Hay Happens and Hay's Happen

And this is for real. She is starting a FIRST school year in the “young 4’s” class today, and it absolutely freaks me out. Why? Because next thing you know she’ll be in college, then get married and then…..Ok, make me stop. Breathe.

So we walked in and took a quick pic in her little shirt and then…. I left thinking it was going to be OK.

And it was! I walked in (my first mistake) to pick her up and I got a scolding.

You see, Miss Chris is not a pushover at all. After she told me to wait outside the door until she opened it, I noticed ALL of the kids were sitting criss cross applesauce quietly listening to a story. There was no running up to me giving me hugs and kisses. There was no chaos. It was like a well-oiled machine. Tatum was dismissed and came up to me for a hug and the rest of the kiddos got their story.  HUH!? Wow! SO impressed.

Then, she gave me Tatum’s homework! (Actually mine). I was to make a poster for their wall About TOT. Then I was to get a composition notebook so they could fill it with ABC pics for the year.

Being the overachieving teacher, I quickly went to the store to buy what was needed and got to work on the poster.

All in all, a very successful first REAL day of Pre-K at PFT. 

Not only was it a day to visit the famous Phoenix Science Museum, it was a day of fun for all of us.

Cana (my dear friend from my mom’s group) and her 2-year old Ethan invited us to go with them. Not only did she buy me a big cup of decaf, she showed me around this 3-story fascination!

When we first got there, it wasn’t open, so Tatum and Ethan ran around. Cana was trying to catch Ethan, and Tatum said, “I’ll get him, Mommy!” She came back and said, “Ethan wouldn’t hold my hand and kept running!” I said, “Now you know how I feel!” Ha.

So we posed a bit in front of a lady bug. (this is the best I could do with there being an insect exhibit)

And then Tot discovered she could see her eye….

Enlarged above her! I’m watching you!

Then off to water fun. Pull the lever when the ball comes down, and

Boom! the water carries it up and down the spiral staircase.  I couldn’t get her away from it.

We headed into the valves and fixtures room. She tried to build a bathroom faucet to no avail.

We headed into the human body exhibit. Balancing on the nodules to show inner ear importance.

The noises and gritty details of each body part freaked her out (So much for her dream of being a doctor?), so we headed to physics.

Spin spin spin, centrifugal forces.

Air holding the ball up.

Sleeping on nails? Cana, you better than me!

Pulling the force of the pendulum. She’s stronger than she looks!

Pushing that ball cycle down..and

We really saw so much of the place, but honestly it was a bit overwhelming for a first time. We’ll have to return later. She just tired herself out. 

Thanks Cana and Ethan for so much FUN!

“duh duh duh, another one on the wall; and another one on and another one on…another one on the wall!” OK, so I am changing the song a bit, but that is what came to mind. Another one did not bite the dust when the art went on the wall; don’t worry.

I just finished my next endeavor. A daisy. Tot had requested it after seeing one growing in the neighborhood, so I jumped on the chance. Of course, I needed a picture of one to draw from.

Once I found one, I measured it out and started penciling it out. Eventually, the colored pencils came out, and I dabbled it at a few minutes each day. VOILA!

Then, I had to find a frame. I love the RIBBA frames from IKEA which are already in her room.

So, I added this small one to the already framed art on her wall.  Here is rest of the story of her wall!

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Now, what is next!!?? Stay tuned!

 

The “I” was first. She loves these igloo structures. Maybe if she went inside one, she’d freeze and change her mind.

Off to the castle next. She did this all by herself. 

And I’d say she’s on her way!

It has been on my heart to show our appreciation to our police officers. There has been some negative media coverage which has not portrayed them in the most positive light, and sadly, it has created a few movements which attack the cops.

This is unacceptable. So, I shared my feelings at my book group, and each contributed to a little basket.

Tatum and I took it over to the Scottsdale police headquarters today, and boy, were we surprised.

First, this was no ordinary police station. It was a museum! We were greeted by this lovely statue of a police officer and little girl looking up to him with honor.

Then of course, celebrating the K9 efforts

So, we went inside to give the basket of goodies; they were so grateful.

After giving the gift, we poked around the museum.

Tatum learned CPR

She found every button in the place (of course) and especially the ones that made things light up (like sirens).

We also checked out the uniforms.

What it came down to was learning that our BLUE men and women stand for three things:
I left feeling appreciative and grateful to them.

 

She’s playing with the big boys (and girls). 

She’s like a little dog who doesn’t know she’s small. No fear! So proud of her.

And today she got a ribbon for it. 

Doug and I had been planning on taking Tatum to Sedona for a long while. Why? Because it is the BEST place to hike and BEST place to see God’s creative mountains. It would be a Friday when Doug could take the day off.

But, here’s the BEST news. A week prior to our departure, Jocy, my BESTie (see post about…)https://hayhappens.com/?p=2208), called me to say she’d be in Flagstaff during that week. PERFECT! We decided to meet up in Sedona for the day. This way, I could hang out with her and her oldest daughter Audrey; she could meet Doug, and see the TOT. It was all a great plan.

Before our trip, Doug invested in some car entertainment. Tatum is currently obsessed with this character: 

So he came with us in the car as Tatum practiced her webbing, singing “shpow shpow.”  The BEST idea, Doug.

We met up at the Visitor Center and instantly met Smokey the Bear. Apparently he’s still alive and well, speaking his message of cleanliness.

Tatum wanted to hold his hand. Posing.

Then Jocy and I had to take a pose….and then the whole clan.

(Hi beautiful Audrey!)Wait, what about Doug?! Did I mention he’s the BEST boyfriend and photographer E.V.E.R!
Ok, enough pictures! We have a hike to take. Oh, but wait…it’s HOW hot in Sedona today? Jeez. We came to get cooler, but it is 95 or something. So much for that idea. We decided to go to Talaquepaque and shop/see the sights. But first, Audrey wanted to show Tatum some of the wildlife.  Snake – the bronzed version. 

And javelina. Luckily this bronzed version was kind to us. 

We arrived and the water trumped all the shopping. 

The BEST kiss ever with a soon to be prince. 

Doug was focused on the architecture which was beautiful!

And Tatum? The water. She drenched herself.

This whole being outside thing was not…..Wait. What are we staring at?? No clue. I know! We are thinking: LUNCH!

That’s it. We need food. So off we went to Wildflower. And this was what Audrey had in mind for being a wildflower herself! Jocy and I needed a great view pic now. The BEST!

We really need to find some kind of a hike. Doug to the rescue again. He knew of a place that had a creek. That way we could at least be cool. Little did I know we’d be cooled off, but definitely not cool, if you know what I mean (you’ll see).

We headed to a little hotel, found perfect parking and headed down to a little mini-hike sans heat and work. Pure water bliss! Audrey led us through the maze of “what is on the floor of this water!?”

Hi Jocy and Doug!

Adventuring…. It was not deep, but I found out what was on the bottom. Slippage of some sort..

As I tried to help her up, I slipped!!! And she was not stable to hold onto!

And then, more slipping.

She rescued me…

And then I finally rescued her. Mind you, all the others were watching and laughing.
Well we definitely got cooled off.  This was so helpful for how hot we were. Glad we could provide the entertainment!

Finally, we decided to head to the Trout farm and catch some fish! Doug again was the BEST navigator, fisherman, and hook helper (not a favorite for any of us).

And….three seconds flat, she caught her first fish. We have damaged her for life in terms of understanding the challenges of fishing.

Audrey’s turn!She was just as quick, and thanks to Doug, the YUK part was taken care of.

They cleaned the fish for us, and we took home FOUR gorgeous trout ready for cooking.

We drove home with Tot in back, sleeping and comfortable.

Saying goodbye to my BESTie was not the BEST part of the day. Remembering with her is always so special. We were reunited fifteen years ago (this pic is from 2001!)….and she’s still as beautiful as ever. 

Being with my BEST guy, my BEST friend and one of her BEST daughters, and my BEST girl made it the BEST day ever.