First Day of Kindergarten

Bode started kindergarten on Monday.  His last day of preschool was Friday.  He made me sad when he said, "I'm going to miss Rylan.  He's my best friend."  Sniff sniff.  Anyways, he seemed to get over that, because he was very excited for school Monday morning.  Ashley and I dropped him off and met his teacher, Miss Sandoval.  She looks like a teenager (actually, she probably looks her age, which is likely mid-20's; it's simply I refuse to believe I look that much older :-)

Ashley got Bode all duded out with a cool backpack.  Here are some pictures at the school in the morning.  The first picture is a little blurry--Ashley was using her phone.

Next is a picture of Bode in the classroom in front of his chair.

Little man had no problems saying good-bye--he's been going to daycare since he was two months old, so saying bye-bye to Mommy and Daddy is no big thing.  He's so independent.  School ended at 2:30.  Ashley and I decided to be there at the end of his first day of school.  Here's a picture of Bode waiting for us.  He looks like such a big-kid to me (he's the little fellow in the middle of the picture).

Ashley and I have arranged for Bode to have a nanny.  Miss Jeanice will pick Bode up after school and take care of him until we get home from work.  We like this option, because it's nice coming home from work and having Bode already be at the house.  Here's a shot of Bode, Ashley, and Miss Jeanice walking to the car.  I showed this picture to Bode, and he asked, "Why do I have my arms up?"  If only I knew, buddy.

Miss Jeanice is the girl next to Ashley.  Bode really likes her, and I think she's going to work out great. Bode had his second day of kindergarten today, and all went well.  I guess he is now in the capable hands of the public schools :-)  Pleasant week to all.

A Visit to Teddy and Charlie's

Today, the three of us drove up to Denver.  We hadn't seen Uncle Dave, Teddy, and Charlie in awhile, and with the advent of the school year, we figured we better get up to see them pronto.  We first went to lunch at Mustard's, which is a little hot-dog joint about a mile from Dave's house.  The kids all feasted on hot dogs, fries, and juice.  We then went back to Dave's for a little rest and conversation.  The boys spent time with nature's babysitter, the Wii.

It was a beautiful day--a little overcast, so not too hot.  There's a nice park a couple blocks away, so we walked to it...well, the adults walked.  The kids ran, and stopped when we shouted at them to stop.  I guess we all could have run, but I think the fascination with running everywhere ends around age nine.

Once we got to the park, it was all playtime.  Somehow Uncle Dave got the responsibility of being the swing-pusher.

The kids also played on some four-seat teeter-totter device.

At some point, they got tired and wanted to go home.

Dave was kind enough to have some beers at his place, so we relaxed on his porch talking, again allowing Wii to watch the kids.  Gotta love technology :-)  We left in the late afternoon.  It's always fun seeing the Rankins.

On the car ride home, I tried to surreptitiously record Bode playing with Mommy's phone.  Obviously I was not successful.

Overall, we had a nice weekend.  We did have a scare on Saturday.  I received a call from our neighbor, who informed us Harley was out in the cul-de-sac.  Evidently the little bitch dug a hole through the fence.  He said she seemed out of breath--he thinks she made a trek around the neighborhood, chasing rabbits and what not, and then came home (thankfully).  He managed to get her back in the fence, and temporarily plugged the hole.  I spent Saturday evening with hammer and nails, securing the perimeter.  She's a mischievous little dog.

First day of kindergarten tomorrow.  We'll all nervous.  Well, I'm nervous.  Bode seems fine :-)

Falcon Football

Today was Kid's Day at Falcon Stadium.  We are two weeks out from the start of the season, and the Mighty Air Force Falcons had a scrimmage.  It was a beautiful day, so we decided to go watch some football, albeit of the preseason variety.  Here's a picture of Bode and Mommy outside Falcon Stadium.

I'm trying to convince Ashley Falcon Stadium and Jordan Hare are roughly the same size.  She's not buying it.  The scrimmage was decent, but a little unrealistic.  Air Force runs the wishbone, which means the quarterback runs the ball a lot.  However, the QB was wearing a "don't touch" jersey, so it was up to the refs to determine if the QB would have been tackled.  The coaches must beat the fact players cannot touch a QB into the players heads, because no one laid a finger on them.  Bode was interested in the game...for a little while.  He liked it a lot more when Mommy got him some flavored ice.

I filmed a couple of plays and thought about emailing them to the Notre Dame folks.  I'm sure they are sweating bullets about the prospect of facing the Falcon attack.  This particular play was interesting.  I think the DB was nice--he could have leveled the RB but chose a less violent hit.

After the scrimmage ended, we could go down on the field.

Bode posed with Mommy at mid-field.  If he plays his cards right, he could be in this same spot 13 years from now wearing a Falcon jersey.  Hopefully he is blessed with more athletic ability than his parents.

Some of the players came out to sign autographs (for free) and pose for pictures.  I had both of these kids in class.  Steph is a starting DB and did quite well in electrical engineering.

Briceton doesn't start, but I think he plays in the nickel defense.  He did amazingly well in my class--so much for the dumb-jock stereotype.  I'd like to see the any starter for Alabama take an EE class and pass :-)  (I'm sure the Auburn team would do much better...)

Bode starts kindergarten on Monday.  He's amped for it.  I'm sure they'll be pictures.  Pleasant day.

Almost a Shark

Bode has really progressed with his swim lessons.  We started in January--I think it was the first post of this year.  We started the lessons because Bode didn't like putting his face in the water, and any attempt by Ashley or me to teach him to swim was met with shrieks and cries.  Fast-forward eight months, and we have a boy who can swim the entire length of the pool (sort of--it is a combination of freestyle aka rainbow arms with some side-stroke to take breaths), has gone the entire length of the pool doing the back stroke, and is starting to learn the butterfly and breast strokes.  Amazing.  Here are some pictures from today's lesson.  First, Bode making a goofy face.

Next, we have Miss Alyssa working with Bode on the proper position of his arms during the butterfly.

This movie shows Bode's progress doing butterfly.  Don't expect anything Phelpsian--he's still learning, but after the first stroke, he really gets his body doing the correct motion.

Bode finished the lesson with an introduction to frog-kicks.  I think it will take awhile for him to get good at the breast stroke because there are complicated motions for both the arms and legs.  Miss Alyssa calls the different arm positions stages of a pizza-making operation--spread the sauce, put the pizza in the oven, etc.  We'll have to work on this at home.  He needs two more stickers in his progress book, and he'll be an official shark.  Too bad shark week just ended on Discovery.  After a hard lesson, it was play time.

Ashley and I are busy at work.  Ashley always seems to have a lot to do, while classes have started up again for the cadets.  Thus, we must take advantage of our weekends.  We took Bode to see Planes today, which he loved.  We also did some yard work yesterday, and just relaxed.  I also went for a nice long run this morning.  Afterward long runs, I like to sit in a cold bath to cool down and soothe the muscles.  Today, I discovered it is possible to spend too much time in the cold bath.  After I got out, I went to the grocery store.  I could not warm up--teeth were chattering and I was shivering (it was 80+ degrees outside).  I was fine after I rode home in the car with the heater on high.  Live and learn I guess :-)  Pleasant week to all.