Back-to-School Traditions

I'm both sad and excited about this year of school. This little guy

is now a great big 5th grader.

Where has the time gone? On the first day of every school year, Boogs has stood in front of our door. Look at how close he is to reaching the little window on the door. There are days when I wish I could put a brick on his head to keep him from growing up. I am proud of the funny, kind, intelligent, sweet, goofy kid that he is. He is at that in-between stage of being a little kid and a big kid all at the same time. Boogs did let me make him our traditional first-day-of-school lunch based on the book The Kissing Hand. We have done this every year since Kindergarten.

I traced Boogs' hand onto the bread to make his ham & cheese sandwich. You can see his other first day Kissing Hand lunches in last year's post HERE.

When we leave campus after the first day of school, I take Boogs to a bookstore and let him pick out a book. I never can guess what he will choose. Here are pictures of his kindergarten book choice and today's book choice. (Maybe I am feeling this nostalgic because this is his last year of elementary school.)

I like to have loads of family time the last weekend before school starts. This past weekend was no different. Boogs and I went for an early morning walk on a trail near our house. We stopped and looked at all of the signs telling about the caves in the area. The city has put grates over the entrances to keep people from crawling down into them and getting lost or stuck.

We left the trail and headed to a little park to play for a bit before heading back home. We made it home just in time to beat the rain. We went to the movies and saw Pete's Dragon.

The J-boys and their dad (R) invited Boogs over Saturday afternoon to learn how to play Dungeons and Dragons. The boys are so excited. R told me it was a sneaky way to get the boys to do research, reading, math, and maybe a little chemistry. They are planning on meeting once a week to continue the game. When we got back home, we found that my sister had left this on our porch:

Boogs thought it was so neat that she crocheted a dragon for him on the same day he started learning how to play Dungeons and Dragons.  Thanks Aunt M!

Daddy took us to Main Event on Sunday morning. We bowled, went rock climbing, played laser tag, and played video games. We love it when Main Event has their summer fun pass.

After lunch, Boogs asked if he could go home and find a spot to read. He wanted to have a peaceful afternoon/evening to get rested for his first day of school. It is time for our adventures to slow down and settle into the new school year. I already miss our lazy summer days. There are 179 school days left until summer vacation 2017.

This post is linked to:
Country Kids from Coombe Mill

Strawberry Picking at Sweet Berry Farm 2012

We love strawberry picking time at Sweet Berry Farm. The strawberries were ready early this year, so we were able to take advantage of a nice day during Spring Break to continue our annual tradition.

May 2008 - Boogs picking strawberries.
I can't believe how quickly the years are flying by.

Boogs was thrilled that his cousin, Little J, was able to join us. I had a great time watching and listening to them discuss and pick the "perfect" berry.

Strawberry popsicles. 

Boogs loves face painting.

The Flash! He then ran around for a bit to show
me how FAST he was as The Flash!

Little J asked for a lizard.

Eeek! The picture I saw did not come with a bloody
mouth. I was a little worried about what my sister would
say. Good thing he did not get this on his face!

The baby goats were so cute.

The cousins had a good day!

We had strawberries for part of our afternoon snack and made strawberry smoothies for breakfast the next morning. Yum!

Boogs Lost His First Tooth

Boogs has had a loose tooth for at least a month. His permanent tooth is growing in behind his baby tooth. He had his 6 month dental appointment on Tuesday. The dentist told Boogs to wiggle that tooth as much as possible. The dentist also said he would need to extract it, if it did not fall out within the next four weeks. I guess Boogs really listened about wiggling that tooth because it fell out the very next day. The first thing Boogs did after he realized that he lost his tooth, was to start singing, "We wish you a merry Christmas. Hey, I can say Christmas! I thought you couldn't say Christmas without all of your teeth." Silly boy.
I love how Boogs explained the tooth loss to Daddy. "Well, I caught my mouth on the backpack strap and spit it into my hand. I thought it was a piece of foam until I examined it closer and realized it was my tooth. It hurt when it snapped but now it doesn't. This is so cool. Now I can eat hard things again."

The Tooth Fairy came during the night and left Boogs $2. This morning, Boogs told me a very long and detailed story about how the Tooth Fairy started collecting teeth and turns the teeth into the stars in the night sky.

Strawberry Picking At Sweet Berry Farm 2011

Last Thursday, Boogs and I continued our yearly tradition of driving to Sweet Berry Farm in Marble Falls to pick strawberries. Boogs was very serious this year about getting the best strawberries. He had a list of things he wanted to make - pancakes, muffins, smoothies, ice cream. He got to eat homemade strawberry ice cream at the farm. We made the rest of the items on his list at home. Yummy!

The hour drive went by quickly

Picking the perfect strawberry.

Which one should I eat?

                                     

Juicy and delicious.

See my strawberry ice cream.

Feeding the goats.

Resting in some bluebonnets.