Back to School- 1st and 4th Grade Edition

Today was the first day of school for our 1st and 4th graders!  There were a few back-to-school jitters over the past couple of days, but everyone was excited and the kids had big smiles on their faces this morning.  

We found out the children's teachers via phone call last Thursday morning, and went to Open House that afternoon.  This is always a huge day for the students, as they find out who is in their class, meet their teachers, and see their new classrooms.  It's an equally emotional day for the mamas, who pray for a good teacher fit all summer, and anxiously await that morning phone call.  I was absolutely thrilled with both teacher assignments and we had a whirlwind of a day communicating with friends about who got which teacher, greeting school staff/hugging past teachers at Open House, and catching up with every single parent & elementary-aged child in the town of Oak Ridge (where one is asked and answers the phrase "How was your summer?" approximately 728 times).   

Soccer started this weekend, and after morning practices, Daddy had the great idea to have the "First Annual Winterhoff Family End-of-Summer Bash" on Saturday afternoon/evening.  Part of the fun of this event was that you had to say the entire formal title every time that you referred to it, which was a mouthful and made us giggle.  There were lawn games, music, kids' choice of take-out dinner (anything from Oak Ridge Town Commons), fire pit with smores, and sparklers:

It was such a fun way to celebrate the end of summer as a family, and on Sunday morning we continued our preparations by taking Back to School photos before church. Yep, we faked the front porch pictures with Thing 1 and Thing 2 by taking them 24 hours early... and it's my NEW FAVORITE tradition!  

This came about as a result of Mommy's back-to-school outfit vision for Leah.  Earlier this summer, I found the most adorable dress with pencils on it...and you know how much I love a good theme!  What could be more perfect for the first day of school than PENCILS on a dress?!   Leah liked the dress and agreed to wear it on the first day (Bless you, dear girl, for humoring your mommy!).  And then we walked into Leah's new classroom at Open House and saw a big note from the teacher on the board:  

"We have P.E. the first day of school.  Please make sure your child wears comfortable shorts, a tee shirt, and sneakers on Monday."

NOOOOOO!

Mark saw my face and saved the day by suggesting that Leah wear her dress to church on Sunday (and possible again on the second day of school tomorrow, too!).  He proposed the idea of a photo shoot on Sunday morning to capture the "spirit" of the First Day of School, but without the stress (and with the cute outfit included!).  It turned out to be so easy, and there was no rushing around and no bus to catch.  How I love that man, and how much he "gets" me!  

Yesterday also happened to be Winnie's 13th birthday, so we had her birthday party in the afternoon.  Every year, the children pick out special dog toy presents for their furry sister.  This year, they thought it would be hilarious to give Winnie "pizza and beer", which she seemed to thoroughly enjoy:

We made a kibble cake for Winnie (complete with ice cream and peanut butter), sang to her, and generally made a huge deal of her birthday celebration.  Mark and I are so thankful that we've shared 13 years with our precious puppy, and each day truly is a gift with this sweet girl who gives us so much joy.  By the end of the day, our birthday girl was pooped from being the center of attention:

  

Last night, we read "The Night Before First Grade", and I had a moment where it was hard to believe that my baby is such a big girl:

The bus came this morning with our beloved & familiar Ms. Debbie as bus driver again this year- Hooray!  The kids raced onto the bus, and there were no tears for anyone, which is such a great feeling and so different than Mama's waterworks last year on Leah's first day of kindergarten:

Our new teenager missed her Sissie and Bubbie today.  It was quiet at home, and right around school dismissal time this afternoon, Winnie walked to the front door and waited for me to open it for her.  She plopped down in her usual spot, and waited patiently for the sound of the bus.  (What's not pictured is that she ran/hobbled joyously all the way to the bus to "fetch" her brother and sister when they got home.  I haven't seen that much energy or tail wagging from her in months!) 

Finally, here are our annual Back to School photos of our two favorite little students.  Wishing them a great school year with many wonderful moments! 

Now that she's a teenager, Winnie has perfected the eye roll at these pictures!

Sports Excitement and the Solar Eclipse!

This week, we had the opportunity to go to not one, but two Greensboro Grasshoppers games.  We especially love our minor league baseball team for its special canine "team members".  Miss Babe Ruth, Master Yogi Berra, and Miss LuLuGehrig are the black labs who add so much energy and joy to the game by picking up discarded bats, retrieving balls, and racing around the bases during breaks.  Each time we go to the stadium, we like to take a picture with their statues so that we can show Winnie when we get home:

    

Luke also loves "pushing" the giant baseballs.  Every. single. time. 

 Our first Grasshoppers game on Tuesday night was with a group of people from Daddy's work.  We had a party deck, food, and covered seating, and thought that this was a pretty nice way to watch the game.  Then we were invited to come to another game yesterday with our friends who had a box... and the rest is history.  Mommy decided that this air conditioned, comfy, private suite is actually her favorite way to watch baseball, and that regular ol' bleacher seats may not be appealing ever again.  The Grasshoppers mascot, Guilford, and the Greensboro Swarm mascot even made a special visit to our suite, and these little fans were elated!

Leah was the only girl, and had no trouble keeping up with all those crazy boys!

The kids were invited to run the bases after the game, and this was a big highlight for Luke and Leah!

Saturday also proved to be a special day, as we attended WFU FanFest.  There were inflatables, games, and activities on the football field, which provided entertainment for the children while Mommy held our place in the line to obtain autographs from the football team.  

We ended up very close to the front of the line, and the kids were able to get every starting player's autograph.  They were absolutely star struck, and I love that Luke and Leah are the perfect ages to have this be the pinnacle of their celebrity sightings!  

 The players were very kind to our children, took their time conversing with L&L, and asked them their names and hobbies.  Here's Luke chatting with the quarterback:

Coach Clawson was at the end of the line, and he talked to us and posed for a picture with our family after he signed the kids' posters.  Daddy was very excited about this moment! 

 We also found the Demon Deacon, who has a new, fresh look!:

 Our luck continued as the kids posed beside the gigantic 18-wheeler that carries all of the football team's equipment to away games.  The driver spotted us and offered to open up the truck for Luke and Leah to climb in and look around:

Two VERY enthusiastic Wake Forest fans!

Love her fierce Demon Deacon scowl!

This WFU football player went to my elementary/middle school and was one of Mimi's students.  He remembered this, and we were excited to take a picture with him to show her!  I will not mention that he is less than 10 years older than Luke and more than 20 years younger than me.  Nope.  Won't talk AT ALL about how old that makes me feel:

We recovered from all of our sports excitement in time for the solar eclipse today.  The kids were ready with their eclipse glasses and a themed cookie cake:

We watched the eclipse on live television this afternoon as it hit the west coast, and eagerly awaited our special moment, where the moon would cover 93% of the sun in our area:

All of the excitement and hype quickly wore off as clouds and some rain moved in.  These are the faces of three bored children.  I told the kids that we could go inside and watch more on tv, and Leah (who was on the verge of tears) moaned, "But I want to see it in person!" 

Then, suddenly, there was a break in the clouds, and we were able to see the eclipse occur.  These expressions say it all! 

We ended up having an impromptu "Eclipse Party" in our yard with many of our neighbors.  (That's what happens when you have coveted eclipse glasses and cookie cake!).  It ended up being a great afternoon for everyone, and Luke has already asked if we can make plans to watch the next total solar eclipse (which he informed me is in Chile and Argentina in 2019).  Between those plane fares and my new love of suites at sports events, we better start saving our pennies now!  

Good News and Bad News

We found out last week that Luke's favorite basketball player is leaving Wake Forest unexpectedly to play professional basketball in Greece.  Dinos Mitoglou was Luke's very first sports idol.  We're not sure where the fascination with the "Greek Deac" originated, but it has been so much fun as a parent to watch our little boy's eyes light up watching Dinos play.  We've cheered for him on tv and in person during countless WFU games, followed his stats, and taken delight in our son's interest in basketball thanks to Dinos.  We even obtained an autographed Dinos Mitoglou program and card for Luke's 7th birthday, and was one of the most exciting presents that we've ever given our son.  

When Mark shared the news with me that Dinos won't be returning to WFU to play his senior year basketball season, my heart sunk.  

"I'm not telling Luke," I told Mark.  "You're going to have to break this news to him..."

And so a couple days ago, we were all in the car together, and Mark said to Luke, 

"Hey buddy, I've got good news and bad news.  I'll tell you part of it, and you can guess if it's the good news or the bad..."

Luke agreed and Mark continued: 

"Dinos Mitoglou decided to go back to Greece to play professional basketball this year!"

Luke responded, "That's the bad news, right?"

Ever optimistic, Daddy answered, "No, that's the GOOD news!  How cool for him to make millions of dollars doing what he loves... and he gets to go back to his home and be near all of his family and friends!"

"Guess what the bad news is?" Mark continued.

And without missing a beat, Luke earnestly answered, "We're going to have to go all the way to Greece to watch him play!"

I laughed so hard that I cried.  That sweet little boy really, really thought that was the bad news!  How we adore Luke and these hysterical parenting moments! 

Good luck, Dinos!  We'll miss you!

July Highlights

I can't believe it's the last day of July...This month has flown by!  We have had such a nice rhythm of activities, with a couple of weeks of morning camps for the kids, pool time in the afternoons, play dates with friends, and a trip to Pennsylvania/Daddy's birthday sprinkled in at the end.   Here are some of our July highlights:

Luke returned to U.K. Elite Soccer Camp, which is held at our elementary school each summer.  He has gone for several years and loves this week-long morning camp.  Leah also decided to attend soccer camp for the first time, and I was delighted to have both kids there!  This year, the weather was incredibly hot... it was in the mid to high 90's all week, and I was very anxious about my babies being outside running around in the heat for three hours each day.  However, L&L were all smiles, and even received "double popsicles" on the really hot days!  Soccer camp was a hit for everyone, and was a great first experience for Leah, who absolutely wowed her coaches with her skills and positive attitude:

Oak Ridge U.K. Elite Soccer Camp 2017.

Another week in July consisted of Lego Robotics Camp for Luke at the Greensboro Science Center.  The theme this year was "Shark Survival" (please note his adorable coordinating attire), and Luke was once again thrilled to have his two best friends in his programming class.   

Luke and Aiden giving their demo of the robot that they programmed/created.

Leah's Science Center camp theme was "Icky, Sticky Science", and Peanut came home each day bubbling with details about all of the fun experiments that she did in her class.  We carpooled with our friends, and after camp was over on Friday, we took the kids out to lunch at Cugino Forno (a new, authentic Neapolitan pizza place in town).  The chefs let our kiddos make their own pizza, and they watched their creation bake in the 800-degree oven from Italy!  

Another highlight of Luke's month was going to see Despicable Me 3 at the cinema (yes, that's what my kids call it) with Aiden.  These best friends have their own minion language and were in their element at this movie.  

Leah has had her share of play dates this month, too, and this special day with her buddy was bittersweet, as his family moved to Virginia the next week.  We will miss this sweet friend and are thankful for a great year in kindergarten/Chess Club with Isaac: 

Mimi and Gawa stopped by and spent the night at our house on their way back from the beach midway through the month.  No visit is complete without fishing at our neighborhood lake for Gawa (who the kids declare is an "expert fisherman"), and this time, Leah was the one with the biggest catch! 

We also went to a Winston-Salem Dash game that evening, and enjoyed a cooler evening at the ballpark! 

We've spent many afternoons at the pool, and this summer deserves special note as it is the first time that I have been comfortable enough to read a book while my children swim.  Parents of young children understand what a momentous milestone this is... After years of being within arms' reach of toddlers/preschoolers in the water and eyes on my little swimmers at all times, we have come a long way!  The kids love swimming with their friends at the pool and it's been a July favorite of ours.

Last week, our family also participated in "Quest for the Golden Deac", an alumni scavenger hunt at Wake Forest.  This was such a fun evening on campus, and we won 4th place for our successful completion of the questions and creativity in posing for a picture which epitomized "Go Deacs!"  

We may have snuck onto the WFU practice football field for this one!

Our July trip to Pennsylvania included some familiar favorites as well as several new adventures.  We returned to Indian Echo Caverns, where both kids adore gem mining, and this was Leah's first time to tour the vast, underground caverns:

We also visited the Amish House and Farm in Lancaster.  This was an adorable, idyllic and educational place.  We learned so much about Amish culture, and the kids were VERY well behaved for the informative 1+ hr tour through the Amish house... Thankfully, there were lots of interactive outdoor exhibits as well, and we really enjoyed touring the grounds:

This silly racing game in the barn had Luke and Leah giggling uncontrollably!

Amish Buggy.

Feeding the goats on the farm.

Amish children's scooters.

The Scooter Run was one of their favorite things!

Leah takes a front row seat in the Amish One Room School House.

Our family also went tubing for the first time while in PA.  This was a blast, and we will definitely repeat this activity soon.  We didn't have our cameras/phones with us during our 1.5 hour ride down the creek in our tubes, which is just as well, since Luke & I came within 12 inches of a black snake who was hanging out in a tree... and I screamed like a little girl.  Leah and Daddy are convinced that we made the whole thing up, but some things are just better left unphotographed and hopefully erased from our memories SOON!  The rest of our tubing experience was much less eventful, and we loved it!

Getting ready to go tubing!

Yesterday was Mark's birthday, and we had the perfect summer family day celebrating our birthday boy: Sunday School & church, going out to lunch, bike rides, playing at the park, picnic dinner on the porch, and a bonfire after the kids went to bed (Shh- Don't tell them!)... Life is good!

Love her party hat!

As you can see, our July has full of summer fun, and we still have four weeks before school starts to pack in our August adventures!