First Day of Preschool + A Rookie Mistake

Lorin started preschool on Thursday, and we both love the program (the Child Study Lab at ASU). I really like the "emergent learning" (basically, child-directed and play-centered learning) philosophy and the teacher-child ratio (there is a wonderful master teacher and 3-4 college students - for 11 kids). There is also an observation room, which is fascinating.

Last week, during the New Parent Orientation and the Meet-the-Teacher, the teacher outlined a possible separation process for the kids who had problems. I was sure I'd have to use at least a modified process because for the last 6 months or so Lorin has cried (briefly) when we've left her with babysitters or even relatives. I even talked to the teacher about strategies. So when I dropped her off for the first time, I was very deliberate about saying good-bye and telling her that I would be back after they sang the "Good-bye Song." She barely looked up from the rice table to tell me, "Okay, 'bye!" And that was that. I stayed and watched from the observation room and saw that she had a great time.

In my excitement over school and Fall in general (I will never forgive Phoenix for not having a Fall), I might have gone a little overboard during the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale. But my kid was going to be the best dressed preschooler out there. During New Parent Orientation, however, the teacher explained how they encouraged the kids to be messy - including using multiple art mediums and helping in the school garden. Plus, it'll be 90+ degrees until November. So I'll be taking some very cute clothes back to Nordstrom. And here's my "well-dressed" kid on her very first day of school ever:

So what else did we do in Utah?

Ate, played, and shopped at IKEA. Twice.

Drove up Little Cottonwood Canyon to ride the tram at Snowbird. Upon arrival, discovered that they closed the tram for wind between the time we called to make sure they were still operating and the time we showed up.

Attended multiple weddings/receptions.

Got together with my college roommates, their husbands, and all our kids. There are four of us, and ten kids. I'm not really pulling my weight.

Visited with aunts and uncles and cousins.

Played at Liberty Park while wearing long sleeves in the 67-degree and cloudy weather. (Yeah, I slipped that one in for my Arizona friends.)

Learned how to make fondue at a Thanksgiving Point cooking class.

Discovered at Discovery Gateway, the children's museum.

Rode Trax.

Admired the flowers on Temple Square.

Watched Julie and Julia and The Time Traveler's Wife.

Reminisced with old Germany friends - 20 years later. (And learned that people I knew when I was 12 now have kids that age.)

Had a great time!

Picnic in Little Cottonwood Canyon

Lorin keeps asking to go on another picnic. We could, but she's going to be mighty disappointed when there's no mountain, no cool stream, no Granddad digging up big rocks, no splashing Nana, and the weather is 40 degrees hotter.

The day I realized Lorin is older than I think.

I was skeptical about whether she would appreciate it, but Lorin loved This Is the Place Heritage Park. All I remember from when I was a kid is being bored, but they've got all kinds of things going on now. Lorin got to

1) Ride a "train"

2) Write on a chalk slate


3) Decorate a cloth bookmark

4) Pet the animals


5) Ride a pony


6) Eat ice cream

7) Tool leather, and


8) Flip out in the public restroom (thanks again, Hogle Zoo)

Ma Famille

I think the humans in Wall-E were on to something...

Let me tell you, riding is the way to go. This visit to Thanksgiving Point, we rented a golf cart, which made it lovely - especially during the August heat.



The golf cart, however, only really holds four, and we were five and Lorin. So my brother was left out. But don't worry - we found something else for him:


Which reconfirmed, however,


that there is absolutely


positively


no way


to look cool while riding a Segway.


(But he didn't mind. As soon as we got back to the house, he was googling price information and planning a Segway trip through Europe...)

Cute baby giraffe, but why aren't there any photos of Lorin at Hogle Zoo?*

Say hello to Baby Jamar, who was born four days before I took these pictures:





* Because of the damn bathrooms. The automatic toilet decided to flush on Lorin mid-stream, which scared her so badly that she jumped and peed on her leg, which made her cry. So I'm trying to clean up a sobbing child when I get a blinding shooting pain from the back of my neck to my eyeball because I slept funny on an unfamiliar pillow. It was not a good moment for either of us, and I'm glad no one else was there to silently judge me. Anyway, we left as soon as we could after that. And Lorin still refuses to go in a public toilet, automatic or not.

Adventures in Utah: Lorin's 1st Temple Open House

On our first morning in Utah, we got up early and braved the gathering crowds to hit the second-to-last day of the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house. It was slow going, but Lorin was reasonably well-behaved (and had 6 adults to entertain her), although she did escape into roped-off areas a couple of times. That kid is fast.

A week later, Lorin recounted the highlights: 1) the movie (that they showed before walking through) and 2) the cookie (that they gave her in the hospitality tent afterwards). Reminds me of my visit to the Jordan River Temple open house when I was around her age; all I remember is putting the blue booties over my shoes.

It was too crowded to take any pictures that day, so we went back the next weekend. The immediate grounds were gated, but we found an open patch of grass, where we ran into the daughter of some friends of my parents. She and Lorin had a great time posing for pictures and running back to see them. I think they look like an ad for the world-wide Church.