photo michele1.png  photo michele2.png  photo michele3.png  photo MIchele4.png

Monday, August 27, 2012

First Day of Kindergarten

Today was a big day in our family.  Will had his very first day of school.  I knew that this day was coming, and I tried not to think about it.  I've had mixed emotions about Will starting kindergarten.  Mostly I've been excited because he's excited, but a little part of me was sad because he's growing up.  I've been nervous about starting this new phase in our lives--new environment, new routine, new friends and new teachers. You get the point.  So many new things!  We've been blessed that Will has been enthusiastic.  His good attitude has made this transition really positive. 

This morning Mark and I walked Will to his classroom.  Will found the Play-Doh at his desk and started playing.  We hung out a little to make sure he was okay.  He seemed happy and excited to be in his classroom.  I knew we needed to go so we could get to our campus for our teacher duties.  I talked to Will about how he would get home after school and told him we should go to our school because the big kids would be there.  He looked at me and said, "I think you should go now."  Well, that about sums up his feelings on being at school.  No apprehension whatsoever!  I'd say he was more than ready.  We kissed him goodbye and told him we loved him.  He didn't cry and I didn't either! 

Here's my kindergartner!

My sweet boy!

Little brother looks sad about not going to school  but he's not.  It's just his expression in this photo.  He did great today going to grandma's house.

Will's so over having his photo taken. 

Will and daddy 

Mark walking Will into school.  This was the only time I almost teared up. 

Will and one of his teachers. 

A name tag and Play-Doh!   Happy kid!
 
Will's First Day of Kindergarten
 

Friday, August 24, 2012

Meet the Teacher

Will's first day of kindergarten will be on Monday!  I haven't talked about it much because I'm afraid I'll be overwhelmed with emotions.  It's not because I'm anxious or nervous, just sentimental.  Well, I was a little anxious and nervous about such a big transition, but I'm feeling better now after we went to Meet the Teacher on Thursday night.  Will's teacher is super nice and he loved his classroom.  Thank goodness Will is beyond excited about starting school.  That makes this new phase of life so much easier knowing that he's ready.  I've definitely been praying extra hard for my little one, his teacher, and the students who will be in his class.
 
 
I made Will pose by the teacher's desk.
 
Will was so excited to have his own locker.
 
 
This was taken earlier this summer and it feels like yesterday! 
 
Linking up to InstaFriday at Life Rearranged
 
Follow me on instagram @redbirdblue

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Road Trip 2012 {Santa Fe}

Santa Fe is a beautiful, historic city. We visited the Plaza, but we spent most of our time in Santa Fe at High Country Gardens Santa Fe Greenhouses, Trader Joe's and the Santa Fe Baking Company and Cafe


Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi


One of many art galleries


I know it's because I've taught Junior High students too long, but when I saw this sign the first thing I thought of was LaFawnduh from Napoleon Dynamite. If I was sophisticated, my first thought would be that it's a beautiful historic landmark, but no, those were not my first thoughts.



Loretto Chapel
We didn't go inside to see the "miraculous staircase" because it started raining and we were ready to leave.



High Country Garden Santa Fe Greenhouses
It's a great resource if you are interested in xeriscaping.

Ben's happy if he can play in the rocks.

Will taking a rest.


Mark and his parents really enjoyed looking at all of the unique plants and trees.

I wish Aspen trees would grow in Texas.

Vivid pottery for sale at the Santa Fe Greenhouses 


Santa Fe Baking Company and Cafe
Such a cool vibe.



One of my favorite things in Santa Fe was stopping by Trader Joe's.  I was doing some serious shopping so I didn't take any photos.  I was focused on the task at hand.  I stocked up on some goodies I can't get in Texas.  I know there's a TJ's in Fort Worth now and one is opening soon in Plano, but that won't be until the fall.  Can't wait!


More Road Trip 2012 photos can be see here and here.


Road Trip 2012 theme :)
"Well, the road didn't cut through the land like that interstate. It moved with the land, it rose, it fell, it curved. Cars didn't drive on it to make great time. They drove on it to have a great time."
Sally, Cars



Sunday, August 19, 2012

Road Trip 2012 {High Road}

In July we visited Red River, New Mexico.  (I've broken down the road trip into several parts so I can post more photos on the blog.  The first part {Texas} can been seen here.)  While we were in Red River we wanted to explore the surrounding area.  We arrived in New Mexico on Sunday and on Monday we decided to drive to Santa Fe.  We chose to take the scenic route called the High Road.  It has spectacular views and takes you through various artists communities and villages.  It was probably three and a half hours to get to Santa Fe and the other route was around 2 hours, but it was worth the extra time.  Mark and I read several articles about things to see and do on the drive.  Just a few weeks before we went on our trip Gwyneth Paltrow's email newsletter goop highlighted the High Road.  If it's good enough for GP to recommend, then we should definitely check it out ;)  Usually her recommendations are for buying a $100 t-shirt (crazy!), but her travel advice was something that was actually helpful.

We passed up the scenic overlook where the photos were taken but decided to turn around and go back to it.  I'm so glad that we did!  The view from this point was breathtaking.  The sky was bright and the mountains were stunning.  I didn't see any other places to stop if you wanted the view that we had from this vantage point.



Trying to take family photos with the boys is hopeless.  It's all about the memories, which will be that they never cooperated for a family photo.  Ever.  Ha!

Mark and I gave up and took a photo of just us instead.  I shared a couple of other photos from the High Road here.

Mark's parents, Jerry and Carol, are fun to travel with and had a good time too.  They are a huge help with the boys and Will and Ben love having them with us.

This is from the car.  Ignore the dirty windshield!  I just couldn't get over the view.  It's overwhelming trying to take in all the beauty.  It's such a contrast from the desert of west Texas and eastern New Mexico.

This is a Spanish church in Las Trampas.





More signs directing us to Santa Fe

Seriously, I could look at this view all day long.

Around each corner more beauty awaited

Lunch in Chimayo!
This was a restaurant recommended in the goop newsletter.  I'd never heard of it, but once we got home and talked to friends who had traveled to New Mexico so many people had eaten there.  It felt like it was in the middle of nowhere and I'm surprised that people can find it.  It was crowded nonetheless.  If you are ever in the area you must go there to eat.

Mark, Carol, Jerry and the boys

We ate outside. 
I loved the atmosphere! (the flies not so much but everything else was perfect)

I made everyone wait to eat so I could take a photo.  I had the Sopaipilla Relleno stuffed with chicken.  It was delicious!  The green chiles on the Mexican food are different than the typical Tex-Mex we are used to.


This was Jerry's favorite place that we ate at the whole trip.

Ristras of dried chile peppers looked so pretty

What do you know?  The boys smiled for a photo!   

Road Trip 2012 theme :)
"Well, the road didn't cut through the land like that interstate. It moved with the land, it rose, it fell, it curved.
Cars didn't drive on it to make great time. They drove on it to have a great time."
Sally, Cars
 
phone pics

 
 
 

Monday, August 13, 2012

Road Trip 2012 {Texas}

At the end of July we took our annual summer road trip and this year's destination was New Mexico.  Road Trip 2012 {New Mexico} isn't the title to this post because it takes a long time to drive across Texas so I thought I'd give our Texas photos their own blog post.  It's possible to drive to New Mexico in one day, and we probably would have if we didn't have small children.  Since we have two little ones we knew the trip would be more enjoyable for everyone if we broke the trip up into two days.  We spent the night in Amarillo, which was a little over half-way there.  We left really early in the morning and got to Amarillo in the afternoon.  We had some time to kill so we went to Cadillac Ranch.  My instagram photos are here.  I've seen photos from lots of friends at Cadillac Ranch, but I'd never been.

Cadillac Ranch is in the middle of a dusty field off of I-40 west of Amarillo.  There are 10 Cadillacs buried in the ground.  We didn't take any spray paint for the cars.  I can only imagine how messy that would have been with Will and Ben!  I had to remind them to not touch the cars because of the wet paint.  They talked about the cars and spray paint for a while.  We didn't stay long because of the smell and the heat.  It was blistering hot!  I was surprised at how crowded it was.

Mark's parents, Jerry and Carol, made the trip with us. 

Ben says, "That's a lot of paint." 

View from the road 

The next morning we were up and ready to hit the road.


We had one more stop before we left Texas.
West of Amarillo just off of I-40 is a the small town of Adrian, Texas.  It's the midpoint of Route 66.  My boys LOVE the Disney Pixar Cars movies so we had to stop here.  There's not a lot to see in Adrian, but it was still a good stop.

Here are Mark's parents with Ben and Will.

I had no idea until we started planning for this trip that in the middle of the Texas Panhandle you'd find the midpoint for Route 66.  Pretty cool!

 Old gas station with so much character. 

We had the boys change into their Cars t-shirts. They thought the old gas pumps were really neat,  I like the turquoise/aqua one the most.


One family photo before we headed to New Mexico

The last photos are from our first day.  Just wanted to throw them in here at the end of the blog post.

I liked see the W on the compass knowing that we were headed west.  So many of our road trips take us east to visit family and friends, which we love--don't get me wrong.  It was a nice change of pace going to the mountains and to cooler weather.

When I grew up traveling with my family we always packed a picnic lunch.  We do that with our boys too.  Texas has some nice rest areas located on US HWY 82. 

They are nice but they come with plenty of warnings signs.  I'm glad that it was too hot to play on the playground.  Quite frankly the snake warning signs scared me to death. 

You don't have to warn me twice to watch for rattlesnakes.  Venomous snakes aren't at the top of my list of favorites.   

My goal is to share more photos of our road trip this week.  I'm glad I've waited a few weeks to post them.  It's been fun reliving our adventure.  Makes me wish we could go back and enjoy it all over again!

Road Trip 2012 theme :)


"Well, the road didn't cut through the land like that interstate. It moved with the land, it rose, it fell, it curved. Cars didn't drive on it to make great time. They drove on it to have a great time."
Sally, Cars



LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails