Looking Back: This was his first year of preschool

And it was very exciting.

He went to Mt. Tabor Co-Op, just like Sophia did, and he loved it just as much.

There was never even a moment of hesitation for Oliver, he was a pro right from the beginning. He tried everything—painting, play dough, the sandbox, singing, you name it. He made friends immediately and easily. He was a joyful addition to the class from day one (I'm not just being biased, that's actually what Teacher Amy said.)

These are all pictures from his first day, which is a great day to volunteer in the classroom, not that he needed me there at all, it's just nice to have some pictures of the very first day. And I'm happy to say that I somehow managed to make him a pair of first-day-of-school pants. (I don't remember how I pulled that off!)

This was also the very last year for the Mt. Tabor Preschool to be located in this particular room. It's been there for more than 50 years! Not only will Oliver be part of the class who enjoyed the final year in the original preschool room, he'll also be the first class in the new location (in the same building). How cool is that?

Bike Rides!

by Sophia

Yesterday afternoon we rode our bikes on a bike path across a bridge.The river was very very pretty!  The bike path led us down the sidewalk, down a big hill, and then to the bridge. We went very fast! We looked
at the river for a while, and then we got hungry and we rode back and went home and had cream strawberry pie!

Mama's Fresh Cream Strawberry Pie

by Sophia


Yesterday we went to Oaks Park for the Scandinavian Midsummer Festival, but it looked a little too much like the Farmer's Market so we decided to go on four of the rides instead. 

The rides were very very fun! We all had cherry flavored snow cones and they were delicious! We stayed for 3 hours! 

When we got back, Mama made fresh cream strawberry pie for us and it was delicious!

Here is the recipe:

Strawberry and Whipped Cream Pie (makes one 10-inch pie)

Crust:

1-1/3 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

6 Tablespoons melted butter

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.  Mix everything together by hand, and press firmly into a 10-inch springform pan.  The crust should also go up the sides of the pan about three inches.  Bake in the oven for about 12 minutes, until it has firmed up a bit.  Let it cool while you prepare the filling.

Filling:

5 cups strawberries, washed and stems removed.

1/4 cup sugar

1 Tablespoon gelatin powder, soaked in 1/4 cup cold water

Roughly chop one cup of the strawberries and place in a small saucepan with the sugar.  Cook until reduced to a puree.  Remove from the heat, then stir in the soaked gelatin.  Mix with the remaining strawberries, then immediately pour into the cooled crust.  Spread the out so the top is level, then prepare the whipped cream topping.

Topping:

1-1/2 cups heavy cream

1 Tablespoon powdered sugar

1 teaspoon gelatin powder

2 tablespoons milk

Whip the cream and sugar to stiff peaks.  Soak the gelatin in the milk for two minutes, then heat gently until dissolved.  Gradually fold the whipped cream into the gelatin, then spread on top of the strawberries.  Chill for several hours before removing from the pan and slicing.

...And now the school year is over

Where did that year go? The whole thing was a blur of school, baby, work, and messy house. Zip, it's gone!

So I'm going to try to recreate it here with periodic "Looking Back" posts. I know, lofty goals, but it's worth a shot!

As for the lovely, lovely summer we find ourselves enjoying right now, Sophia is going to help me record our wholesome exploits. So that'll be fun!

Happy summer!

The First Day of First Grade

Sophia started first grade on Wednesday! Seriously! My baby is a first grader. Sigh.

She is so happy to be back. And she's loving that it's familiar this year (I can tell already that she's more confident than last year, even at the end of the year).

I can also tell that the long day won't be as tough on her this year. She doesn't seem as wiped out when she gets home and it's been much easier for her to transition from school to playing with Oliver in the afternoon. Still I think we'll keep afternoons and weekends for family even though we've already started getting invitations to join various after school activities.


I'm not sure if I'm entirely ready for the new school year, but, a little like Sophia, I'm more ready than I was last year.