Hello 2nd & 4th Grade....Finally!!!!!

The gang at Mount Rushmore

Dear Joshua and Luke,

School did not start off as smoothly as we had hoped.  Daddy and you were all in South Dakota for a visit with Aunt Amy's family. The visit was a blast - you had fun hiking, walking around, enjoying Aunt Amy and Uncle Ray's new house, a visit to Mount Rushmore, a day in the Bad Lands and so much more.  (Daddy even managed to visit Sturgis during the visit, but there will be no pictures from that adventure!)

Cousins at the Bad Lands

 It had been an awesome visit, but on one of the last days there, Daddy had a little car trouble.  Actually it turned out to be BIG car trouble!   Daddy took the car to the dealer only to find out that the cost was going to be a minimum of $1800 and the parts were not coming in for three days.  That meant the boys would not be home as expected.  So.......two days until school started and the mechanics needed at least another day to fix the car with no promises that it would be done that evening.



The night before school started you finally left South Dakota for the 15 hour journey home.  Dad did a great job of bringing you all home safely and only an hour and a few minutes late for the first day of school!  Dad pulled into the parking lot at school, changed your shirts, and sent you into school.  I had your backpacks ready and I escorted you both to class.  Both of you used the restroom and splashed water on your faces. (Joshua had to get off the residue from the blue ring pop he devoured through the night!)  Given the long straight-through drive home, you both could have gone home to sleep and shower before coming back to school the next day.
 

Daddy and the boys at the Bad Lands

In the early hours of that morning as Dad was driving, Luke told Daddy how important the first day of school was.  He told Dad that the first day of school was important because you had to learn the new things about being in your class and new grade.  He even mentioned how it set the tone for the rest of the school year.  I am certain that Luke has heard me say that to people many times.  I just did not realize he had been listening to me!






So finally they made it to 2nd & 4th grade!  You both officially started school in your new grade for the year!  We could not be more proud of you!  Both of you love school and love your teachers already.

I am simply amazed at how much work Joshua does in a day.  He is busy completing meaningful work in the classroom, but his teacher still finds time for them to recycle, pull weeds, and take care of the school gardens.  Joshua is so excited about it, too.  He loves the challenges in his class.  He loves his friends - old and new - in his class, too. Joshua said that the best thing about his class is that he can go to the library any time he wants to.  That is not actually true, but the classroom is very close to the library and he loves to go!

Luke is sailing along in 2nd grade.  He is also very lucky to have friends in his class - both old and new.  Luke is reading like crazy and learning so much in class.  Luke's teacher told me that Luke is always paying attention and looking at him when he is talking.  He said he really appreciates that about Luke. Luke is really enjoying his teacher, too.

So yes, once again, I am one proud mama.  Proud that my boys love school as much as I did when I was a child.  Proud that my boys realize how important school is ~ every single day of it. Even though the beginning of school was not as smooth as we would have liked, it was memorable and some day we look back and laugh about "that year."  But I am not ready to do that yet! 

I love you both so much more today than I did yesterday.

Love,
Mom