Harry Christmas!

Must get into character to build all these incredible Harry potter Lego sets I just got!

Letter to Santa

Dear Santa Claus,
I know that you had a long journey so I give you these cookies.
Sincerely,
Robby

Growth spurt

These used to fit.... About 6 years ago!

Imaginary iPad

If my parents won't get me my own iPad then I'll have to make one.

Jokester

Helping Out

One of the many things I've been learning to do in 1st grade is how to become a more proficient reader. And now I'm doing well enough that my mom has asked me to read to my sister when Carolyn wants a story but mom's kind of busy.

Halloween Preview

I'm super excited to be Indiana Jones for Halloween this year. I'm practicing getting into character. This is going to be so AWESOME!!

FORE!

I'm pretty excited! My mom and dad signed me up for golf lessons. I get to go once a week right after school... they bring the lessons to us! It's kind of fun to do this with a couple of my other classmates. I just hope next week it is a little cooler out.

Super Mega Post Extravaganza: Michigan Edition

And now for the Michigan edition of my summer fun. We hung out at Grandma Mary's house for a few days while we waited for my dad to arrive (he had stayed in Boston to work a few days). It was really hot and muggy when we first arrived. Ice Cream in my pajamas? Don't mind if I do!

Once my dad got into town we drove up north to Glen Lake. That place is also super cool and awesome. There is a lot of fun stuff to do. Kayaking for example is an exciting way to pass the time.

Paddle-boarding is a new sport I'd never tried before. It was interesting! I know I'm soaking wet in this photo. I can't recall if I had fallen out of the kayak or off the paddle board. Anyway, who cares if I swim in my clothes?

Grandpa Chip found a waterproof case for his digital camera so we got to play around with that. Look at me! I'm a fish! 

Another cool thing I got to do... go sailing with Aunt Anne. My mom gave me a lecture ahead of time that for safety reasons I had to make sure that I listened to all of Aunt Anne's instructions very closely. Doesn't my mom get it? I usually listen to other adults... it's my parents I choose to ignore.  Anyway, I got to help steer the sailboat and that was pretty neat.

And speaking of boats, I LOVE Pa's motorboat!! Grandpa Chip has a pretty fantastic boat too, but mom didn't get any photos of me in it this year. Right before we left the lake to go back to Lansing we got one last boat ride and it was a FAST one! 

Other watercraft I enjoy are jet skis. Grandma took me on a ride with my second cousin Cooper. It's something of an annual tradition. 

Vacation wasn't all water sports and splashing around. My parents took us to the MSU Museum in East Lansing. Mom said something about the museum being smaller than she remembered it, but I thought it was plenty big. Oooh, a display on ancient kinds of money. Fascinating! 

There was a special exhibit on masks. I was a little surprised (and a tad nervous) about seeing a real Darth Vader mask.  I wouldn't let my mom take my picture with it.

I hear there are bears in Michigan but I didn't think they'd be THIS BIG!

And what's better than ice cream for lunch? I can thank my Grandma for convincing my parents that a trip to the MSU Dairy Store for lunch was appropriate on vacation. Hee hee! 

The beginning of the end

My mom and I still owe you a post about the rest of our summer, but right now we are busy with other obligations... HOMEWORK. I guess the first week of school was just about getting acclimated. Now we are getting serious. It looks like I'll have homework assignments every night! Geez! The good thing is that our assignments should only take about 10-20 minutes a day. Thankfully I have my mom and dad to help make sure I get through everything.

It all looks pretty organized. They gave us a chart to make sure we track that I'm studying my sight words, math and reading requirements each day. Whew. I get a little tired just thinking about it all. Come on - I'm only 6!

There was something we read about timed math tests that will happen later in the year. Tests?!?! Thankfully I find these math problems pretty easy (as long as I pay close enough attention to whether it is a + or - problem I get them almost all right).

This week I already know all of the sight words so that is cool. I'm supposed to read or be read to for 20 minutes each day. Thankfully the time that Dad reads me the Hardy Boys before bed can count towards this! Now I'm just wondering if I'll EVER have enough free time to play with all of these academic responsibilities.

Super Mega Post Extravaganza: Cape Cod Edition

 My mom knows she's really far behind with posts on all the blogs so she's trying to catch up with a couple of mega-posts. Like my sister, I had a great time on Cape Cod. One of our first events on the Cape was candle pin bowling with the cousins. This is kind of cool because the smaller balls are easier for us kids to handle. I did pretty well on my first game.

But we don't like to spend too much time indoors while on the Cape. Mostly we hope for good weather so that we can be outside playing. Wouldn't you rather be at the beach? I thought so. I started digging this hole and kept at it all afternoon.

 And it got bigger, and bigger and I got some more help too.

 Eventually my cousin Ryan convinced me to go for a swim. I didn't really swim much because the seaweed grosses me out. But I rode on the boogie board and got all wet so that kind of counts.

Brrrr. It sure does get chilly when you get out of the water.

And soon it was on to the next set of adventures. We've done the trampolines in past years and they were as much fun as always. 

And the bumper boats are AWESOME!!! Usually it becomes a battle of boys vs. girls. I think we are winning. Oh wait, I do look pretty soaked. Maybe it is a tie. 

Cape Cod is pretty awesome. I'm really thankful that we get to come here each summer and spend so much time with my cousins. I'm already wanting to plan fun stuff for next summer. 

Oh and I got a short visit with my buddy and second cousin Jack. He's a cool kid. I hear we'll get together in Florida in about six months. Stay tuned for all of that craziness! 

1st Day of 1st Grade

Big news around here. I started 1st grade yesterday! Mom and I were up early and she was nice enough to make blueberry muffins to start the day off right. Soon enough I was dressed and ready for the day. A lot is different about 1st grade. I'm at school ALL DAY (8:30-2:30) which is kind of a bummer because I miss having tons of time to play with my stuff at home. But this also means that I have more time at school to have fun with my friends. I guess it is almost a fair trade.

My dad made plans to be around to get me off to my first day of school. It was nice to have my whole family there to get me to my classroom. 

I take my lunch and a snack to school everyday and I hear that soon I'll have homework to put in my bag too. Ugh! Anyway, the first thing I need to do is find a place to hang up my bag.

And now I'm ready for my first look at room 5! Pretty exciting. I already know a couple of kids in my class so I'm not nervous. 

Things look pretty good around here. I need to find my cubby... 

Hey look! My own desk!! I forgot that in 1st grade we get assigned desks. This is really neat and there is even a box of supplies already here. Very cool. I'm also sitting at a group of desks and I know the other 3 boys. This is going to be great. 

At the end of the day I reported back to my mom that things went well in 1st grade. I got a minor bump on the head when my friend and I had a small collision. The teacher told my mom that I seem like a pretty tough kid. We had lunch, recess, hunted for our class mascot and just spent time learning the ropes around here. And at the end of the day we were treated to SNOW CONES! Is every day of 1st grade like this? No? Bummer. 

Vacation - It's awesome

We just got back from our extended vacation and tomorrow school starts up. Maybe mom will then find some time to organize photos and we can tell you about all of the amazing fun we've had this summer. Stay tuned.

Before/After

Notice anything big difference between these two photos? The first was taken last night, the second photo was taken this afternoon.

Besides the different color shirt and that one photo is oriented landscape vs. portrait do you notice anything?

I LOST MY FIRST TOOTH!! That means the Tooth Fairy gets to come tonight. I hear she exchanges teeth for cold hard cash!! $$$$$! Yay! I was also told by my mom that the Tooth Fairy won't come if my room is too messy. Thanks for the tip mom.