Back to school preparations (or lack thereof)

David and Mary go back to school on Tuesday.  I'd put off all back to school preparations until after our trip to Door County.  So I'd like to say that I've been rushing around this week buying new clothes, sharpening pencils, and organizing school supplies.  But mostly I've just been a lazy bum about it.

Normally, I would carefully work on choosing a back-to-school outfit with them.  But David is a boy.  He will be perfectly happy wearing one of his two thousand Star Wars shirts.  Besides, he refuses to wear any shirt without "something big" on the front, so, really, I'm not going to bother trying to wrestle him into a nice preppy shirt.  (I gave up last year.)  And he can wear a pair of his many old, faded shorts.  These are all the same shorts he's been wearing since he was four.  That's how skinny he is.  (People, please please make me get rid of his shorts!  I'm sure they'll still fit around the waist next summer too, but another summer with them would be just wrong.)  Anyway...Star Wars T-shirt, faded shorts.  Check. David's all set.

Mary, on the other hand, would love nothing more than to go school clothes shopping.  But that girl can just wear one of her new summer outfits.  We had to go mid-summer shopping for Mary.  This was our first summer out of the toddler section, and I made a few mistakes at the beginning of the summer.  For one, I completely underestimated the shortness of the shorts in the girls section.  So all summer Mary's underpants have been hanging out the bottom of her shorts.  Frankly, I was too sick to care, and, besides, she's only four (and it's not like we managed to get out of the house much).  But come August, it occurred to me she was going to have NOTHING to wear during those first few warm, summery weeks back at school--unless she was going to be showing off her bum cheeks to the whole school.  So I basically bought her a whole new summer wardrobe, one that keeps her bare cheeks and panties out of sight.  As long as the weather stays warm, she'll have plenty to wear.  So no new school clothes.

As far as school supplies go...I've been just as lazy.  I am normally super uptight about buying EXACTLY what is on the supply list, driving around town to five different stores in search of the teacher's preferred brand or size.  But this time I decided I was making one trip to our nearby Target, and it would just have to do.  When I arrived, I realized the major flaw in my plan.  I should have made my one trip to Target six weeks ago.  Everything was picked over and out of stock.  (Why is it not reasonable to expect to be able to do your school supply shopping the week before school?)  But I took a deep breath, recommitted myself to making it work, and got to work with my favorite shopping companion, Mary.  Trudging back and forth between the back to school area and the office supplies, we managed to cobble together a near-complete list.  So the markers are the wrong color, the erasers the wrong brand, the pencils crappy, and the glue sticks too small...I don't care!  This is a monumental achievement for the OCD/Type-A/perfectionist/people-pleaser person in me!  Yeah, David's teacher might be a little annoyed.  But any therapist would be extremely proud.

As far as Mary's school supplies...nada.  It aligned perfectly with my laziness.  (Though we did have to write a big fat supply check to her school.  Ouch.  But, honestly, less painful than buying the supplies yourself.)  We did, however, have to buy her a lunchbox since she will be going full day.  Which was no small matter.  Her school aims for waste-free lunches. We're definitely zip-lock bag/juice box/paper napkin folks in this house.  But I can be a team player.  So we had to find a kid-friendly, dishwasher-safe (my requirement!!) bento-type system and a lunch box it would fit in, all in pretty colors of course.  Definitely more work than one trip to Target.

The last step before starting school (except for a couple of important-ish things I'll take care of this weekend) was visiting their classrooms.  Yesterday morning we stopped by Mary's school for a tour of the new building.  It's beautiful!!  I was feeling a little grouchy during the 25 minutes it took to get there (ugh), but the new location is lovely and the building is wonderful.  We checked out the whole school, but the best part was seeing Mary's classroom.  It's big and bright with a gorgeous view of a Wisconsin prairie.  Anna, Mary's teacher, happened to be there working in the room, and as soon as she saw Mary she immediately ran to her and scooped her up.  Anna loves Mary so much.  I almost started crying when I saw how safe and loved Mary felt in Anna's arms.  Needless to say, Mary loves Anna so much too.

Mary is going to have a great year.  She's been going to a Montessori school for the past two years with the same teacher and same kids.  She was in what's called the Children's House, which is for 3-6 year olds, and it's really meant to be a three year experience.  The first two years the child attends every morning.  And the 3rd year is the capstone experience.  It's called Extended Day, and it's the Montessori equivalent of Kindergarten.  After the younger two-thirds of the class leaves each day, the older children stay for the afternoon.  They are a small, intimate group, of about 7-12.  They spend the afternoon refining reading, writing, and math skills; cooking; taking nature walks; sewing; listening to chapter books; working on projects.  They also learn how to be leaders and how to help the younger kids.  

It's an experience we realized we want Mary to have.  It will be a change, her being gone all day.  And I have no doubt the transition will be bumpy--she will be so tired after school!  But she is ready.  It doesn't feel like sending her off to kindergarten though.  She will be with a teacher who has already loved her for two years.  She will be with good friends.  Though the building is new, the classroom feels comfortable and she's already  familiar with the materials and methods and routines.  It's a relief not to be sending her into the unknown.

I'm excited to send David off to school too, for him.  We visited his classroom last night and dropped off his school supplies.  He got a WONDERFUL teacher! (David had a brand new teacher last year, and, while I have the deepest sympathy for new teachers, I was ready for David to have someone more experienced this time around.)   I have heard she's the best, and, since she was one of the science fair judges last year, I got to know her a little, and I can see why she's so beloved.  As soon as we walked in the door, she recognized him (her classroom was across from his last year) and gave him a big hug.  My heart melted--he's an affectionate kid, and I felt like he was going to be in good hands.  

Also, David is in the same class as his best friend Bailey.  Again!  That's three years in a row!   I know a few other BFFs that have been in classes together for years at his school.  I just don't think it's a coincidence.  I think the principal and teachers make an effort to keep good friends together.  In fact, David has a number of other good friends in his class too.  Hooray!  If it's a good, healthy friendship, why not allow the kids to foster it and be happy at school?  That is so different from how I grew up--they always made a concerted effort to use class assignments as a way to break up groups of friends.  (Why???  Looking back, it seems so cruel and pointless.  Obviously you need to separate kids who are truly disruptive or in some kind of dysfunctional relationship, but if it's a normal happy friendship, why try to break it up?)  Apparently, David's school is keeping up with the latest research.  Just another thing I really like about his school:  They encourage friendship, instead of fearing it. (For example, you don't see things in the classrooms like having the seating chart be "shy girl," "rowdy boy, "shy girl.")

So, now that I have rambled enough, I am coming around to my point.  I think this is going to be a very good school year for my kids.  I know there will be bumps along the way, but overall I expect it be a positive experience with lots of learning, growth, and friends.  That is why it is hard for me to be sad about David and Mary going back to school.  I really will miss them, but they have greater things waiting for them.  

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By the way, next year, when they're both at a new school in a new state I'm sure I will be a WRECK!!  Oh, it's going to be so hard.  I'm saving all of my tears for then.

By the way again, we have no idea what Mary will do next year.  She'll be quite young for first grade--her birthday's not until October--but it's hard to imagine her going to kindergarten next year, especially if it's only half day where we move.  I love Montessori, but not the tuition. So who knows.  We try not to play up the "you're going to kindergarten this year" thing, in case she does go to regular public school kindergarten next year.  But most of her friends are starting kindergarten this year, so we do tell her she's doing kindergarten too but it's called Extended Day at her school.  And that she might do regular K next year but maybe first grade but really we don't know so just have fun this year and we love you a lot.  She takes it all in stride.  (Probably the only thing she takes in stride.)

Summer vacation! Maritime Museum and Potawatomi State Park

Door County Maritime Museum

David really wanted to take his grandparents on the tour of the John Purves tug at the Door County Maritime Museum.  So on our last day we packed our bags (while David and Grandpa played a final game of chess) and drove down to Sturgeon Bay to visit the museum.

The museum is really quite good!  This time there was a special exhibit on pirates.  David and Mary loved playing on the pint-sized pirate ship.  Then, while David took his dad and grandparents on the tug tour, Mary and I hung out eating fruit snacks and watching the draw bridge.

After the museum, we drove to find some lunch.  And ran into this...

Potawatomi State Park

Potawatomi State Park was the last stop on our trip.  Poor David and Mary!  They had been such good sports all week.  But by this point, all they wanted to do was climb in the car and watch Phineas and Ferb for four hours straight.  They were devastated to learn we were going to one more state park--for both kayaking and a bike ride.  But we dragged them along, and, despite exhaustion and bad attitudes, there was no all out mutiny on their part.

Here we are down at Sawyer Harbor, getting ready to put in.  This time I went with Greg and the kids in a canoe, and my parents took out the kayaks.

I didn't take my camera with us.  But I'll tell you that we came back looking like drowned rats.  We got caught in a huge downpour.  Imagine the whining and crying.  Wait, don't--it will give you a headache.  But it was one of those things that was so bad it was hilarious, and eventually we were all laughing.  It certainly made the canoe trip more memorable!

After returning the canoe, we let the kids play around in the old, junky nature center.  They loved it.  They inspected the specimens and put on a puppet show for us.  Once we had mustered the energy, we set out on our family bike ride.  It was on nearly deserted roads through the state park's beautiful forests.  This was my favorite ride of our trip.  (Probably because we'd thoroughly worn out David, and our little pace setter didn't kick my rear...as much.)  I love my sweet family!

Near the end of the ride, we spotted a cargo ship way out yonder.

Soon enough, it came closer for a better view.  Pretty exciting!

There is a shipyard and huge dry dock in Sturgeon Bay.  We figure it was on its way for repairs.

And that was that.  We climbed in car, put on the electronics, and drove home, exhausted but happy.


Oh, David and Mary, thank you for your patience.  We had so much fun with you!

Truly, David and Mary were a delight to travel with.  Despite my best intentions, I wasn't very good at relaxing on this trip.  I tend to want to go-go-go and do-do-do when we travel.  David and Mary definitely kept up.  There is no denying that this new baby is going to slow us down.  So it was wonderful to enjoy this time together before our lives change again.  (Oh, it is so nice having a seven-year-old and a five-year-old...and no body else.  It's, yes, easy.  But I guess life can't/shouldn't stay easy for too long...)

It was also great to have my parents with us. It was so fun!  David and Mary loved spending time with them.  I appreciate how patient my parents were in entertaining them and how flexible my parents were in allowing us to meet our kids' needs.  I loved watching my kids interact with their grandparents without any of the distractions of real life to draw them away.  This was a trip of memory-making.  Memories that will stay with us forever.  Thank you, Mom and Dad!

Summer vacation! P.C. Junction and Tennison Bay

P.C. Junction

I got a tip from a friend who comes up to Door County a lot with her family that we should check out the restaurant on the corner of County Road A and County Road EE.  She insisted that my kids would like it.

She was absolutely right!  Not only did the kids like it, they LOVED it.  It was probably the highlight of their trip.  It's this great little restaurant where you sit at a bar made out of old doors and a model train delivers your food.  How fun is that?

Even better, the grounds surrounding the restaurant are sprawling with fun, free activities--slides, volleyball, pigs, play structures, basketball, billiards, giant chess, and so on.  The favorite by far was the off-road, pedal-powered race cars.

David seriously believed he had died and gone to heaven--he had so much fun with those cars!

Mary also enjoyed playing giant chess with Grandpa Mike.

 (What I really need is a picture of David and Grandpa playing chess in the hotel game room.  Another major highlight of the trip for David was playing chess.  He constantly begged to go back to the hotel to play chess with Grandpa.  He misses their games a lot, now that we're home.  Apparently, Grandpa was an especially flexible and patient opponent.  Mom and Dad?  Not so much.)

I believe we will have to make another trip up to Door County before we move--if nothing else because the kids want to go back to P.C. Junction so badly!


Tennison Bay

Later that afternoon (after a much needed nap), we returned to Peninsula State Park.  Greg and I wanted to take out the kayaks.  We put in at Tennison Bay and paddled up around the peninsula to Nicolet Bay and came back.  It was so, so nice.  I realized we hadn't been kayaking just the two of us in over seven years!!  We used to go so often, back in the day, before kids.  How I've missed those peaceful paddles with my best friend.  (Hmmm.  Now that both kids are going to be in school all day this fall, do you think it is bad to beg your husband to take a few hours off from working on his dissertation in the middle of the week to go kayaking while your kids are in school??)

Meanwhile, my parents took the kids on the state park's nature walk.  Rather, TRIED to take the kids on the nature walk.  David and Mary absolutely, stubbornly refused.  Fortunately, my parents could see the humor in the situation (sometimes when you're seven or four, you've just had ENOUGH) and took them to get frozen custard in Fish Creek.  Here is a picture from the nature walk that never happened.

(For the record, the kids were really good on the trip.  I haven't written about whining and complaining because it was at a minimum, especially for my kids.  They were troopers.  For the most part, they went along with the agenda, even when they didn't want to.  It wasn't all bubblegum and rainbows--but for the most part the kids were GREAT!  They were so fun to be with.  This summer Mary has been a bit of a booger.  She has not been pleasant to be with, to be perfectly honest.  I think she's been bored--it has been a boring summer, after all.  But on the trip she was like a different person.  She was energetic and cooperative and charming and fun!  I loved being with my kids!  And shouldn't that be the point of a family vacation?)

After we met my parents back at Tennison Bay, they took off to do some biking, and we were headed back to the hotel for swimming (and chess).  Except Greg and I were starving.  So we popped into Wild Tomato in Fish Creek, a pizza (and salad) place just outside the park entrance.  I'd heard good things about it--and it certainly lived up to its reputation.  It's one of those places that uses "quality fresh, local ingredients," which nowadays sounds cliche, but here you could taste the freshness and the local-ness.  So good.

Even the beverages were amazing.  This is cherry soda, made fresh for you with Door County cherry juice.  (Door County is famous for its cherries.)  It was divine.

I didn't get a picture of the pizza.  (I think I was too hungry to bother.)  But check this out.  The waitress brought the kids a little ball of pizza dough for them to play with.  She called it "pizza play-dough."  David and Mary loved it!  They played around with it while we waited for our food (and then into the trash it went).  It kind of saved the day too--they were tired and a little grouchy.  But a ball of dough is like magic!

With our tummies full of yummy food, we finally went back to hotel for an evening of lots and lots of swimming.  (Because what is a family vacation without swimming together at the hotel?)

Summer vacation! Cave Point and Cana Island

Cave Point County Park

Cave Point is one of those places that is very beautiful but gives a parents a heart attack.  The pictures do not do justice to the fear those cliffs strike in the heart of a mother.  Mary agreed to be careful, and she was.

But David, who is going through a fear phase so I completely expected him to be overly cautious, was a maniac, hopping and jumping and scampering about.  Let's just say David doesn't have the best motor control ever.  He is kind of a flailer.  So it was a very real possibility that he would trip and fall.  When Greg asked him to be careful, he responded, "If I fall in the water, and if Pokemon were real then I could just call my Pokemon to come rescue me!"  That's when Greg gave me his car keys and phone, since he knew he would be playing the role of Pokemon, jumping into the water.  Fortunately, David did not fall down the cliffs (though he did trip a few times on the rocks, confirming to us the possibility that this kid could go over at any time), and we all enjoyed the stunning setting.  (Really, it's beautiful!  And worth the perpetual state of heart attack.)

Cana Island Lighthouse

David and his grandparents climbed to the top of the lighthouse.  And all of us enjoyed the beauty of the surrounding shores of Lake Michigan.