Speed Rider

Earlier this summer I wrote about Shelby learning to ride her bike. Soon after she mastered it, we bought her a new bike that was about 4 inches higher than her first. She didn't really like it at first because she could only reach the ground with her tip toes if she was sitting on the bike seat. This caused a few spills which upset her to spitting at the bike, kicking it and telling it she hated it as she stomped away. About a month ago she has really decided to ride that thing. To the point that is all she wants to do when she is outside. One week she pretended it was her horse and named it Brownie. On Saturday I decided to load the bike up and take them to her school so they could ride on the playground. She had a lot of fun riding with all that space. She puts as much energy into peddling that bike as she does everything else..... everything that is except cleaning her room!

Back at It

Shelby started gymnastics tonight after a 4 week break or so. For the first time she has a male for her teacher. It will be interesting to see what she thinks about that. She did say she had a lot of fun tonight. I think she has benefited in many ways from being in gymnastics. One obvious way is the balance she has developed. In my opinion, that balance was 1 reason she so quickly learned how to ride her bike on 2 wheels. Also.....

The girls were outside playing after school and Shelby was running around kicking a ball. I hate to say it since it is like a 4 letter word in our house, but I think she could be a good soccer player. She has the speed and endurance to run and the coordination to kick the ball at the same time without tripping or falling down. It is hard to figure out how to try all these new things to see what your kids might be good at or enjoy. On top of her physical abilities, she seems to be a natural at drama. Grandma Mary thinks she needs to get involved in children's theatre next summer. Who has the time or the money for all this stuff?!?

Morgan Starts Gymnastics

Morgan started gymnastics on Tuesday. 1 year has made a big difference from the first time we tried putting her in a class, but I still have to remind myself that she's 3. Luckily for the teacher, at this point there are only 3 in her class. 1 who did gymnastics for the first time on Tuesday and struggled doing a forward roll down a slanted mat. 1 who is a whiner and complained when Queen Klutz Morgs sat on her hand when she was trying to sit on the line next to her. And Morgan, the girl with a zero attention span. She did pretty good with the stretching. And she did ok with all the things she was told to do. Only problem was she would do it once and say, "what should I do now"? I think the 2 other moms thought she had been doing gymnastics for a long time. She has been watching gymnastics for the last 2 years and pretty much will try anything Shelby does at home. And she is a fearless monkey. This isn't the best picture but I had to take it with my phone since I left the camera at home!

It's Only the Beginning........

Shelby had a small meltdown this morning while getting ready for school. Last night I chose to not wash her hair as I wanted to braid it this morning. She has really gotten into wearing headbands (as you may have noticed from the photos) so she can keep the short curly hairs in the front of her head smoothed down. I didn't feel she needed a headband since she already had a hair tie in the back of her hair. I'm not one for overdoing the look I guess. She had a fit and said she looked like an "idiot"! I told her teacher before school if she seemed to be in a mood it was because she was having a bad hair day. I think she got over it. While waiting to pick her up, Jack's mom (the boy who sits next to her at the table & someone I got to know stuffing envelopes at school yesterday) came up to me. She had Shelby news. Jane also has a 5th grade daughter at the school. The 5th graders help the K's at lunch, etc. Shelby & Jack have the same 5th grade friend. She told the 5th grade helpers that the principal was "HOT"! They thought that was hilarious. When does this stop and she decides boys are yuck (at least for awhile anyway)?

First Full Day

I had a hard time calling yesterday Shelby's first day of school since she only went for 1 hour and mom and dad stayed. So today I thought I would take her picture again and give a few details from the first big day. We got to bed early last night and just like yesterday she was up and dressed before the alarm went off. The first thing she asked me was, "When is recess?" I didn't think that was a good sign. Since she is one who is always looking for some fun, I shouldn't be surprised! She seemed really excited all morning - until we got in her class line outside. (The classes meet in lines out on the playground and the teachers come out to get them and lead them to their rooms). She didn't look very happy and I thought she was going to cry. But she held the tears in and the mom of the girl in front of her in line (Audrey) introduced themselves so that kind of helped. When I picked her up she and Audrey hugged good-bye. She brought home a green light card for good behavior so that is a good start. She said her favorite part of the day was recess. She did eat the hot lunch today. Hot dogs were on the menu so I figured it would be good for her to try it out. I think tomorrow she is going to take her lunch. Her dad was impressed she could recite the Pledge of Allegiance after 1 day of school but I had to burst his bubble and tell him she learned that in AWANAS at church since she has been saying that once a week for the last 2 years! And who knows, they probably said it in pre-school as well. She's sharp, but probably not that sharp!

Morgan didn't think it was fair that Shelby had her picture taken so we had to take hers too after dropping big sis off at school.

Shelby's First Day of Kindergarten

Today was the first day of Kindergarten for Shelby! Hard to believe 5 years has gone by so fast. I did my best to get her in bed early last night which I did, but she was still up at 10:30 saying she was too excited to sleep. I set her alarm for 7:15 but just as I stepped in the shower at 6:55, my door opened and there she stood all dressed and ready to go! She was yawning at school so I don't think it will take long for her to figure out she needs to sleep at night. She only had to go for 1 hour today with mom and dad for an orientation. We basically put her supplies away and had our picture taken with her. Her teacher is Mrs. Ghrist and is the youngest of the 3 kindergarten teachers at her school, graduating from ISU in 2004. She is expecting her first child in September or October so Shelby will have a substitute for awhile. Her name is Mrs. Lowe and we met her today as well. She sounds like she will be an excellent sub so no worries there. It looks like they have 25 in the class. Mrs. Ghrist is lucky to have a teacher's assistant I think although she didn't seem the slightest bit overwhelmed with all the people in her room this morning! Shelby has 1 other girl at her table with 3 boys. The girl's name is Micah. I hope she isn't confused and tells her she has a boy's name since this is the name of her new boy cousin from Ethiopia. There is one church friend in her classroom named Kaitlyn. At lunch and recess she will catch up with Carson from next door, Christopher from church and the street behind us, Emily from church and Sophie from across the street and church. Sophie is in 1st grade but going to this school for the first time so she will be looking for familiar faces too I think! Tomorrow is the first full day so more to come I'm sure!

Freezing Sweet Corn

Last week the girls and I headed back to WI to freeze some sweet corn for the winter. Aunt Ashley stuck around to help with corn and play. We never did make it to the big pool but there is always something we never get done due to lack of time or the weather. We finished up the corn about 1 AM the first night so we had fun the rest of the week. The girls helped with the husking but didn't enjoy the few green worms they found. They didn't do too bad. Morgan helped in the house with soaking & cooking the corn. Since corn is one of the few vegetables they like, it was worth making another trip. (Not sure why some of these pics are going the wrong way when they were all taken the same way. I'll never figure this part out of a blog)!

Quote of the Day

We spent a little time at the park this morning. Today is a true summer day. Hot, little humid and a small breeze. Not bad for summer. Better than the last couple of days anyway. I think Shelby's cheeks could turn red just sitting in a warm car. On the way home she is cooked and says, "It is like a desert out here. Let's go to the pet store and buy a camel"! Oh the imagination.

Johnson Family Picnic

My Grandma Johnson chose to not have a family gathering at Christmas last year. Instead a summer picnic was scheduled for Saturday, August 1st. When my Grandpa Johnson passed away in January 2008, his obituary listed 12 children, 48 grandchildren (2 deceased) and 32 great-grandchildren. It will be an amazing number of great-grandchildren when all is said and done. My youngest 1st cousin will be in the second grade this year. The picnic was well attended. I roughly calculated 95 family members present. I think around 22 were not there. Everyone seemed to have a great time. One of my aunts prepared some games for adults and kids alike.

Shelby with my cousin Payton playing egg toss









Shelby, Noah & Aunt Ashley participating in the flour bags fight










Morgan playing water balloon toss with Noah











Shelby playing fill the water bottle on the forehead










Pass the sponge game










Shelby sitting out a game










Pinata Beating

Both girls loved riding

I asked for a picture and this is what I got

My oldest brother Jeremy and his wife Sarah are going to adopt a 4 1/2 year old boy named Micah from Ethiopia. They will be going to get him around mid September. We had a small shower for them during the picnic.

Probably the most memorable part of the picnic for me was watching my uncle Tom chase my 2 young cousins Colton and Payton. Because Colton is kind of a trouble maker, we all assumed they dumped something down Tom's back while he was relaxing in the lawn chair. As we were watching Jeremy and Sarah open their gifts, the chase was on. Later we found out that Tom asked Payton for a kiss and she said he had to catch her first. This was funny to me because when I was a kid I was close to one of Tom's daughter's Terra. Whenever we asked if we could do something together the answer from Tom was always, "Only if Sarah gives me a kiss." Since Tom has always had a full beard and a somewhat scary personality, I was tortured as a child by uncle Tom and his kisses!

Best Line Yet

Shelby has been known to say some pretty funny things. Not so funny as well, but we won't go there. I heard her say what I think is her funniest yet. If you have been reading my posts, you read about her WeeBall awards. Last Friday the girls and I dropped Nate off at a baseball showcase in Plainfield and headed to Aurora to the outlet mall. When we returned to the field to pick him up, his coaching buddy Mark came along to say hi. We had her tell him about the WeeBall ribbons. After he responded with a "way to go" and mentioned something about her speed she says, "Yeah, there is a lot of speed behind these high heels". Where does she come up with stuff like that? Your guess is as good as mine!