This morning I dropped Amanda off at preschool for the first time. As we left the house she noticed her Morning glories had finally started blooming almost as if they had been waiting for this day. She walked in the door at preschool and started playing like she had been there for years. Washed her hands, put away her lunch box and hung up her bag like she had done it a thousand times. Her preschool is the Little Log Preschool in Griswold, a whopping two miles or less from the house. It was recommended to me at the three year old Griswold schools screening, and Amanda will attend two days a week. Full day. I’m feeling a little emotional, but I have to get some work done on the farm, so off we go (Mack and I).
It has been quite a while since we updated about Mack. He had adjusted well to the new farm. We bought a remote training collar which has been effective at teaching him to stay with us outside. He no longer chases the chickens. And Alex has become quite fond of him. In fact, Alex wants to join the 4H group for dog training.
Anna and the kids are working on training agility rabbits. At the 4H fair there is a hopping contest and a jumping contest. The kids want to try and win.
Last night, Alex and I spent the night in the Higgins Armory Museum in Worcester, MA. There were about 60 scouts and parents from our Pack that went on the trip. The kids had a great time and the exhibits were very interesting. According to Alex, the best part was trying on armor.
Well I forgot to blog about it on Sunday, but Alex got first place at this year’s pinewood derby race in North Stonington. His car was low profile, blue, weight just right and very fast. According to Alex his car won every single race it entered. Good job Alex!!
Alex reminds me a lot of his Uncle Benji. While I always enjoyed readying, my brother Benji would stay up all night reading.
Yesterday evening Alex started reading a new book called Fablehaven. I made him put it down for bed and turn out lights around 9. Anna found him reading about 10:30 and repeated the routine.
This morning, we had to drag Alex out of bed after 9, which is late for our kids. Further discussion at breakfast revealed he had stayed up to continue reading until he finished the book. 526 pages in one night.
After a lot of consideration, we are finally saying goodbye to cable tv. As Anna started to talk about it on FB, it became apparent that we are not alone in our thoughts on this. We are tired of spending around $230 a month for our “bundled” tv/internet/phone. By cutting tv, we will save well over $100 a month. Too often, Anna and I find ourselves sitting in the den at 11:30 at night with some stupid, reality tv or show that is just a ridiculous waste of time.
So, tonight, Anna and I are watching the finale of Biggest Loser. Tomorrow, the cable boxes go back to Comcast. We have been prepping the kids for this change. Maybe we will stick with it for a month, maybe a year, but for now we are going to see how it changes things for our family.
Yesterday afternoon, instead of sledding, we hopped on some horses and rode in the new snow. The kids have been enjoying riding the fuzzy ponies bareback. I think they have discovered it saves time on tacking up and when they are popsicles after the ride, there is less tack to put away. It was about 28F outside and we had a solid 9.5″ of powder in the arena. Alex rode Precious. Vicki rode Devil. I rode Calli and Amanda rode with me. I decided to put my western saddle on Calli (for the first time ever) since I wasn’t sure how she would respond to the snow covered arena and Amanda wanted to come along. Everyone had a blast. Alex only came off once when Precious reared up as Dillon, the new dog, came running up behind her. Vicki rolled off into the powder as she steered a corner too tight while trotting and didn’t have stirrups to keep her balance. Calli did great and Amanda and I stayed in the saddle.
Some of the pictures aren’t great because Anna’s hands were freezing as she used my iPhone. And the horses were moving.
This morning I dropped Amanda off at preschool for the first time. As we left the house she noticed her Morning glories had finally started blooming almost as if they had been waiting for this day. She walked in the door at preschool and started playing like she had been there for years. Washed her hands, put away her lunch box and hung up her bag like she had done it a thousand times. Her preschool is the Little Log Preschool in Griswold, a whopping two miles or less from the house. It was recommended to me at the three year old Griswold schools screening, and Amanda will attend two days a week. Full day. I’m feeling a little emotional, but I have to get some work done on the farm, so off we go (Mack and I).
