We took another trip with Thomas the Train today. This time we were able to bring Mabel with us too.

This was our third year doing this, and it’s been a lot of fun each time.

2015

2014

Thursday was Luke’s first day.

I asked Adam to try to sit with Luke on the bus. Luke overheard and said, “I don’t want to sit with Adam. Adam’s already my friend. I want to make a new friend.”

I got to go into the classroom for half an hour that morning. Luke and I did a scavenger hunt together and then he got to get out some play-doh and sit with the other kids (he made a carrot store).

He really likes his teacher (and so do Dave and I). When it was time for me to leave, he barely had time to stop and give me a hug.

Luke’s very first year of school is off to an awesome start!

He woke up Friday morning all set to go again.  Unfortunately for him, his second day isn’t until Monday. I don’t doubt that he’ll be ready.

The day before Adam started school, we went in so the boys could drop off their school supplies and meet their teachers. Luke has the same kindergarten teacher Adam had and we really like her.  Adam’s teacher is new to us, but seems fantastic too.

Adam’s first day was Wednesday. He had a great day and was so excited to sit with his best friend on the bus and catch up with his friends in class.

I think he’s going to have a great year!

We took a trip to the zoo today to see the new baby giraffe and to show Mabel the hippos. The little giraffe is three weeks old and very cute.

The kids fed the giraffes during our last visit and asked to do it again today.

After we left the giraffes we went over to see the hippos.

We were able to met up with the zookeeper that Adam wrote to when the hippo exhibit opened. She sent him a nice reply and mentioned we should try to find her during our next visit. She was super nice and spent some time with us pointing out different animals to the kids and telling them their names and fun facts about them.

It was a really fun way to spend the first part of our day. The kids wore their hippo shirts that they made for Adam’s birthday zoo trip last month. They tie dyed the shirts themselves and then I made stencils for them to use to paint on the hippos.

Adam was excited to be allowed to finally climb up on the big rhino statue, and wanted to be sure I shared a picture here.

The boys finished up their swim lessons last week.

After two weeks of lessons, Adam can now float (on his front and on his back), do the backstroke, and almost do the front crawl (he has the stroke down, but has to stand up when he needs to take a breath).

Luke can go underwater without holding his nose, jump in without help, float with some assistance, and blow bubbles like a champ. They both have so much more confidence and were promoted to the next level of lessons for next summer.

We took the kids to get their photos done yesterday. It didn’t go as well as I had hoped it would. Luke was a little bit crazier than normal, one of the rubber-bands holding Maggie’s pigtails broke halfway through, and I may have unrealistic expectations when it comes to children’s photography.

There were some cute ones though, so here you go:

Maybe we’ll try again for Christmas.

According to Adam & Luke:

How old is Daddy?
Adam: 38
Luke: 25

 How tall is Daddy?
Adam: 12 feet and 6 inches
Luke: This tall (said while raising his hand as high as he could)

What color is Daddy’s hair?
Adam: Brown
Luke: Grey, like my hair

What color are Daddy’s eyes?
Adam: Brown
Luke: Brown

What is Daddy’s favorite color?
Adam: Orange
Luke: Orange

What Daddy’s favorite song?
Adam: I don’t know
Luke: Bam, bam, chicka, chicka, bam, bam (it’s a song from a cartoon)

What is Daddy’s favorite TV Show?
Adam: Soccer
Luke: Soccer

What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy?
Adam: Play baseball
Luke: Kisses

What is something Daddy always says to you?
Adam: We will wait to see if it happens. And if it does,we’ll figure out something then.
Luke: Blah, blah, blah

What is Daddy’s job?
Adam: Air Force
Luke: To get to work

What is Daddy’s favorite food?
Adam: Pizza
Luke: Pizza

What is Daddy’s favorite drink?
Adam: Coke
Luke: Coffee (note: Dave does not drink coffee)

What does Daddy like to wear?
Adam: A shirt with no sleeves that is black
Luke: Work clothes

What does Daddy do for fun?
Adam: Go bowling
Luke: Go to the splash park

Where does Daddy like to go?
Adam: To the pool
Luke: To the store and buy some things

What do you do to make Daddy laugh?
Adam: When I toot (boys are gross)
Luke: Chicken (again with the chicken from last year apparently)

What makes Daddy so smart?
Adam: Because he goes to work
Luke: Thinking

What makes Daddy happy?
Adam: His kids
Luke: Smiles

Why do you love Daddy?
Adam: Because he loves me
Luke: Kisses and huggies

And here are the responses from the past few years:

2015
2014
2013
2012

This is the kids’ current favorite song.

Don’t worry – Dave was driving, not me.

We got a membership to a pool near our house and have really been enjoying it. The kids all love the water (and Dave and I love how it tires them out).

Hard to believe he’s five already!

He is so silly. He and Adam are currently all about “potty” humor – anything to do with the word “butt” is hilarious to them both. I’m trying to curtail it, but fear it’s a losing battle.

He is still a super cuddly kid. He has what he calls his “Snuggle Meter” and when it gets to zero, it needs to be recharged. This happens a lot at bedtime, but also at other random times. I’m a big fan of the Snuggle Meter.

Another of my favorite “Luke-isms” is when he says that something, “Scared the pajamas” out of him. Oh, and when he calls going barefoot “wearing toes”.

He is so active. He’s constantly in motion and can be very clumsy (check out the bruises on those legs). He’s really good at gymnastics though and does a great job following directions. He’ll be ready to move into Adam’s class this fall.

He’s still obsessed with Star Wars. He’ll talk about it to anyone that will listen and told me the other day that he wants to be a Jedi when he grows up. He has recently gotten into the Star Wars Angry Birds game and insisted that be on his birthday cake this year (which was chocolate with chocolate frosting, and delicious).

But above all, he is so sweet. He really cares about other people’s feelings and while he might pick on his little sister or annoy his older brother, he’s the first one to jump to their defense and give them hugs when they are sad.

While I don’t want him to grow up too fast, I really think he’s going to love kindergarten and can’t wait to see what this next year has in store for him.