jumpstart kindergarten, soccer begins, family hike

whew - another busy week here! we are making the most of summer, but i'm looking forward to some structure and routines in our future :)

last week was jumpstart kindergarten for ashford. it was at the school every morning from 9-12. they put the kids in groups that they intermix during the week and all of the kids get to be in each of the 4 kindergarten teachers' classrooms through out the week. it is such an awesome program! well, monday morning got off to a tough start for ashford. he was completely overcome with anxiety at drop off time in the gym and clung to me and cried like i was abandoning him. the staff were really sweet and tried to entice him to join the group, so i could leave, but he wasn't having it. he was so upset that i actually shed a few tears too because it broke my heart. i had to stay for the first 40 minutes until he felt comfortable enough for me to leave. i ended up missing most of the parent meeting, but that's okay. thankfully when i picked him up at noon, he was all smiles and said he had a great morning. i have two very different kiddos. azalea has always been totally comfortable being dropped off in a new environment. i'm learning to adapt to his needs, but it's hard. of course he wasn't the only kid there who was scared. azalea had her first morning of cheer camp at the community center, which was a big hit. we hung out at home in the afternoon.

tuesday morning thatcher came along to drop off and ashford parted ways with us with no tears. whew! he had a good morning at the program again.

in the afternoon we went to the outdoor pool in magnolia with vanessa and ewan. we have been there for lessons a few years ago, but never for open swim. the open swim sessions are only 90 minutes long, but we had a lot of fun. it was a beautiful day and we plan to go again this week. i didn't take any pictures because i was all wet as well :)

wednesday was another teary drop off at jumpstart because he didn't know anyone in his group, but not as bad as monday. in the afternoon we went to the library with another kindergarten family that just moved here this summer. azalea had her first soccer practice of the season that night. she is playing on a team with a bunch of 3rd grade girls from her school and one of the moms is coaching. it's a pretty big time commitment (3 days/week) but she really enjoys it and i think it is great for her to be a part of. thatcher and i tag-teamed being with the kids that night as i had a board meeting for the co-working space.

thursday was another smooth drop off. hurray! it was a short morning for the kids because they ended 30 minutes early for a family picnic and popcicles out on the playground. as a kindergarten "grade rep", i got to help hand out the popcicles. i can't remember if i mentioned my volunteer role on the blog, but i'll be doing communications to all of the parents in kindergarten through email and facebook and also helping to plan events. i'm really excited about it. 

after jumpstart and cheer camp, the kids and i headed to the greenlake wading pool for ashford's buddy wren's 5th birthday party. it was a really nice afternoon. the kids played in the water and ate (more) popcicles and ice cream sandwiches. rough life :)

friday was the last day of camps for the week (and for the summer!). i'm so glad that ashford had jumpstart week to help alleviate some of his worries about starting kindergarten and while i don't think we are totally out of the woods yet, i'm sure it helped immensely. we got to watch azalea do a 15 minute performance of cheers she learned. it was pretty cute!

saturday we decided to take a day trip to lake cushman and staircase for a picnic and some hiking. thatcher made popovers in the morning, packed them up, and then we drove over 2 hours. we ate our popovers with fruit overlooking the lake. it was really pretty. 

then we played on the rocks

we drove about 10 minutes to the trail head and then did a 2 mile loop along the river. it was really pretty. one of my favorite hikes we've done. the best part of the hike was when we passed a couple with their llamas on the trail! so funny! 

they look really happy here, but i assure you we heard more than our fair share of whining ;) 

on the way home we stopped at dairy queen for a late lunch and then took the ferry from bremerton back to seattle. it was a great day! 

sunday was for relaxing and running errands. we met up with some new (and old) families at the kids' school playground in the morning. thatcher had another community engagement event for work. when he got home, i took ashford to target to get his school supplies. i should have known better than to go there on a sunday afternoon because it was insanely busy and everything was picked over. we got all the supplies we needed, but only left with a few clothing items. not bad! i still can't believe kindergarten is almost here! 

we ended the weekend with home made pad thai and watching a movie. 1.5 weeks until azalea's first day of school and 2 weeks until ashford's!