Getting so Big!

Still in her school clothes, looking so big!

Collecting Box Tops

A new school year means our class is once again collecting Box Tops for Education. The contest runs through October 15 and the class that brings in the most Box Tops, gets ice cream!! To help generate the promotion within our class, for every 10 Box Tops brought in, Hannah gets to pick something from the special treasure box. She likes picking stuff from the treasure box, and she likes getting mail, so if you would, would you please start saving your Box Tops and send them to Hannah!

And to those of you who already save them and send them to Hannah, a great big THANKS!!!!

Beauty and The Beast

We went to the Redlands Bowl this evening. The local music association was putting on a production of Disney's Beauty and the Beast. We weren't sure how good it would be, but we figured we'd check it out, especially because there was no charge.

The production wasn't scheduled to start until 8:15pm, but because we weren't sure what to expect as far as the crowds went, we braved the 106 degree heat and got there at 6:45 to get seats. Unfortunately due to the extreme heat we've been having (temps over 110 some days), there were technical difficulties and the program didn't get underway til close to 9:00pm. Once it began it was awesome!!!! Having seen the Broadway production a couple of times in Los Angeles, Steven and I weren't sure what to expect for free. But it was right on with the Broadway production! The costumes, the singers, the actors and actresses were all great! The only thing really different were the sets. But all in all, it was fantastic and I'm glad we went. Hannah also enjoyed it. It was the first time she'd seen a production like this aside similar productions we've seen at Disneyland.

Both the girls stayed awake for the entire length of the program, and both behaved pretty well considering it was way past their 7:30 bedtimes.

Playtime with the Cousins

McKenzie and Haylee came to our house yesterday afternoon, their Mommy and Daddy had a date night. Not only were they here for the evening, they spent the night with us too!

Doing their 'secret' handshake
they created while we were on vacation. All ready for bed, settling down to watch a movie. All four of the girls had such a great time. Hannah is already trying to figure out when they can come for another sleepover, not on a school night.

Sisters

Walking hand in hand, enjoying being at Disneyland.

1st Day Update

Hannah's 1st day of school went well. She was pretty worn out after such a long day. They read lots of stories and did a lot of coloring and drawing. Just trying to get into a new routine I'm sure.

Last night was Back to School night, we went back and Daddy and Gramma (Papa was working late) got to see her classroom and meet her teacher. The positive reinforcements and running of the classroom is a lot like that of her Kindergarten teacher, so there shouldn't be too much adjustment with that.

Hannah informed me last night that I no longer needed to walk her to her classroom, as I did the entire Kindergarten year. She said I could just drop her off and she'd be fine. So that's what I did this morning. I went through the drop off line. She kissed and hugged Rachel goodbye and then kissed me goodbye and then jumped out of the van and went on her way. LOL. She's getting so big!!!

She's on the far left, carrying a pink lunchbox.

While I am saddened she longer wants me to walk her to class, I have to admit that taking her to school today was a much quicker trip for me. LOL. No getting out of the car, getting Rachel out of her car seat, walking to the classroom, coming back and getting back into the car. Much quicker indeed!

1st Day of School

Today was the big day, the beginning of a new school year for Hannah. Here she is before leaving for school We got to school and found her classroom, and then found her desk. She was excited to have a red pencil box and to see the new crayons, scissors, her own glue stick, etc. After hanging out with her a few minutes, I gave her a kiss and said goodbye. I go to pick her up at 2:30pm. Her school day is 3 hours longer than what it was in Kindergarten.

Happy 4th of July!

We had a busy 4th of July this year. We started off the day with a huge church BBQ at a local park, complete with all the BBQ fixings, great music, water games for the kids, waterslides for the kids, watermelon eating contest, you name it. This is the third year our church has done a 4th of July celebration and it's always a lot of fun. It was hot, but everyone had shade canopies which made it a little more tolerable. Hannah had a ton of fun playing on the waterslides and with her friends.

Later on in our day, our Cul de Sac gathered for our annual 4th of July BBQ block party. This has been a tradition for going on 4 years. We BBQ and everyone contributes something. We end our evening by pulling chairs out to the middle of our street and watch the fireworks shot off a local mountain, not to mention all the fireworks being shot off throughout the surrounding streets. It's quite a show.

This year we had a bounce house/slide. The thing was enormous, and the kids all loved it!

And yes, that is Rachel climbing up into it. LOL.
It didn't take long for Hannah to fall asleep tonight. She's worn herself out today with all the physical activity. Tomorrow is a big day for her...1st day of 1st grade!!

Karate Lessons

A few weeks back, one of the neighbor girls got a flier at school about karate lessons starting. It's ideal beacause you can pay upfront or pay weekly and it's only $7 weekly. No pressure to buy the uniforms, etc.

We missed the start of the class last week due to being on vacation. But went tonight. Hannah liked it, and says she'll go back again.

A Haircut for Hannah

With school starting in just a few days, I suggested getting a haircut to Hannah. Rather than me cut it like I did last time, we took her to get it cut. She was excited about that.

Off to Supercuts we went, with only 5 minutes until closing time, they came to lock the door as soon as they saw us approaching. They told us to come back tomorrow. However, located in the same little strip mall, there was a place that did hair and nails. So we went there. The lady who cut her hair was sooooo good with kids. And did such a great job.