So, we went to the state fair last Sunday. It was the last day of the fair, and the last day of summer vacation. School started the next day. We ended up not being able to do the things we’d planned to for our vacation, so we thought this would be a good way to end the summer with something fun. Plus, who wants to answer the question, “What did you do over your summer vacation?” with, “We went to Kansas.” Lame. It’s not Florida or the Grand Canyon or the Bahamas. It’s Kansas. Don’t people try to leave  Kansas for vacation? Well, it’s where we are from and it’s where our family currently still lives and we like them, so we take our summer vacations to Kansas.

Anyway, back to the fair. This was the first time we’ve ever gone to a state fair as a married couple. So, it’s the first time our kids have ever been to a state fair. Yeah, I know. We are lame parents, too (I’m going to use “lame” as many times as I can because Hannah saw me use it yesterday and was in shock and disbelief that I actually use such a cool word). It was fun. The kids had fun. Jonah struggled with finding a ride he was willing to ride. When he was a baby, he hated it when we would throw him into the air or push the swing too high. And by high, I mean at all. Motion bothers him. Too much stimulation bothers him. He’s a very down to earth, “keep my feet on the ground” kind of guy. So, tickets were passed out. I wandered off to the lower key rides with Olivia and Ian in tow and Elena strapped on. Tom headed in the opposite direction with the three big kids to ride the “big kid” rides. Tom likes to take video with his phone rather than snapshots. As a result, I only have one shot of the big kids. I have a few more of the two younger ones and a bunch of Elena sitting on Tom’s lap while we ate some really terrible for you fried fair food. Hey, it’s the whole reason we adults go.

So, first up, Olivia and Ian. The first ride they chose had me concerned. It was this row of seats that raise up a little bit more each time with a big sudden drop in between rises. Does that make sense? It looked scary to me. I thought it would be an issue. On the first drop, Ian had a very concerned look on his face. Then once he realized that he would be caught from the fall, he really got into it. Great! He’s going to do so much better than I thought. Alright! Let’s move on to something else! Next up? The roller coaster! It was just a tiny one. Tame in comparison to the last ride. It was a dragon. They thought it would be great fun. And it was… for the first 10 seconds after it started.

Look at the excited anticipation on their faces. Then they hit the first turn. Then the horror started. Ian had such a look of fear on his face, that the operator stopped the ride as soon as he was back around and kicked him off. Olivia followed. I was disappointed for her that she thought she had to get off because Ian did. Then she confessed that she just a little bit scared, too. Hm. Ok. Moving on to more tame rides. Except how do I know what that is since he loved the first one? Nothing to do for it other than just let them choose and see how it goes. We finished out the tickets with no more incidences.

We met back up with the other half of the family, and I was surprised to see that Jonah had not used a single ticket. He was just too nervous to try any of the rides. Hannah and Noah were on a ride at that time and they came off laughing and out of breath from the joy and speed of said ride. They are very different personalities from Jonah. We went for food and at that time Hannah was noticeably hobbling. She had hurt her foot the day before and it was really bothering her. So we sat, and I went off to find out if we could rent a wheel chair or adult stroller or something. There was no way she could even make it to the van, she was so distraught. Did I just throw this in suddenly? Well, that’s how suddenly the pain over took her. A medic of some sort came and looked her over, gave her an ice pack and sent us inside the air conditioned kids korner building we happened to be sitting in front of.There was face painting, a puppet show, a magician. It was a great distraction for the other kids while Hannah sat and recovered for a bit. After about 45 min., she was all better and we were on our way.

Now, Jonah still had those tickets. He had enough for three rides. He requested that I use one of those with him on the ferris wheel. I figured I could handle that. So, off we went.

So, here we are. I circled the family in red since you can’t real discern what I was taking a picture of. We were up that high. There was a nice breeze. What I’d really like you to take note of is Jonah’s grip on the bar. He’s hanging on pretty tight. Also, does anyone else see the split emotions on his face? His mouth is smiling, but his eyes seem to be showing a hint of concern. I was firmly admonished to NOT rock the cart at. all. Lame. But whatever. They were his tickets.

We finished the ride and got off. I was queasy. My stomach doesn’t handle these things well in my old age, apparently. Jonah, however, enjoyed it so much, that he had to do it again. All by himself. He loved it. What I didn’t love was the young couple who were making out pretty aggressively behind where we were standing in the only shade to be had that wasn’t directly in a walk way. Ug.

We headed home, kids all fell asleep on the way home and even I had a little snooze. Home and to bed in anticipation of the first day of school in the morning.

It was a fine day.

In the first day outfit. I thought jeans was crazy, but turned out to be a cool day, so it all works out.

Anyone who knows me well, knows I love Chuck Taylor’s. Hannah chose these for her PE shoes, so I had to grab a shot. Just love them.

The next three, however, were captive to my camera. Muhahaha. We spent a few minutes taking pictures, and then headed off to school.

Now, Noah and Jonah are far too old, you see, for Mom to come to class with them. So, I focused on Olivia, since she still wanted me to come with her. We were there way too early, of course. That’s what you do on the first day, right? Go early? Because you’re SO excited. Well, so we stood in the 2nd grade line for a while. Here are some shots I took. Including one of my favorite back pack, made from Capri Sun and Kool Aide juice pouches. So very cool! Also, the best hair ever on a second grade boy. Just love it!

Finally, it was time to go inside!! Yay! Miss Hatchett is the best 2nd grade teacher ever. OK. Well, I can’t really say that because I haven’t met every single 2nd grade teacher. But I can certainly say she’s my favorite. She greeted each student at the door, and as soon as Olivia told her her name, she said, “You’re Noah’s sister, aren’t you!” It’s so nice that she remembered Noah.

Next on the agenda for the day, was Ian’s “Meet the Teacher” conference. As I said previously, this was Olivia’s kindergarten teacher and we really like her. I’m really looking forward to Ian’s year with her.

After we were done with this, I decided to grab a couple of shots from the doors of the big three. They’d been in class for about an hour at this point. Olivia was taking stuff out of her bag and getting supplies put away. Noah and Jonah were doing a “get to know each other” activity. They were both facing away from the door. Probably a good thing. I’d just hate to embarrass them (um… did you catch that sarcasm all the way across the web?). Noah is more obvious, but Jonah, you can just see his head, so I darkened the rest of the shot to help show which head is his. I’d like to point out that he is surrounded by girls. A sign of things to come, perhaps??

Lots of pictures, as promised. They all reported having great days at school. Today is actually their third and they were just as eager to go today as they were the first day. So far, all of the kids have loved school in elementary school. It’s a testament to good teachers that have given my kids a love of learning. Oh, and Hannah has informed me that not turning in work will not be an issue this year. Apparently the school has adopted a zero tolerance policy for zeros. If they are missing something, they will be made to miss recess and do any make up work that has not been turned in yet. They will receive a much lower grade, but even a 20% is better than a zero. So, crossing fingers for a much better set of grades from Hannah this year.

Well, ok, it’s not as grand as all of that. But, we are doing something brand new this year on a trial basis. Noah and Jonah are going to be in the same class in school for the first time ever. So for us, it really kind of is a social experiment. When the boys first started in school, I wanted them in the same grade just for my own ease of use, so to speak. I already had the two big girls in school, and thought if I only had to manage one set of 1st grade stuff, that would be great. I could do one conference, on set of home work, get to know one teacher. Well, as it turned out, the school system we were in at that time did not allow siblings to be in the same class. I was pretty grumpy about it at first, but then came to find it to be a good thing. They are very different in personality and, I think, needed their own environment to grow and mature in. And that was great for a few years. Then, forth grade happened. Let me tell you about it. Noah has always been very bright. He was using a computer mouse well by age 2. Video games were a breeze. Learning to read, do numbers, all easy peasy. Jonah, on the other hand, struggled. He had to work harder to keep up with what his brother was doing. But, he was very determined to do so. The result has been one very hard worker and one giant slacker. Guess who is who.

Jonah can do just about anything he puts his mind to do. He is detailed and meticulous in his work. He double checks because he doesn’t want to get wrong answers. Noah is so much like me. If it’s too hard, he doesn’t do it. He’s used to things coming easily, you see, so if they don’t, what’s the point? He doesn’t have any discipline when it comes to doing school work and getting it turned in on time. I got so many notes home last year about missing assignments, that I’m certain a small forest was slaughtered just for him.

As it happens, the boys are very competitive. So, we made the decision to put them in the same class. They’ve been with these students long enough to have established their own friend groups and so have their own social circles. But, with them in the same class, Noah can’t really tell me he has no home work when Jonah is, in fact, working on home work. I’m also banking on their desire to out do each other to spur Noah to do a better job of turning stuff in. We shall see how it goes. Today was their first day (another post on that later) and I peeked in when I came back for a conference with Ian’s teacher, later in the morning. They were on opposite sides of the class room from each other and doing their own thing. Noah told me later, that he forgot Jonah was even in his class.

The only down side here is their teacher. I’m just certain their teacher is fantastic. I’ve even heard other parents talk about how wonderful she is and she is, apparently, highly requested. However, we were really hoping to have Hannah’s 5th grade teacher. I LOVE her. She is a no-nonsense, crack the whip kind of gal. I ran in to her in the store this past spring. We stood and talked for something like 20 min. She asked how Hannah was doing in middle school, and talked to me about specific details. She clearly remembers who Hannah is. And who I am. She should, of course, because we spent hours over the course of the year on the phone discussing Hannah’s inability to turn in home work. See a theme here? This is one reason I wanted this teacher. She knows us. She knows this issue in our family. She understands the large family dynamic. Not just because she knows us, but because she is one of six herself. Alas, it was not to be. I put in the request way too late because we just didn’t know we were going to put the boys together. But it’s ok. I’m confident that their teacher will do a great job with them.

On a side note, because she was with us, Olivia ended up with the same 2nd grade teacher that Noah had. I adore her. I’m SO happy Olivia is in her class. She was gone last year on sabbatical to Africa where she was teaching for a year. I’m just sure she came back for the sole purpose of being able to be Olivia’s teacher. Along those lines, Ian has Olivia’s kindy teacher, too. Again, a topic for a post on Wednesday (because that’s Ian’s official first day).