Heading out the door, ready for school

Zach and Alex, on the other hand, began their school careers this year, entering into Kindergarten. They are having a blast at school, and they are doing really well, especially with their letters and numbers. They really like their teacher, Mr. Kampa. We take the boys to school most days, but on Fridays when Daddy works from home, they get to take the school bus. Daddy then joins the class to help out for a few hours – something both he and the class really enjoy.

In addition to school, the Fall season meant lots of activities for Zach and Alex – flag football, joining the Cub Scouts as Lion Cubs, and swim lessons.  It’s been a busy Fall!

The Sept-Oct 2011 photo album has pictures from Zach and Alex’s first day at school and their first bus ride to and from school. There are also pictures from flag football, a family trip to the Scarecrow Festival at Emma Krumbee’s, a playdate at the Festival with some of the boys’ friends from New Horizon and a few fun activities around the house.

Zach and Alex with Ms. Kate

Just quick post for some fun pics… The big step was Zach and Alex’s last day in the Pre-K class at New Horizon, which was celebrated with afternoon treats that we brought in for the class before they said goodbye to their teachers and friends. NHA did a great job getting them ready for their next big step: Kindergarten!

The July-Aug 2011 album has the pics from that day, along with photos from an afternoon at the Stages childrens’ theater to see “Annie, Jr.” and some family fun at the bowling alley (be sure to check out the video of Alex and Zach getting their groove on  when some dance music started playing for Cosmic Bowling – it’s sure to make you smile!)

Alex and Zach in class

Zach and Alex spent the 2010-11 school year, along with the summers before and after, at New Horizon Academy in the Pre-Kindergarten class. They had an absolute blast learning and playing with their friends and their great teachers. Ms. Kate, the room’s lead teacher, took pictures of the class frequently and posted them online for the parents to see all the fun things they were doing. I’ve posted the ones of the boys in the New Horizon – Preschool album. Come in and play!

Our proud graduates

Zach and Alex hit a big milestone in June, graduating from preschool at New Horizon Academy in a special ceremony complete with caps and gowns, Pomp and Circumstance, certificates and very proud parents. They are so excited to be moving on to kindergarten this fall! Pictures from the graduation and from the class picnic hosted by some of the parents are in the May-June album, starting on page 2.

They also finally got to try out the awesome Razor scooters they got from Auntie Amy for their birthday (pics and a video are in the album!). They picked it up really quickly – but they’re also very glad they have knee pads and elbow pads. They do, however, wish they had butt pads too.

The Vandermarks, Sept 2010

I’ll try to get better about posting simple updates when a new batch of photos have been loaded (like the remainder of our April trip to AZ that uploaded last night), but in the meantime, here’s just a straight list of the albums that have been updated/created since last Sept:

• Sept-Oct 2010 – the Scarecrow Festival, the circus, Halloween
• Visit with Auntie Mary Ann – who came to visit us in Sept
• Infiniti Crash II: The Deer – the results when a deer runs in front of a car doing 65 mph.
• Nov-Dec 2010 – Christmas decorating, Thanksgiving in Chicago, big snow storms
• Christmas 2010 – yep, pictures of presents and family at Christmas
• Jan-Feb 2011 – Cole’s 16th birthday, fun birthday parties, making cookies and craft projects
• Zach and Alex’s 5th birthday – including their 1st “friends” party
• Mar-Apr 2011 – Karen’s birthday, planting a garden
• Spring Break 2011 – a few days of fun in Chicago
• Arizona – April 2011 – a family get-together

During that time span, the usual comings-and-goings have occurred, but there have been two things of note.  First is a big change for Zach and Alex – rather than having a nanny, they now attend the preschool/daycare at my office.  Some mornings are a little tough and they definitely miss seeing Debbie all the time, but they are really having a great time with their new friends and teachers at the “school at Mommy’s work.”  They do a lot of fun things there – they even had a petting zoo there this week and learned to make ice cream from Ben and Jerry’s a couple weeks ago (I was a little jealous).  And best of all, I’ve even gotten to have lunch with them a couple times – it’s really nice having them so close!

A family portrait with Minnie and Mickey

The other big event for us was a special trip with Grandma Pat and Papa Bob: Zach and Alex’s first visit to Disney World. We had a great time – the boys are already talking about our next trip to see Mickey. They particularly enjoyed the character meals, where your favorite characters walk up to your table for pictures and autographs.  My favorite moments of the entire trip were when Alex got to meet his beloved Eeyore and Zach, his dear Pooh Bear – it’s that magic, seen through the eyes of two little boys, that Disney is all about.  We of course took a ton of pictures to capture all the fun, and you can find them in the Disney World – May 2010 photo album.

Coach Daddy, Alex and Zach

In other news, the Preschool Sports season has started again for the 3- and 4-year-olds. The kids played soccer (or some chaotic version of it) for the first two weeks. They’ve got team pictures next week and then move on to teeball in July. Zach and Alex are the Green team again, although they’d be quick to tell you it’s the Dark Green team, not the Lime Green like last year.  And best of all, they have “Coach Daddy” on their team, as Joe is one of the team coaches; Joe is loving the opportunity to be involved in their sports!  Pictures from the season so far are in the May – June 2010 photo album.

In addition to all the Disney pics, here are all the other photo albums from the past few months, since I have lapsed on posting them:

• March – April 2010 – Karen’s birthday, fun in the kitchen, a day at the zoo
• Easter 2010 – egg hunt, Easter gifts, egg decorating
• Target Field – April 2010 – Joe went to Game #3 at the new park with our friend Phil
• Kwo Ue’s birthday party – a great day with friends
• May – June 2010 – playtime at Chuck E Cheese, Joe’s birthday, Father’s Day and Preschool Soccer
• Twins Game – May 2010 – date night at the game with Phil and Heather

Zach, Teacher Becky and Alex

It’s September, and as in most households, that means it’s time for school!  Cole started in 9th grade this year at his junior high (yep, you read that right: he’s a freshman already!), while Zach and Alex started preschool.  As you can imagine, Zach and Alex were just a little more excited about going to school than their big brother – but then, they didn’t have homework looming over them like Cole did.   The little guys really had a great time at school.  They played with cool toys, read a story, sang some songs and even had a popcorn snack (does it get any better?). They had so much fun that they were totally worn out and quiet the whole way home.  We don’t have pictures of Cole’s first day (for which I’m sure he’s grateful), but we do have pics from Z&A’s first day in the Sept – Oct 2009 photo album.

Also in that photo album are a couple of pictures we took when my cousins Angie, Josh and Aubrey came up to visit us and go to the “Great Minnesota Get-Together” – the State Fair.  I think Angie and I had both planned on taking more pictures than we did, but somehow we were too busy eating all the yummy foods on a stick.  We don’t have many pictures to prove it, but we all had a great time. They hope to come back another year if for no other reason than Josh needs to get his deep-fried pickles again (my faves too)!

The July – Aug 2009 album also has some new photos, including some food fun, a trip to the zoo, a visit to the BP Fire Station for their open house, and the cool Star Wars ships Z&A earned with potty training.