Regardless of how we feel and whether or not we are ready, school begins bright and early on Tuesday, September 4 for the girls and then on Thursday for Ethan. After the preparations for Matt's party and the variable moods of August, we tried to make the best of it during our last week of "freedom".
Monday we were finally able to do a trip to the National Mississippi River Museum in Dubuque, Iowa. The kids and I have been interested in doing this day trip for a few years and we even had plans to do it a couple of times this summer, but it never quite worked until Monday. While Matt was at work, we drove early enough in the morning to be able to spend a couple of hours checking things out before lunch, then we had another few hours before making the drive back home in the late afternoon.
Ethan was a huge fan of the model river, with working dams and locks.
The whole setup was very timely, considering how much rain we have gotten in Wisconsin during the last several weeks. Flooding, dams, and locks are all words that are part of our almost-daily vocabulary right now.
After playing with the model for a long time, we visited the sting ray tank and were able to pet a few different animals.
Then Kate was enamored with the aquarium tanks. "Mom! There's an octopus in this one! Mom! Come look at the sea star! Mom! This one has a lion fish!"
During a break in the rain, we found a comfy bench for our lunch break.
After lunch, we walked through the ship yard before entering the second building. This was Ethan's place to shine. "Mom, what do you think that machine is for? Mom, I bet those propellers are shaped like a fan to push the water." Ethan has been talking to Matt ever since our return about when the two of them can go back to the museum together; Matt does a better job of explaining the mechanical aspects than I do ...
Anna used her crutches all morning and was visibly becoming fatigued in the afternoon. She asked to use her walker, but spent plenty of time perched on the back of it watching the fish tanks.
However, everyone perked up towards the end when we had a few hands-on opportunities. All three kids were able to meet a skink.
We ended our afternoon at the museum in the "touch and feel" room that had animal skins, fossils, crayfish, and all manner of other objects to explore.
Since we had relatively few of these excursions this summer, we stopped at Dairy Queen for a special treat before the long drive home. Culver's or the local cafe are our preferred ice cream venues, so the kids were not used to soft serve cones or the novelty items at DQ. It was a messier experience than we usually have with ice cream.
We were tired by the end of that day!
The rest of the week included haircuts, last minute errands for school supplies, a trip to the hospital for an appointment for Anna, Ethan's first soccer practice, and plenty of opportunities to meet teachers.
We met with Anna's team on Tuesday and then stopped by the middle school each day after that for more opportunities for Anna to get familiar with the building before it is packed with other kids. Many members of Anna's therapy, medical, and educational teams recommended that she get as settled as possible with the surroundings before adding in the mental work of navigating the whole middle school experience.
With the kids in three different buildings this year, we had three rounds of school supply drop-offs and meet the teacher nights. A few of our evenings included dinner in shifts before dividing and conquering the events separately.
Outside of the school preparations, we continued to harvest and preserve tomatoes throughout the week. Sunday afternoon Matt and I canned about 20 quarts of salsa while I tackled stewed tomatoes and tomato juice later in the week. We have also been able to eat fresh pears and apples, with the first round of applesauce being made on Saturday and plans to can pears sometime this week.
In related news, one of our chickens has begun laying eggs!
She's still inconsistent, skipping some days, but the eggs are gradually getting bigger and they taste delicious!
The other news from the yard involved some monarch caterpillars that we found on the milkweed in our perennial area.
Since we have never found the unique caterpillars there before and thus haven't been able to watch the whole metamorphasis process in our home, we decided to adopt one and care for it for as long as necessary.
Kate made sure that we all knew that the caterpillar would form a "J" shape before it formed its chrysalis. Last night, it started hanging in the anticipated shape.
At one point this morning, we noticed that it had a different coloration on its head. Within a couple of minutes, we were all able to actually watch the caterpillar form its chrysalis! It was a pretty awesome experience to witness.
Now Kate informs us that we need to wait about 1-2 weeks for the butterfly to emerge, at which point we will release it back outdoors :)
The rest of the weekend included lots of rainy indoor times. During one morning, Matt was able to modify Anna's school backpack so that it doesn't slip from side to side as much when she carries it down the hallway.
Using crutches to get from class to class means that you need an alternative way to carry your supplies since your hands are otherwise occupied. But a backpack doesn't hang quite the same way when you're using crutches, thus the need for modification. It's still a pretty awesome blessing to have a dad who has the knowledge, skills, and tools to fix these kinds of problems.
In closing, I think we are about as ready as we can be for the school year to begin. Expect for having to wake up with an alarm five days a week again ... :(
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