Lunch Box!

Sam got to take her lunch to school for the first time with her new lunch box on the September 2nd. Hamburgers were on the menu and we made her try them the 1st day of school, but we decided it was okay to take her lunch the next time! She's been doing a great job of trying school foods, and rarely takes her lunch!

Meet The Teacher

We met Samantha's Kindergarten teach - Mrs. Morrison - on Wednesday, August 17th. We loaded all of her school supplies into her bookbag and it was heavy!

Mrs. Morrison explained procedures to us and then "quized" Samantha on basic information: Colors, Numbers, Letters, Writing her name, Saying her address, etc. Samantha did great!

Samantha with her book bag on in front of the playground and Plattsmouth water tower.

Doug & Samantha in front of her new school!

Samantha & I also needed our picture in front of the school! Samantha is so excited for school to start! I may shed some tears tomorrow (August 22nd), but I know she's super excited so that helps me out!

Last Day of Pre-School & Kindergarden Check up!

Samantha had a picnic on her last day of preschool. We had to have it inside because it was too rainy for outside. Doug joined us, so we were all 5 were there. Alden had fun playing with the big kids and was excited about knowing he would be going to preschool in August.

Emily Z., Samantha, & Anna J.

Praying before their sandwiches.

Samantha again with Emily Z. and Anna J.

Marcus & Alden.

Putting on their bookbags for the last time in preschool! Caden, Samantha, & Grant

Jayger, Samantha, & Trevor

Future preschoolers (in August) - Alden & Mikena.

Clair walked out with Mandy (Caden's Mom) & Doug. She insisted on holding those two people's hands...not mom's :(

Clair, Alden, & Samantha outside of St. John's School building.

Samantha refused to cooperate for photos!

After preschool, we dropped Alden off at Grandma Sandy's house and headed for Fremont to get Samantha's Kindergarden Physical, and Clair's 18 month shots.

Samantha took over the camera...

Samantha loves to steal the camera!

Uncle "Dr" Tom has these pictures in his exam rooms. A famous painter named "Thomas McKnight"!

My Girls!

Samantha's Preschool Spring Program

Samantha had her last preschool program on May 2nd. She got all "dolled" up! I curled her hair and she wore her fancy Easter dress. She was so excited her special night was finally here! She had been talking about it for months!

Samantha posing outside her school before the program.

They are almost all looking at the camera! Amazing how much they have all changed since August went I took a picture of them before Samantha's 1st day of preschool! Clair couldn't even walk back then!

Posing by the school mascot - Cardinals. I had the same mascot when I was growing up in Humboldt. The St. John School Cardinal looks very similar to Humboldt's old Cardinal mascot.

Samantha & her friend and preschool classmate - Grant.

Cousins! Emily Moyer was in the 3-4 year old preschool class at St. John's this year and Samantha was in the 4-5 year old preschool class. They both looked so pretty!

Part of Samantha's class before the program. They all sat so still and quiet! Amazing! I wonder what the trick is??

Alden and his future preschool classmate - Mikena. (And a candidate for his girlfriend...) They will both be in the 3-4 year old preschool class in August together! I'm actually worried for Miss Nancy & Miss Janet! These two kids can be pretty crazy together! :)

Samantha's class sang 2 songs. She knew all the words, and one was even in Spanish!

Samantha and her classmate and friend Stella.

Samantha and friend-classmate Jayger (Mikena's big brother).

Preschool Field Trip to the Zoo

Samantha's preschool class had a field trip to the Zoo on May 14th. There wasn't much "staying together" with the class, it was kind of a "go where ever you want - you're on your own" kind of trip. We met up with Alison and Drew Moyer and toured the zoo together. We took Alden with us and he had a blast, but we left Clair at home with Doug's mom and I'm sure she had more fun with Grandma than being in a stroller all day! :) We met early outside the gates and snapped a few pictures with Samantha's preschool classmates, and then we never saw them again the whole day! :) Drew, Samantha, and Alden held hands most of the day and we thought one of them would surely fall down and skin a knee from being connected all day, however, it was Samantha who skinned her knee not once but twice that day! And neither time was from running while holding each other's hands. :) We saw the Giraffes, Zebras, Sea Lions, Gorillas, Lions, Tigers, Bears, Aquarium, and Jungle!! The new Madagascar exhibit was open, and we were able to walk through it. Although, I think the kids were a little disappointed to only see Lemurs, Lemurs, and more Lemurs....and no big animals like on the movie Madagascar. The exhibit was very educational and I even learned a few things about Madagascar! :) I think we were all amazed at how much ground we covered! After the Gorillas, we stopped at the picnic tables to grab a snack and see Samantha & Drew's teachers - Miss Janet & Miss Nancy. This counted as our lunch because they had so many left over snacks from the school year! After our snacks, we went to the Jungle by Drew's request. Samantha and Alden went across the rope bridge with Alison and Drew - which was a first for them! At about 2:00, we decided we were all done and needed to head to the car. Samantha slept the whole way home, which is very odd because she doesn't take naps, but Alden didn't take a nap at all that day. I guess he was just too excited to sleep! :)

Samantha's Preschool Picnic & Last Day Of 3 Year Old Preschool

Last Tuesday, Samantha had her last day of Preschool for this year. Next year she will be in the 4 & 5 year old class! Where has the time gone? She had 7 kids in her class this year, next year she will have a lot more. All of her friends except one from this year's class will be in next year's class. We also had a picnic on the last day of school, however the weather was too bad to be outside for it, so we stayed in the gym. Alden & Clair went with me and they both enjoyed running around and watching the other kids.