First day of school

Sunday we went to the Topeka Zoo. One of Meghan's former coworkers gave us a tour of the whole zoo, including many behind the scenes areas. We got up close to the adorable baby hippo. I got to pet and feed mama hippo and had some good photo ops. In case you were wondering, hippos feel like rubber. That was one of my favorite zoo experiences of my life! We also got to see their baby giraffe up close. The tour was great, but the kids were exhausted and acting like zombies. They weren't complaining or whining or anything, just wandering around with blank faces. There was no joy. I wore them completely out with 8 hours at the Omaha Zoo.



We then went to a really cool animal sculpture playground across from the zoo. It had many sculptures the kids could climb and play on. We didn't stay too long because it was 95F, but that perked the kids up quite a bit. We stopped at a really cool toy store and a Target before eating lunch at (blech!) CiCi's Pizza and heading home around 2pm. I had no idea if I'd be able to make the entire drive, but the kids were ready to go home. We stopped at a rest area where Kaylin roller skated and Logan and I played catch. We stopped for dinner and then made a final stop at the Meijer store in Springfield for gas and walking around to wake me up. We finally made it home ~10:30pm. I was the zombie yesterday. I was almost too exhausted to move :) The kids were up early and running around all day. Kaylin complained that we didn't have anything "fun" planned for the last day of summer vacation. Ummmm...



Tuesday was the first day of school. Everyone had new haircuts and new shoes and new backpacks full of supplies. Both kids woke up early and got ready without complaining or fighting. Kaylin's school starts at 7:30am and Logan's doesn't start until 9. That means Logan has to go to morning latchkey, but their schools are very close so I can drop off Kaylin and then take Logan before heading to work. I was planning on having Kaylin take the morning bus, but getting her out the door at 7:15 is going to be hard enough. I can't imagine the fights that would accompany her having to be completely ready and at the bus stop at 6:40am! Not worth it! Especially since I always left at 7:25 last year to drop them off at latchkey.

I didn't get a lot of information, but both kids had a good first day. Kaylin was disappointed she didn't get a locker assignment because she was unable to open her padlock. It was discovered too late in the 2 1/2 hour day that her padlock was defective and the teacher couldn't even open it. She got a working padlock on Wednesday and is thrilled to have her first locker. Even if it is one of the stupid smaller ones. Logan appeared happy with his teacher and classmates. Today is the first full day of school with lunch and latchkey and "real" switching classes for Kaylin. Last night's homework was all about ME filling out emergency cards and personality profiles and after school stuff. Ugh!

I was dreading having Kaylin and Logan at different schools, but it seems like it will work out ok. At least until the fundraisers start...

And finally, and very off topic, we got to see the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile at Hy-Vee on Tuesday! It was the kids' first time seeing the Wienermobile. I was disappointed they weren't giving out wiener whistles or selling Wienermobile stuff, but seeing it and getting our picture taken was good enough :)