole thing was cleaned up and I had calmed Naomi down that I realized why I screamed. Sure I was going to miss the Lincoln head mug that I called my "kitchen god" (Grandma was the best cook in the world and the mug had been in her kitchen for so long that I sort of used it as my cooking good luck charm!) The bigger issue was that Naomi was carrying the mug (full of pens and pencils) in one hand and a pair of scissors in the other hand. Thank goodness she let go of the scissors when she tripped and fell otherwise this story would most likely have a completely different ending.

Lincoln head mug, you will be missed and fondly remembered.