birthdays and such

September is the month of birthdays around here.  For our immediate family, we celebrate five of them.  It starts with Tanner, then Grandpa Dave, Grandpappy and Auntie Beesie, and the birthday girl of all birthday girls -- Vivian.  The first round of celebrating was fun!

Between parties, I ventured to California (the beautiful island of Coronado, to be exact) for work.  It was a whirlwind trip and we managed to suck every ounce of fun out of it.  How could you not at a place like this?!

One of the highlights was visiting Miramar, the military base that used to house the Top Gun school and where part of the movie Top Gun was filmed.  While there, we got to meet some marines, tour aircrafts, meet some marines, eat dinner, and -- did I mention? -- meet some marines.  In all seriousness, it really was an amazing experience and reiterated the importance of supporting our troops....we saw only a glimpse of the life of the men and women who work on the base and serve our country, and it was humbling.

Back on the home front, we had a busy weekend that involved cheering for ten bands in the Waseca Marching Classic.

The drummers were loud.

Then we came home and caught some crickets.

And now it's time to buckle down and prepare for another week. And more birthdays!  Let the fun continue!

Class of 2026

Miles' first day of kindergarten was a great success!  Let's hope every day proves to be this good until June of 2026.  A few noteworthy items from the day....

Miles complained that it was too cold outside for pictures.  We convinced him to pull back the hood on his sweatshirt and cooperate for 2 minutes.  Deep down he liked the photo shoot.  It's obvious in those poses :)

Weston woke up with an upset tummy and stayed home for the day.  It did smell like he had nervous toots this morning, so maybe he was holding all of the anxiety for the rest of the family.  Regardless, he was still very excited to pose for some pictures and bring Miles to school.

That was the "nice" picture.  He's the "real" picture.

The grass was wet from dew as we tromped through it to get to this sign.  Miles grumbled and it immediately brought back memories from my first days of school....years ago.... The grass was just as wet then as it is now.  Amazing.

Part of the new routine involves leaving his orange folder in the "IN" box for Ms. Jen every morning.  It took a minute to finagle the zippers on his backpack, but Miles quickly figured it out and took care of business. This is also when he looked at me and asked why I was taking so many pictures.  It's a big deal, kiddo!

Then it was time to join the class!  They look like a sharp group!

Miles told us his favorite thing about kindergarten today was recess.  So it has begun... I suggested maybe reading or math, but he said no.  Today it was recess.  Okay!  We're excited to see what tomorrow brings. For now, he's fast asleep dreaming of his new friends and classroom....and maybe another treat. The girls at the ice cream shop went a little overboard.  They must have known we were in a mood to celebrate!

Headed to School!

Miles Jay Grimmius is ready for kindergarten!  We met with his teacher, Ms. Jen, this afternoon.  It was a wonderful visit and we are so happy that she is his teacher.  Whenever he talks about Ms. Jen, he gets a little twinkle in his eye, his voice softens, and his shy smile grows big.... That makes mommy and daddy feel pretty ready for kindergarten, too :-)

Miles will be joining 14 other children in the Kindergarten A room at Kids Korner.  A handful of them have been attending Kids Korner with Miles, and the rest are children who attended daycare and preschool elsewhere.  So it will be a good mix of old and new friends.  This will be the 6th year that Kids Korner has offered kindergarten, which makes Miles among the first batch of kids who have spent their whole young lives there!  He started as an infant...only 12 weeks old...and on Tuesday he begins his final year there as a kindergartner. Needless to say, Kids Korner is a very special place for our family.  

The transition to kindergarten should be relatively smooth, as our daily routine isn't going to change very much....the boys will still get dropped off together most days by daddy, and then picked up together at the end of the day by mommy.  The only real difference is that Miles will now be in the lower level at Kids Korner -- not across the hall from Weston.  We're pretty sure Weston will be concerned about that change and (in typical Weston fashion) will likely express his disappointment.  But as Ms. Jen pointed out, Weston will still see Miles every day when he comes downstairs with his preschool class for gym time.  She assured Miles that he can wave to Weston and even sneak in some hugs.  We think Weston will agree to that plan, too. 

We are so very proud of you, Miles Jay.  Here's to an exciting year of being 5 and then 6, of learning to read, of adding and subtracting, of science experiments and cooking lessons, of writing stories, and of sharing your sweetness with new friends and teachers....  The string you have tied to mama's heart is growing a little longer despite my best attempts to keep it short.  But it's tied tight, little boy!  Have fun and enjoy all of the adventures that await you.  We love you!  All the way to Z.