Preschool is Cool!

The moment my kids have been waiting for has finally arrived... they are now officially preschool students.  They started preschool at the Y on Tuesday

Tommy is in the purple room.

and Ellie is in the green room.  Which caused more than a small meltdown
on open house night because go ahead, guess what Ellie's favorite color is? 

They are having fun, meeting lots of kids, and starting to keep secrets already.  When I went to pick them up one day, I got there just as the kids were all returning from the playground to the classrooms.  I had to park my car and wait for them to cross, and I watched Tommy walk all the way back holding hands with a pretty little girl.  When I asked him about it, he denied all knowledge of the event, and proclaimed, "Mama, I'm not saying you!" (I'm not telling you about it!)

And so, what am I doing with my newfound freedom?
Well, the first day, I went home and cleaned.  I didn't manage to sit down even once in the whole time I was home alone.  The second day I got smarter.  I took a shower.  By myself.  Nobody pounding on the door.  I managed to get all the way dry before I got dressed, and didn't have to wipe anyone's poopy butt before I even got my own covered.  Sweet Freedom!  I could get used to that!

The Rest of My Summer Vacation

In preparation for the post I should be writing this week, I thought maybe I should finish out the highlights of the rest of our summer.


On our way to pick up my mom for a visit, we stopped at the Columbus Zoo.  We spent $70 to get in, just to spend a little over an hour walking around in the rain.  Many of the animals were smarter than we were and were hiding from the rain, so most of the animals that we spent time with were of the metallic variety...

The next day, we attended Ethan and Tera's wedding.  Ellie was just enthralled by "Princess Tera".

 Our next adventure was a sleepover at Grandma's house when we took her back home.

 

One of this summer's new skills is swinging.  Ellie got the pumping action down, and now she loves to fly on the swings at home or a the park.

Tommy enjoys swinging too, but he's still working on self propulsion. I'm sure his super powers will kick in soon.

He certainly has mastered racing the horses!

August brought an annual favorite, the library's "Touch-a-Truck" event.  This year, they added a silent hour, with a ban on horns.  That's when Tom took the kids.

As the summer came to a close, we decided to take another field trip.  This time we headed north, to Cleveland, and went to visit the aquarium.  Lots of fun, but no flash photography allowed, so we had a bit of trouble getting clear shots.

 The kids really loved the hand puppet section, and put on a little show for us.

Then we headed out on the lake for a late afternoon cruise.

 

somebody refused to keep her hair in a ponytail

 

no pictures, mama!

 Most of our days though, were spent at home.  Frequently, climbing the walls...

or just hanging around...

 

The playground at the school across the street also got some good use this summer.  It will be sad when school starts this week to have to limit our hours again.

We were invited to a traveling zoo visit at the Jeromesville Christian Church.

 Their pastor was looking for some new recruits for their youth program.

All in all, a nice summer.  :)