School Shopping With Elise

I cannot believe Elise is going to be in 3rd grade!  I vividly remember bringing her for her first day of preschool and here she is, almost into the tween years!  It was fun having a day where she was the center of attention, without having to share my time with her sister.  There were some disappointments and life lessons when she didn't get everything she wanted, but even those times are important to share together, I guess.

First, we hit Target for classroom supplies. 

 I have never seen an aisle this big for backpacks.  How does a kid choose?

Next, to the mall for clothes.  Elise was a very good sport about trying things on...

I think mostly because she liked clowning and posing in the mirror.

Elise spent some time in the play area, I guess even big kids like the play area!

We took the train ride through the mall.  Elise chose a car with a roof and I couldn't fit through the door to get in.  The train operator suggested I step over the side to get in, which I did.  I'm sure I looked ridiculous and I'm glad there are no pictures of that!

Getting Ready for Kindergarten

Ready to go Shopping

Anja is going to kindergarten this fall!  She is SUPER excited.  Last summer I waited too long to do school shopping and by the time we went, things were really picked over and we had a hard time finding everything we need.  So, when I was at Target last week and saw they had school supplies out, I decided we would get it done earlier this year.  I had decided that I wanted to take each girl shopping separately, so I could totally focus on them individually and give them the time and attention they wanted, and make it a special day.  This week, Anja had a day with no activities, so we headed out for our day of shopping!

First to Target, for a backpack, folders, pencils, and everything else a kindergartener needs!

Next, to the mall to get some clothes and shoes.  Anja is a very good shopper, and we had a very fun time picking out clothes and trying things on.

Yeah, she's not a posing diva at all.

The mall in Fredericksburg is pretty large, and there is a very cute train than goes around, which Anja and I rode.  The ride took about 10 minutes and made a loop around the mall.  It was a great way to get a tour of the mall and see what is there.

We also took a break at the play area. 

 It was fun to let Anja make the decisions about where to go and what do to (well, most of the decisions), and to give her a few hours when she didn't have to share anything, including my time.

Crafts & Creeks

I am nearing the end of my Master's degree (more on that soon!) and last weekend I needed a lot of time to work on a big project.  Being the wonderful guy he is, Jason took the girls out for the day on Saturday so I could have some quiet time at home to work.  On the agenda for Jason and the girls:  Children's Art Expo, Alum Springs Park, and ice cream.

The Children's Art Expo was put on by Fredericksburg Parks and Rec and was an event with a bunch of arts and crafts make-and-take projects.  The girls loved it!  They came home with a grocery bag full of things they had made.


I guess people commented on how the girls made projects that matched their outfits.  Yep, that is because Elise's favorite color is pink and Anja's is purple.

Marble painting!

 

She is very serious about her work.

 

 

After the Art Expo, they headed to Alum Springs Park.  This is where Anja had her Up With The Arts camp earlier this summer, it is a gorgeous park in the woods with lots of shade and a creek running through it.  The girls had a great time splashing in the creek and chasing down critters.

 

 

They found a shed snake skin, so cool!

 

Snake skin up closer.

 

After the park, the plan was to get ice cream at Carl's, a Fredericksburg tradition, but the girls preferred Dairy Queen over something they hadn't heard of.  That was ok with me, I would rather be with them for the first trip to Carl's!



Celtic Music on the Library Steps

We have been hit with a hot spell.  The weather guy described this week as "oppressively humid" and the prediction is that temps will hit triple digits.  Monday we had planned to listen to an outdoor concert at the library, but it was SOOOO hot!!  The concert started at 7:00 p.m. and at 6:00 I called the library to see if they were moving it inside.  The lady on the phone sweetly replied "no, it will be outside."  GAH!  We debated skipping it because of the heat, but we are not going to be homebodies, we are going to get out there and DO things!  So, we went to the library downtown with our lawn chairs, water and snacks, staked out a spot, and listened to Celtic music performed live on the front steps of the downtown library.  One of the first things the lead of the band said was "if this is too hot for you, you probably shouldn't live in Virginia."  HA!  I just haven't acclimated yet :)

Before we left home, the girls decided they wanted to wear their pajamas.  This worked out pretty good for me, since we got home after their bedtime and it was much easier to get them to bed with their pjs already on.

I thought we headed down to the library plenty early, but when we got there, most of the shady spots were taken already (note to self:  next time, get there earlier).  We had the choice of a mostly shaded spot where we couldn't see the performers because of the bushes, or being in the sun and being able to see.  We chose the shade and relaxed until showtime.

Relaxing before the show starts.

The girls chilled for a while, then went a few feet away to a grassy area where no one was sitting, to play and dance.  It was very entertaining to watch them, and it was fun to see how other little girls were attracted to their fun and came over to join them.  I'm not sure what the crowd thought of the pajama-clad, barefoot girls dancing around, but it made me smile to see them carefree and joyful.

 

And yes, the music was good, a trio of locals: a fiddle, a guitar and a drum (at least that's what it sounded like, as I said, we couldn't see very well).

 

Meeting Family in Fairfax

Saturday the girls and I had the pleasure of going with Jason to Fairfax to meet his cousin Kevin and family. We had lunch there, then Kevin, Diane and their daughter,  Camille, took us to Burke Lake Park.

At the park there is a very cute train which goes around the park on about a 10-minute ride, very fun! 

After the train ride we walked on one of the trails and explored nature a bit.  We saw some pretty interesting stuff...

And the girls had fun on the shore of the lake...

After the park it was back to Kevin and Diane's for ice cream, then back home, about a one-hour drive (if the traffic isn't terrible).  It was a very good day.

Library Fun

We have started taking advantage of all the public library has to offer!  The public library system here is pretty large, and both the downtown branch and the branch closest to our apartment are much, much larger than the library in Thief River (or any public library I can think of outside of the Twin Cities.  Well, the Duluth library may be as large as these, and St. Cloud).  We've checked-out books and movies, I've used the library as a space to work on my school work, and yesterday we took the girls to a children's program, called Wiggly Worms.

Ready to get started!

A person from the area recycling agency was there, as were lots of library staff and teen volunteers to help the children create a worm habitat which is the beginning of a compost pile.  The recycling agency person talked about how worms help the soil and help things grow, then the kids started putting together their worm habitats.  First, they put soil in the bottom of a plastic bottle that had been cut in half...

then they added some torn up lettuce, then more soil, more lettuce, more soil, then...WORMS!!

I laughed when I saw they were pulling the worms from bait containers.  Minnesota people (and maybe others), you know what I'm talking about, the plastic containers that look like they might be a small cottage cheese container, but inside there is dirt and worms.

The girls were very happy with their finished products...

Since we live in an apartment and can't start a compost pile, I was concerned about what in the world we were going to do with two bottles of dirt, rotting lettuce, and worms.  The recycling person told me we could keep the containers inside for about a month for the girls to observe the process, then we will have to dump them outside somewhere so the worms can go live a happy life.  So, the containers are on the kitchen counter, next to the plastic cup holding the dead bright green beetle the girls found and the jar with a spider the girls found.  We are a mini-science lab!

I am very happy to see that the public library here has good programs for the kids, a good selection of materials, and very friendly and helpful staff.  Now, they just need to hire me :)

Summer Fun Camp

The Summer Fun Girls

Showing the backs of their camp shirts, and Elise goofing.

After our move, I wanted the girls to meet kids and have some fun, but didn't want to put them in daycare because I didn't have any local recommendations and wanted to be able to have some flexibility and give the girls a variety of experiences.  So, we signed them up for a variety of one- and two-week summer camps, some through Fredericksburg Parks and Rec, some through the YMCA near our apartment, and some through other local organizations.

The first two weeks we were here, Elise took tennis lessons and Anja did an arts camp, both through Fredericksburg Parks and Rec.  This week, both girls started a two-week camp called Summer Fun Camp, again through Fredericksburg Parks and Rec.  The camp is held at an elementary school.

For Anja's age group, she has camp Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to noon and is with one teacher that whole time, though they go into different areas of the school to do various activities.  Here are some projects she has done:

My favorite project Anja made this week

A very pretty noise making shaker.  I'm sure it has educational value, but it gets noisy in the house!

Anja's two-sided mask.  This is the happy side...

and this is the grumpy side.

Elise's age group also has camp Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to noon.  Her time is structured differently from Anja's, because Anja is in the preschool group and Elise is in the elementary age group.  The elementary aged kids break up their 3-hour block into three one-hour classes.  When registering, Elise got to indicate her top choices for classes, and they try to get kids into their top choice when they can. 

The girls looking at all the classes at Summer Fun Camp

 This week, Elise has spent one hour each day in Drumming, one hour in Spanish, and one hour in All-Sports.  Next week her schedule will be different and she will be in three different classes.  Today, after four days in Drumming class, they had a performance for family and friends. 

Elise's drumming class performing.

You go, girl!

It was soooo cool!  Now I want to get one of these drums to have in the house!  You can see video of Elise's drumming performance here:  Welcome Song and Mmmm, Chocolate