Back-To-School 2016

The younger boys started off the 2016-2017 school year on August 15th.  Tommy entered what he called the "grade years," with Mme. Cote for first grade.  Luke has the amazing opportunity to attend the 4th-grade-only naturalist school program out at School in the Woods and has Mrs. Zanarek.  And Josh headed into his middle school years, starting 6th grade out at Mountain Ridge with Ben.

As I write this, we are two weeks into the school year, and, so far, it's been great!  All three boys are excited about their classes, are enjoying school and like their teachers.  Although he doesn't like being at AIES all alone, Tommy has come home with an abundance of "purple" and "blue" days, the best kind of day.  After a year of hearing Luke whine about homework, he is no longer enthused for that, but hopefully we can get him excited about it again.  It's definitely not too hard for him!  Luke hasn't once said he didn't want to go to school, a huge win, and loves every aspect of his SITW adventure from being outside in nature frequently to building a wikiup to taking the bus.  He even did his homework on the bus a couple of times, all by his own choice!  The first day of school, Josh said he liked middle school *SO* much better than elementary school, and he is still holding to that.  He's going out for swimming and enjoying the flexibility of the middle school schedule. 

Zac, Ben and I stuck with tradition and, for those who get the bonus summer day because the 6th and 9th grades have "jump start" at the middle and high schools, we went to a movie and lunch on the first day of school.  We saw the new Ghostbusters and really enjoyed it, even though both Ben and I had some good startle moments.  Adam joined us for a sushi feast before leaving for Chicago for work.
A work trip.
On our anniversary.
And during the first week of school.
That is not awesome.
Really the worst timing.
But...I held on tight and we got 'er done.

Zac and Ben headed off for their first days of school on the 16th.  Zac is a Sophomore at Rampart High and Ben is one of the Kings of the School: 8th grade at MRMS.  They both seem to like their classes and enjoy their teachers.  Zac was surprised by how much he loves his AP European History class (yeah!  history ROCKS!  fist pump!).  Ben is on a great team this year that should challenge him nicely, plus, he heads to Rampart every other day for his Algebra 2 class.  He is excited about that, even if he feels tiny.

After four back-to-school nights, Adam and I agree: our kids have the opportunity to attend amazing schools, and, for the most part, have fantastic teachers that are eager to educate, engage and challenge our kids.  I think it's going to be a great year!

*Zac and Ben had a delayed "first day of school breakfast" over the weekend, because, well...because I just couldn't get it all done solo.  But they're awesome, so they didn't even mention it.

Off to 6th with his sax!

Josh and his neighborhood bike riding buddies, Jack and Canyon.

In he goes.  *heart breaking*

Cannot wait for School in the Woods!

Taking the bus from AIES with his friend Nathan.  A first for a Conlin boy!

 

First grade, here he comes!

My baby is in 1st!

It's a little true, but don't be fooled, the dark glasses are to cover the hot eyes.

Who you gonna call???

Sushi!

At least he was thinking of me while on his business trip...a new one for the collection!

First day of 10th.  No.  Nope.  Stop it.

Jake and Zac.

And now to send off my 8th grader.  Also no.

Ben, Micah and Ryan.

Better late than never!

NHS Class of 1996 Reunites 20 Years Later

I waffled back and forth between wanting to go and not wanting to go to my 20th high school reunion, with NOT wanting to go being the stronger feeling most of the time.  Plus, it was the same weekend as Ragnar CO, and those ladies are my people, so it was really hard to not participate and I was leaning toward "probably not going."  However, I knew that once it was actually happening I would have felt sad that I missed it which moved me in the direction of "possibly going"  Then, my closest high school girl friends all started sending messages about going and meeting up, some of whom I hadn't seen since my wedding, so that pushed me over the edge to "going."

And I am really glad I did.

It was a surreal night.  I mean...TWENTY years have passed since I graduated high school, yet it doesn't feel that long at all, even when I consider how much has happened in those 20 years.  And seeing those kids, who aren't kids at all anymore because we are all nearing 40, but still feel like the same kids I graduated with, was really strange.  Everyone looked so much the same--a few wrinkles here, a few pounds there, but really, that 18-year-old was still in there inside all of us.  But thankfully, there was also a great deal of change.  Classmates who had once been timid were confident, classmates that were once self-centered had learned over the years that the world is much bigger than themselves.  People were living, for the most part, happy lives, raising families, doing things that they liked, enjoyed or loved and that they felt made a difference in their world, and there were some who were even making a difference in the wider world.  It was good to see the happy.  Even if, by the end of the night, it was like reliving the end of our senior prom: a lot of drunken revelry.  Haha!  Some things change, but some stay the same!   

It was so good to see my girlfriends.  That was my favorite part!  We danced together like we always did back in the day, from church dances to school dances, first on the floor and last to leave!  They are such beautiful, wonderful women and I am so proud to count them as friends, so many whom I still see and a few that it had been much too long.  Love them all!  And so grateful for their friendship that kept me grounded and level-headed in my high school years.  The reminiscing was so much fun!  Our biggest question now that so many of us are parents: what were our parents thinking letting a group of 15 teenage girls go camping in the forest together with no chaperones??

What a great time!  I'm glad I convinced myself to go.  Even though I still really missed my Ragnar CO girls.

When we landed in Seattle they had us get off onto the tarmac and take a shuttle to the terminal.  It was weird.

Brunch with Mom and Dad before they left for the weekend!  I missed getting a picture with Dan and Nicolle, but they were Kim and I's gracious hosts for the weekend.  Kim and I loved our Saturday patio chat with them and feeding the fish!  So relaxing and a good way to calm our unwanted reunion nerves.

Reunion family BBQ with my best gals: Kim (my date for the weekend), Liz, Katie, Amy, Chelsea and Alissa.

Hanging out with James, my senior prom date!

Liz, Kim and I thought it would be such a good idea to have a lunch heavy on garlic the day of the reunion.

Ready to party!  Amy, Liz, Alissa, Miriam, Katie and Kim.

Me, Jenny, Amy, Miriam and Liz.

Erin, Kim, me, Carol, Jenny, Katie, Amy, Alissa, Liz and Miriam.

Jenny, Adrienne, me, Alissa, Ali and Alyssa.

Nicole, Denise, Grace and I.

 

Photo booth fun!

Killer Drillers!!!

I won a gift basket drawing!  WHA??!!!  Yeah!

Old friends are the best friends!  Love my Carrie Holmes!

Our bang game was strong in '96.

With Eliana and Grace.

When you go to high school in Bellevue, Washington...personalized macarons.

It was a pretty good turnout, well over a third of our class.

I'm in the very back!

Getting our groove on!!

Looking like we danced until 1am!

Seen in the bathroom stall in the airport.

It was a good one, WA!

Two Weeks with Sis and the Babies in CO!

The day the Shevitzes pulled out of town we said a sad goodbye...and then a happy hello!  My sister, Isla and Kai arrived for a nice two-week visit.  YES!  It felt like a gift of time that seems all too fleeting when the kids are little, growing happens so fast and the years breeze right on by. 

With a toddler and a preschooler, so much is governed by the nap schedule, so we tried to squeeze things in here and there when we could work around sleeping babies.  But whether we were spending some time out at the gym, running errands together, playing at the school playground, jumping on the tramp or running amok around the house, it was so much fun for us to be together--as if they lived here and were simply part of the regular life routine.  The timing of their visit was really great, in that they were here during the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child book release, so we HP fans hit up the release party while a neighbor sat with the sleeping babies, plus, we were able to celebrate my sister's birthday Conlin-style, complete with a "You are Special Today" plate. 

Isla is in that 15-month-old velcro-baby/nap-fighting stage.  She was fine when she was away from mama, but if Leah was an option, we were nothing but chopped liver.  So, once she got used to us a little, one of our favorite things to do during their visit was steal Isla away in the afternoon, so Kai could rest without noisy sissy around and Leah could get a brief P&Q break, something that she doesn't often get at home in Cali.  Isla joined us for evening walks, Zac's soccer camp scrimmage game, constant errands, Luke's parkour gym class observation, all three hours of church and rock climbing.  She was so pleasant and entertaining and it was fun to have a little pink in our daily routine for a bit!  There were some days she'd fight the nap, even though she clearly needed one, but I had her number!  I used my magic mama tricks and got her to conk out a couple of times--which meant snuggling a sleeping baby--which does not suck.  This old girl has still got it!  Haha!

Kai is in such a fun preschool stage!  Easy to entertain, cheerful and eager to be engaged with other kids.  The boys had fun being his buddy: playing with him at the park, jumping gently with him on the trampoline, walking him around the neighborhood, doing arts and crafts at the kitchen counter, and pushing him on the little bike.  He also had a hysterical time playing dress-up with them and battling the bad guys using his lightsaber and The Force.  It was a hot week, so we got out the water guns and the sprinklers and got him giggling and splashing and shooting everyone until they were soaked.  He's such a sweetie!  His favorite place in the house is the stair landing, where he can observe his kingdom from on high. 

The time the boys get to spend with these sweet cousins is just too little, and they were so glad to have them around for a nice long visit.  And I was SO grateful to have my sis here.  A best-friend sister to talk with, laugh with, get advice from, share heartache and hope with, and, yes, still argue with, is the greatest gift any girl can have!       

The Force is strong with this one.

 

Isla's first pony!

Watch out for Dementors!

If pouch slurping were an Olympic event, Isla would win gold!

Birthday pizza building!

Isla wants all the things.

Happy birthday, dear Sis!

One of my favorites!

Ready to climb!

The birthday twinners.

Is there anything better than baby kisses?

Our church buddy.

Pre-bed snuggles.

National Sisters Day photos and Snapchat filter hysterics.