Life as a Brandtito

            Here are a few weekend shots. We didn't do too much this weekend. Annabelle had soccer practice on Saturday and returned home with the Johnson boys who spent the rest of the day blessing us with their company. It was too many boys for me so I did some shopping and sushi with my lovely girlfriends.                                                                             Kingsley has it rough. This is how I feel when I don't get to sleep in....          We also started working on our dance moves for SSDI's ...

            Every Friday at Dixon is "Spirit Day" where the children wear either school shirts or red, white and blue.  We've ordered school shirts but until they arrive, we'll be sporting our colors instead! You'll notice the girls are REALLY into feathered accessories these days! The almost 10 year old Gavin had his first field trip of the year today as well. The 5th graders went to Navarre for some ocean biology lessons & a little kayaking fun. He said he had a really good time and his teacher (who is wonderful, amazing, and all things great) sent me the picture below and said he seemed to really enjoy himself!!

This is the reaction most of my "new ideas" get Every year since Annabelle started school the kids are forced to do a "Back to School Survey". The questions are generally the same, but I usually mix in one or 2 new ones to keep it age appropriate, (For example this year we had to get rid of the "favorite cartoon" question in lieu of the "favorite TV show" question ::sniff sniff::). It's neat to look back over their old answers and also watch their handwriting and spelling improve ( in some cases ) each year.  This year I decided to up the anty and force the kids to particpate include a short video of the mini's to go along with their surveys...below are the results...Enjoy.. (You may have better luck viewing if you click to view directly from You Tube..)   If you listen closely...you can hear Gavin realize he's been eating Seminole germs all year...   "Can I get something out of my backpack" translation ...

First day of school "We Survived" photo One week down, 35 or so to go. The kids have adjusted really well to Dixon and other than a few first day mix ups, seem to be navigating their new school quite effortlessly. We're still struggling to actually get back into "school" mode at home...but we're working on it! The kids got to be car riders last week,  but have been officially back in the swing of things bus riders as of Monday. They'll be going to LEAD Academy 2 days a week and riding the bus to my office the additional 3.  Most days they won't have to be there too long as myself or John will run them home, but on the days they do they've got a designated "homework" area to use and plenty of snacks (as apparently being completely famished after school is a thing). I'll be uploading the kids back to school interviews as well as a few answers from our annual back to school surveys later this week so you can hear first hand some ...

Happy First Day of School Day !!! Token First Day Awkward Photo...and yes, those are leopard pants Annabelle is wearing...

Random Photo Rundown as we get ready for back to school TOMORROW   Teacher crafts for kissing up on the first day... Annabelle cooked dinner for us on Tuesday. No seriously. She did 80% of the work. Patriot Nails for the girls first day at Dixon Womby. The dog I would like to steal. The girls have started making tents in their room....like on the regular  I have to admit, I'm slightly impressed by their design. Separate "rooms" any everything. Annabelle in a sea of stuffed animals.

We had our orientation at Dixon Intermediate today.  The girls were of course super excited, but GAVIN ACTUALLY REQUESTED A PHOTO of him in his new desk...so I think that shows he's a little excited too. 4th Grader Heaven in her desk! She has Mrs. Kennison this year. 5th Grader Gavin in his new desk in Mrs. Orehosky's Room! 3rd Grader Annabelle in Mrs. Walker's class!! We were very excited with the kid's teachers this year...especially since it's a new school for them! Annabelle's teacher, Mrs. Walker was her Aunt Casey's 3rd grade teacher too!! Casey said it was her all time favorite teacher...so we're taking that as a very good sign. Heaven has Mrs. Kennison and she remembered her from her subbing days at Pea Ridge the minute she saw her! Gavin has Mrs. Orehosky who I went to school with. She is just wonderful and she'll keep a special eye on Gav. Gavin's classroom is also across from Uncle Brian's so he can drop in a...