This commute brought to you by bike, tram, car, and crazy

It feel so wonderful to finally be on our way. But wow - it is a busy life with kids in two different schools.

Today was our first day running the full routine and yikes, it feels a bit insane.

6 am	Margaret bikes 5 miles to the tram, and takes the tram to work
6:30 am	Daddy gets out of bed to 2 squirming kids, mom is arriving at work
8 am	Dressed and fed, Dad puts kids in the car to take them to school
8:15 am	First drop off, Henry goes off to Escuela
8:35 am	Second drop off, then Dad takes his bike off the car and heads to work
2 pm	Mom is back on the tram, then back onto her bike
2:50 pm	Mom arrives at Lucy's school to put her bike on the car
3 pm	First pick up, Lucy finishes school
4:30 pm	Second pickup, Henry finishes Escuela, Dad finishes up and gets on his bike
5 pm	Hopefully everyone is home and some semblance of dinner is underway.

Seriously? Yes, seriously. I don't work full time so we don't have to do this every day but 3 days a week is going to be plenty.

Livin' Escuela Viva

Henry, your first week of school went great! Even better than we hoped (no crying at all!). Your teacher made a home visit before school started and that seemed to help a lot. Plus there is a big yard, lots of wheeled toys, and plenty of kids to play chase with.

It seems pretty wonderful for you and you are excited to go every morning.

It's a dual language environment but not really an immersion program. The hope is that you will learn as much Spanish as you are interested in. I'm hoping that will be a fair bit but we will have to see.

So far, you are spending a lot of time practicing your rolling r's at home. Picture this times several hours.

We are thrrrrrrilled.

Love you,
Mama

Hello kindergarten

TODAY IS YOUR FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN!
(Such significance means all caps are pretty much required.)

You have been ready for months so we are all excited to see today come - no one more than you.

Lucy: "This is going to be the best day of my life."

Henry: "Can robot Henry go with Lucy?"

 

Mom and dad are watching you run off, trying to figure out how we got to this day when it seems like you were hiding in our coats looking like this just yesterday.

Seriously, wasn't that yesterday? Parenthood is a weird kind of time warp.

Buckman Elementary is (so far) wonderful and your teacher, Ms. Miles, is adorable. You even have a girl in your class named Persephone! Everything feels just right and we are so excited for you.

So have fun sweet girl. Always be kind, learn a lot, and stay safe.

We can't wait to hear all about it.

Love,

Mama

Trunky style

Your new backpack came from our favorite bin store in Salt Lake City. It had the name Miranda stitched on the front so I was going to put on a belly patch. You requested I sew on a dress instead and it turned out really cute.

At the salon

We got our haircut together yesterday. I have always cut your hair but I thought you would enjoy the salon experience. It didn't quite go that way...

Translation: you hated it. I am not sure why except that you have been quite the stress case waiting these last few weeks before Kindergarten. Poor girl, I know full well that anxiety is supreme torture.

After your cut, you wandered back to the lobby where you combined every sugar packet they had (14) with cold water and a tea bag to make a truly awful special cup of peppermint tea.

During your mixings, I got the same haircut I've been getting for years. It is sometimes a bit shorter or longer but always basically like this:

As I was using my phone to see the back of my head (little people keep breaking my hand mirror) - I was remembering all the perms I got as a kid. Usually just before school started - and lasting until spring, looking something like this.

I did not even know my hair was so curly until I visited humid Spain when I was 18. If there was any humidity in Utah, I would have escaped a lot of hours sitting in rollers.