Oysters

We can add one more thing to list of what Zack will eat--oysters on the half shell.

What an awesome kid!

One week down

I feel like I've been telling everyone I talk to about Zack's first week of kindergarten, so I forgot that I hadn't checked in with the blog. I think we were all a bit tired, and there was about a ream of paper worth of forms to fill out (yes, more of them. ugh).

Let's just start by saying that he did AWESOME! He came home the first day and said "Mommy? I was shy at first, but then I made new friends." That warmed my heart to no end, let me tell you.

By day two, he acted like it was no big deal. He went right into his classroom, he was happy as a clam when I picked him up from aftercare. There is apparently some sort of behavioral chart in the classroom, where blue is excellent behavior, green is good, yellow is a warning, and red is big trouble. He informed me that he was in the blue zone on the first day. One day everyone dropped down to green (he wouldn't tell me why), but he was back up to blue the next day. He likes his teacher, and is having a great time in the aftercare. Really, we couldn't have asked for a better first week. We're so proud of him!

And we have a kindergartener...

The requisite pictures of the first day of Kindergarten!

And yes, it pretty much was organized chaos. Parents aren't allowed to take them to their classrooms the first day (or week. Which is smart, to be honest), so they all line up outside in front of their teacher and march in the school together. He was a little nervous, but did great. Rob and I stood to the side, waiting for them to go in the building, and during that time he asked us for another hug a couple times, but nothing more than that. I can't wait to hear how his first day went!

Oh, and Rob and I have already been chastized at by the principal. We didn't cross at the cross walk when we were walking him down to the school, and all the parents are supposed to set good examples for the kids. Duly noted.

A boy and his lobster.

Calamari at Captain Scott's

More from the beach.

Sandcastle

BEAUTIFUL day at the beach.

Heading to the beach.

War

We've been having squirrel problems. Specifically, the squirrels are picking and eating our tomatoes just as they ripen. We started picking them just before they were ripe. The squirrels seemed to catch on and started eating them sooner. The straw was when Rob came home one night and they'd left a partially eaten heirloom tomato in the middle of the driveway.

So Rob did this:

If it's not clear, he built an 8-foot high structure, netted it, and netted the top. Then he also put cayenne pepper all around the bottom. If that doesn't work, he's threatening to buy heavy artillery.

On a more positive note: baby melons!

Sunday

It's not often that I walk outside on an August morning and think it's almost chilly. What a nice change it was from a few weeks ago when we'd immediately be drenched in sweat as soon as we would walk out the door!

Gratuitous cute picture

Don't ask.

I didn't.

Weekend

Rob and I are off to a wedding this weekend. Zack is hanging out with Kelly. Before we'd even left, they'd turned Bear Bear into the villain of the movie they're making. As we left he was leaving to go to the farmers market with Kelly and Cessy and barely gave us a backward glance. Swimming and a movie are also on the agenda.

He might be disappointed to see us return!

Pizza at Kelly's

Quote of the day.

After I'd answered one of his questions as we were walking into camp, he comes out with,

"You know stuff, Mommy." 

...how does your garden grow?

Very well, thank you. I can't quite capture how lush everything looks. I'm not entirely sure what we're doing, but whatever it is, it's working. Just today I picked 8 cucumbers. The squash are doing well and there are a ton of green tomatoes waiting to ripen. Those squirrels had best stay away!). Zack is really into checking for ripe veggies, which is fun.

Thunder

Poor thing. She likes to lie in my closet when storms are approaching. I didn't even realize she was there right away.

Playground

Happy Fourth!