And Bigger Steps

Today I am sitting outside on the playground watching my girls enjoy fall. The wind is blowing so hard and making all of our noses sniffly and the leaves are falling from the aspen trees like snow. One day I'll look back on days like this and think of them as "the good ol' days." Just the knowledge that I am savoring these days makes me a little less sad that the girls are growing up. Today Rynn counted to ten by herself for the first time as she rode her bike all the way to school by herself. Inside Audrey opted to read a book by herself and was getting all the words right, even the big ones. The girls are both excited about reading. Every night Adam or myself reads a few books in the green chair before bed. Yesterday I ordered the phonics, math, and writing books from Abeka for kindergarten so Audrey can review the things she learned last year. I'd hate for her to forget her special sounds and her cursive writing. She isn't learning those things in public school but she is learning to print which is important and the best thing of all is she is really getting excited about reading - something she never was before. I am not sure if it's because the light has come on for her or if it's because of her kindergarten class. She has confidence because the work is easy for her and the classroom is really rich in literature. I'm volunteering in her class for an hour each Monday and I can see she is the first one done with her work. Every day she comes home with a different story to tell about books she read or songs she learned in music class. It's really the polar opposite from Bethel which is not what I'd want for her in the long run but something she truly can use this year - a break from tests, confidence building, a good fun kindergarten year. Here she is getting out of class.
This week we've been trying something different outside. Adam somehow got an old bike from someone and it fits Audrey just right. Since then we've been riding all around the apartment complex - Audrey and Rynn on their bikes and myself on rollerblades! Yes it sounds nuts but it's actually a lot easier than running after them. Then we stop on the playground and have a little snack, and go back upstairs to put my skates up. We come back down and play on the playground some more. Sometimes I bring Adam's computer out. You'd think the other mothers out here would think I was an oddball but there are no other mothers out here. Yes - children, no - parents. Hooray for supervision? I don't let my girls out of my sight.





Adam's been working so hard. Well he's been working so long anyway. Starting at 7:30am he's at work driving aliens around and he doesn't get to come home most nights til 7pm though he is scheduled to come home at 3:30. He's really bummed about the lack of family time and exercise. We miss him tons too. Wow this wind is getting chilly. Need to get inside and get a light jacket. We can't wait for the weekend. We are supposed to go over to Steamboat and maybe even see some snow!