by Papa K on September 7, 2015
This afternoon while Lauren was napping, Maile and Christine embarked on an origami adventure. No longer satisfied with your standard butterfly or crane, the scoured the internet and found some pretty cool shapeshifting/transforming/more-than-meets-the-eye origami coolness.
And, of course, they would not rest until they learned how to form these creations for themselves.
Having an artistic mommy is basically the coolest thing ever for a little girl like Maile.
My favorite origami goofball!
When Lauren woke up they had moved on to make 3D creations and they all studied the tape to learn how it was done...
(Click here for the video.)
The start of school for Lauren meant we had to say good bye (well, not complete good bye, but “see you every day” good bye) to Kelly, our nanny who had been watching Lauren for the past year and a half.
You don’t see many pictures on this blog of Kelly because when she was around, it largely meant, we weren’t. We couldn’t have asked for someone better to watch Lauren as she grew from a baby to a little girl. They got out and about quite a bit, read, played games – she was great about sending us pictures and sharing little stories about whatever Lauren learned and did that day. She clearly got a kick out of the sponge that Lauren has become and it was awesome seeing them together.
Lauren and Kelly - best buds!
Lauren and Kelly developed quite the bond and we are going to miss her very much. She promises to still stop by and say hello – and we’re going to hold her to that!
(Presidio Knolls staggered the start for the little ones – so although Maile started today, Lauren doesn’t start until tomorrow. So we get two first day of schools this year allowing each girl to star on her own day!)
So. Long. Ago.
That was 4 years ago. Today it looks more like this…
So. Old.
It was awesome walking back on to the Presidio Knolls campus – the place was buzzing and when we left her Maile was already running around and catching up with her friends. When she came home she declared it was the “best day ever” – that sounds like a good start to the year to me.
Daddy, Maile and Mommy and day 1 of first grade...
Maile is very curious about having Lauren at school. She told Christine that if she needs to come out of class to help, she will. But she doesn’t want to miss too much.
Lauren is very excited for school.
Maile and Mommy
Hard to believe it’s already here … almost.
Maile starts 1st grade on Wednesday. And Lauren starts preschool on Thursday(!)
On Sunday, the school had a “practice run” play date. It was a really great way for both girls to get acclimated before the start of school. Maile met her teachers and dropped off some of her stuff. And then she ran around all around with her friends.
Lauren checked out her classroom for the very first time and I think came away impressed. She touched as many toys as she could, met her teachers (“Hi, I’m Lauren”) and even made passing contact with some soon to be friends. The teachers did a circle time with some singing, we washed hands and ate snack (Lauren wasn’t a fan of the offering) and then hit the playground outside for some serious sand time. She even told us on the way in that we were supposed to leave now – hopefully, she’ll remember that come Thursday!
Here are the girls on their way in…
Maile and Lauren are ready for the school year!
Notice the similarities in outfits – dress with leggings and fancy sandals. This is not a mistake. I remember the first few months of school we were able to dress Maile how we pleased. That all ended pretty quickly. I imagine the same will be true for Lauren – except will have the added challenge of her wanting to match Maile every day.
Should be an exciting year – we’re looking forward to seeing what it’s like having both girls at the school, how much they’ll interact, etc.
It wouldn’t be much of a Michael Jackson dance camp if the moonwalk wasn’t prominently involved. And sure enough, Maile brought home the beginnings of what I have no doubt will blossom into a killer moonwalk. I love her focus on the steps in this video…
And, of course, she taught Lauren too…
(Click here for the first video.)
(Click here for the second video.)
One last memory from our Cape Cod vacation before we move on. Maile and I went to a store in downtown Chatham and picked up a kite. I’ve mentioned this before, but I love kite flying. Our Cape Code kite flying was short-lived (apparently there are endangered birds that are scared of kites so it wasn’t allowed on the beach we were on), but we had fun while it lasted…
Getting things setup with my two little helpers...
Great success! We are airborne...
Just a little girl and a string to the sky...
A perfect picture.
I think someone is telling us she is ready for ballet…
(Click here for the video.)
The best part of our vacation to Cape Cod was that we were joined by Grandma Jill and Papa Mike for the first part of the week and Auntie Elyssa for the whole thing!
Only thing better than family time? Family time + ice cream!
And yes, plenty of time playing with Auntie's old dolls with Grandma Jill...
Swinging with Grandma Jill
All the ladies on the see saw...
Selfie time with Auntie Elyssa!
Family Picture (Maile 6, Lauren 2.5)
Last week after the PMC, we headed to Cape Cod (Chatham specifically) for a week of fun with Grandma, Papa, Auntie Elyssa and some other friends. We rented a great house for the week and spent a lot of time on the beach. We’re not normally a big “spend every day at the beach” family – but we went for it this time and had a blast.
The beach we spent our time at was called Ridgevale Beach. It was an awesome beach for families – one of the best I’ve been to (outside of Hawaii, of course ;). On one side there were tide pools that the kids absolutely loved running through and searching for crabs. On the other side was a solid beach and a sand bar that was fun to swim out to. Water was warm and calm and we let the girls run wild – and they loved it.
Watch out beach, here comes trouble...
... and she brought her friends Maile and Papa Mike too!
Papa Mike assisting with some serious hermit crab mining...
The tide pools were perfect for Lauren to run and swim around in...
The only way we could keep them still...
A great beach is even better with great friends like Jordy!
(Apologies for the lack of posting this past week – we’ve been on the east coast for the PMC – see below – and vacationing on Cape Cod. Been spending good time away from the computer, but that has messed up my posting schedule!)
This past weekend I rode in my 5th Pan Mass Challenge. Last year, Maile joined me in Boston for the PMC while Mommy and Lauren stayed home. Maile, Grandma and Papa Boston met me in Boston after I took the Ferry home from where the ride finishes in Provincetown. That was pretty awesome.
This year was even better! Christine and both girls, along with Grandma and Papa Boston AND Auntie Elyssa all came down the Cape and were actually there at the finish line when I completed the 192 mile ride. I had never had anyone waiting for me at the finish and it was everything I hoped it could be. I’m truly thankful that everyone trekked all the way out to the very tip of the Cape.
We had a great ride and it was an awesome weekend once again – and even better, this year, we rented a house out in Chatham and have been enjoying some vacation time this week (more on that to follow)…
Knowing I was able to see this crew at the finish got me through the last miles!
Maile and Lauren got a kick out of all my riding gear...
One more - because it was that great 🙂
I ride every year with my best friend, Ryan - and I wouldn't be doing it at all if it wasn't for the guy on the left, Papa Mike!
