Starting over in a new town is an adventure! But starting at a new school, with new friends, a new routine, and new teachers can be so daunting. I have been incredibly impressed with how Grace and Logan have taken it all in stride. A few nights before school started, we went to back-to-school day and met their teachers. It was so nice that they got to walk through their new classrooms and get excited about the first day.
Mrs. Burch! She is seriously the coolest. And her classroom is an explosion of color and perfect for Logan in particular.
Mrs. Wiesmore. She is kind, sweet, super smart, and perfect for Grace. She's always cheering Grace on and helping her to set higher and higher goals.
All of the kids in the school got a free Pillar Falls tshirt as well!
On the night before school started, we had a fun little back-to-school dinner! It's silly, and very simple, but the kids love it!
Ryan gave the kids each a Father's Blessing. Even Boston! He watched the kids quietly sit in the chair with his hands on their head. And when they were finished, he stepped right up to get a blessing too, without being prompted!
The kids have been begging for the last couple of years to ride their bikes to school. It was never a possibility in California, but we only live half a mile from this new school, and it's a very easy ride. We practiced over the weekend and then they were ready to give it a shot! I rode with them for the first week and a half, and slowly let them do some portions of the ride by themselves. Eventually they were able to do the entire ride TO school and BACK without me! It was an awesome day for me, but also for them! They felt so independent and happy with what they had accomplished. Logan did have some rough mornings when he would ride down the street with Grace, just to turn around and come right back in full blown tears like he was panicked to go without me. It was heart-breaking to watch but I knew he was also just fine once he got to school! He would get so excited to bike but then when it came down to it he would get nervous. In the end they did bike for several weeks whenever the weather permitted it, but eventually it got too cold or dark or wet for them to bike.
We were so excited to get there on the first day of school that they were the first ones to lock their bikes up!
This was the first day that they biked all the way home on their own!! I was so proud of them (and soooo thankful they were safe and we all proved to ourselves that we could do hard things).
Grace's class list came home the first week and some of the names had me completely shocked!! haha
Both kids also got to start a soccer league through the local parks and rec. Our friend Kathryn Jenkins was Logan's coach, with several of our new ward/neighborhood friends. It was so much fun for Logan!
Grace was able to meet a whole lot of new, cute, fun, active girls through her team. Her coach was Shayne Nope, who is also in our stake. She had a great time doing soccer!
