First Day of 4th Grade

 The day has finally come... FIRST day of 4th Grade!  Insane!

It was a foggy and humid morning starting out.

Goodbye my sweet boy.  As my Dad used to always say, "Give 'er hell!"   Seriously though... it doesn't get an easier; Momma still shed a few tears once Bill drove the bus away. 

As I got my morning breakfast ready, before heading downstairs, I caught this magnificent sight at the lake side.

"This is the day the Lord has made.  Let us rejoice and be glad."

Later in the day... got this picture from Ramsey's teacher; his 4th Grade class.

Ramsey's First Airplane Ride

 Oh, another FIRST for Ramsey... first trip in an airplane.  Wahoo!   We'd planned a trip to see Grandpa Orin and Grandma Judi at their home in Ohio.   Our flight was to leave around 7AM, so we were up REEEEEEALLY EARLY.  Oye! 

Ramsey did GREAT going through Security. He had everything all figured out and knew what to remove from his suitcase and where to scan things.  I was a usual chaotic spaz, having packed too many things that had to be taken out and viewed.  🥴

When it was time to board, Ramsey was OFF and running, leaving me in the dust on the jet bridge.  I have other pictures, but they are ALL blurry because he was hustling so fast.

We had games and Netflix shows downloaded onto his Kindle to make the trip fun.

There was some sort of "issue" on the plane that had to be "looked at".  That's always fun to know and try to explain to a small child.  The tech was dispatched and had fixed the issue in under an hour.  And, they also deiced the plane while we waited. 

Ramsey was starting to get nervous as the plane started to move.  Then, the lights in the cabin went off and it was "go time".

Too bad the lighting couldn't have been better.  Ramsey LOVED take-off and thought it was "perfect"!

We had to move QUICKLY to our next flight.  With the last delay, we didn't have much time. We had two more quick flights; one from Minneapolis to Detroit and then from Detroit to Columbus.   

On Flight 2 from Detroit to Columbus, the flight attendant gave Ramsey a nice gold pair of wings. He was elated and put it on his sweatshirt.  When we landed, he was allowed into the cockpit to meet the pilots and check out the controls!  Even better! 

When we arrived in Detroit, we had a bite to eat and waited for the last flight to Columbus.

Ramsey got a kick out of watching planes taking off and landing.

When we arrived in Columbus, we hopped in the transport van and rented a Nissan 4-door. Ramsey got to pick... he wanted "the cool fast black car".

Then, off we drove to Grandpa and Grandma's house to stay for the week!

January School Fun

 Ramsey has another great teacher this year.  She sends us lots of pictures and updates of the fun things they do in school.  

This week, she sent pictures of the kids' solar system project.

AND, Ramsey's absolute favorite new event.... ice skating.  Ramsey had never ice-skated before (a new first!) and there just happens to be an ice-skating rink right next to the school.   The kids (who hadn't skated much before) used chairs as stabilizers for balance.  And, afterwards, they got warm cups of hot cocoa.  Ramsey said this was one awesome afternoon!

Ramsey is in the front row, wearing the black face mask.

A New First for Ramsey: Hockey Game

 Another new FIRST for Ramsey - his first hockey game!  Wahoo!   We were greeting by Santa and Mrs. Claus not long after entering the building.  Photo opp!  ;-)

It was our neighbor girl's birthday (one of Ramsey's "sisters") birthday.  The party was held at a Wings game at the local ice arena, in a private suite.   Since there would be adults at the party, I went to the shindig too!    We got there a bit early to check it out.   The suite filled up with friends quickly.  The suite had a bar, drinks, heaters, and food. 

The Wings are a Tier II junior ice hockey team (teenagers).   The young men actually go to school here in town for the season, staying with host families.  

At one of the intermissions, "Winger", the mascot, and the canon-bearing 4-wheeler driver came onto the ice.  The kids went wild, waving their hands, begging to get a free Wings T-shirt.

Ramsey was the lucky one in our suite to get a T-shirt.  He was thrilled!  

I was happy for him, but also happy because it was more my size than his!  ha!  Mine!!!

It had been a close match-up, but things heated up in the last period.

 There had been a few scuffles throughout the game, but there was one fight that broke out that was pretty wild!  I had to capture it on one of the monitor's replay since I didn't have my camera ready.  These boys went fist to cuffs for a bit, swinging rather violently.  But, at the end, they gave each other a fist bump and went about their business.   

I asked why the refs didn't break up the fight.  Apparently it's such a common occurrence, they just let them throw their punches, get it out of their systems, then go on with the game once the tiff is over.

After the game ended (The Wings won!), the team captains and the referees gathered and knelt for a unity prayer.

I will say, it was much more impressive and entertaining than I thought it would be - I wasn't sure what to expect from an advanced youth league.  It was loads of fun!  

Before we left, Ramsey got hold of the suite's crazy clanger.   He's not one for loud noises, but he had a ton of fun ringing the bell.

Ramsey's First Communion

 In the church we attend, anyone at any age can take the classes and celebrate their First Communion.  Typically, third and fourth graders take part in receiving this sacrament.  

On Saturday morning, First Communion classes were held at the church.

Ramsey learned more about this special event, what it means, tried a host, and even drank wine for the first time. (Incidentally, he was not impressed!)

Then, on Sunday, at church, the entire congregation celebrated with these youngsters as they received the Eucharist for the first time.  

Pics from the Teacher

 Day 1 got off to an amazing start for Ramsey at school.  (It was only a half of a day, technically.)

When he got off of the bus at 4PM, he chattered away at how amazing school was, what he learned, classroom rules and opportunities, who he played with at recess, who he saw on the bus, etc.    Success!

This morning, his teacher sent over these pictures of Ramsey and his classmates through the Seesaw app (which has a feature for parents and teachers to message, send pics, etc).   

Ramsey's last teacher was very active on Seesaw and sent lots of pictures and classroom activities.  I think Ms. H is going to also be quite active on the app, which I am very thankful for!

I have to chuckle because after Ramsey read that Ms. H would be his teacher (and that he had some buddies in his class, plus a bully was not! ha!), he said, "Mom, God really did answer my prayers!"  😊🥰

First Day of 3rd Grade

Oh Ramsey, little Doodlebug, what a fun and aterrific first morning of school!

So, this child AMAZED me this morning. I begrudgingly rolled out of bed at 6:05AM (after one snooze).  With gritty sore eyes, I trudged down the stairs to Ramsey's room to get him up.  I met the little stinker in the hallway.  He's carrying his Darth Vader digital clock and he's pointing at it, telling me he got himself up all by himself - he set his own alarm!   That little milestone goes on a "Ramsey's First List!" ha!  I was impressed.  From there, I knew even more that he was beyond eager and enormously excited to get back to school.  That made my heart so very happy.  It perked me up and I forgot about my tiredness and red eyes.

On this morning, there was no foot-dragging or otherwise.  Everything was QUICK, EASY, with zero chance of any meltdowns, sadness, or whining to have to eat breakfast.  Nope... I hate to jinx it, but it was a pretty excellent morning.  (I'm still shocked, honestly.)

Of course, I had to take a gazillion pictures.  Ramsey was talking like a ventriloquist through his teeth, stating all of the things he was looking forwar to that day, and worried about when the bus was going to be there (it wasn't for another 20 minutes, so he needed to CHILL!).

For his First Day of School sign, he told me that the "Favorite Subject" should be changed to "History".  But, then again, I didn't need to formally change it, since he could learn history through reading.  I'm taking that as a nod that I can leave my Photoshop print as-is.  Yay.

During these pictures from the main entry, he looked past the yard and to the lake.  He screamed with excitement at the beauty of the sunrise!  He hadn't seen a sunrise for at least three months. And this one, well it was magnificent.  

He was so anxious for his new backpack and to see Bill, the bus driver, that he had to make a few "test runs" to the road to make sure the backpack was sufficiently snug.  He cleared it as-is with no changies.  I had to laugh.

After being ready so early, Bill showed up at 6:52 AM.  We waved to each other and I kissed my baby goodbye for today.  

When he returns, I hope he still has starry eyes, plus a boatload of amazing fun stories to tell us!

God, please bless my child this year at school... and bless his teachers and friends, the bus drivers, lunch preparers, the school receptionists, the nurse, the principal, and everyone else that makes my special boy's day a good one.

School's Open House

Ramsey, Monday morning:  "Mom, I am really nervous for school tomorrow."
Me: "Are you nervous in a good/excited way or in a scared sort of way?"

Ramsey: "More scared, but a little excited."

I know there can be lots of emotions when going back to school.  After all, school has structure... and book-learning... and people... LOTS of people.  Oh, the varying personalities, playground drama, older kids picking on younger ones on the bus, and the desire to just "fit in".   I get it, little bud, I get it.  

We had errands to run before the open house, but we wrapped them up early and were able to get to the school well in advance.   When we arrived, Ramsey told me to stay in the car, as he wanted to go to the front door to check the list to see who his teacher was.

When he returned, he was ECSTATIC to know that his teacher would be Ms. Hoellein.  I asked him which friends would be in his class.  He was so excited with the teacher, he didn't check the class list.  So, we went back together.  Right then, the school principal also was walking to the main doors.   She was cheerful and made Ramsey feel so special with her personal greeting and welcome back!

Sidenote: Ramsey was quite pleased with his classroom friends.  There were a few he wished were switched, but overall, he was happy.

Early arrival advantages:  We found a great parking spot, snapped pictures without a ton of people in the background, and (bonus!) the ability to play on the playground for a nice chunk of time!

I even played; climbing around and swinging.  

It was quite warm, so Ramsey broke out into a sweat.  Gosh, he was having fun though.

I could tell that he was really excited in general!

With 15 minutes to spare until the doors opened, Ramsey wanted to leave the playground, grab his supplies, and prepare himself for entry into the school. 

After the doors opened, the horde of people entered the school.  Ramsey knew exactly where to go and found his classroom.   We met his teacher and he immediately went to find his desk.

Ms. Hoellein had a survey on the board for the kids.  One of the questions was "How do you feel about 3rd Grade?"   Ramsey happily put his sticker in the "Excited" area.  

We were happy to see that his buddy, Henry, would be in his class this year!  He hadn't been the previous years, so both boys (and us Mommas!) were thrilled.  

After we unpacked his supplies, we took a peek around the classroom at all of the wonderful decorations, fun reading area, meaningful quotes/reminders.  Then, we said a "see ya for now" to Ms. Hoellein.  

Ramsey, after returning home from the open house: "Mom, I want to make time to faster. How do I do that?"

Me: "Is this because you are anxious to get back to school?"

Ramsey: "YES!"

Me:  "Then, go to bed.  When you're sleeping, time flies by quickly.  Get some rest.  6AM comes quicker than we think!"

With that, for once, the kid didn't baulk at bedtime prep or try to stall in any way.  He did the usual ritual without numerous "reminders" and then stated he was ready for bed.

I read him a few stories from his favorite silly fairytale book.   After about 15 minutes, he informed me "that's enough, Mom, I'm ready to sleep now".  He didn't chat with God too long at prayer time either!  It was rather short and sweet. 

Wishing this sweetheart the best and most amazing 3rd Grade year ever!