2017 Loose Ends (1 of 2)

Because my blog took a backseat to Instagram in 2017 here are a few of the things I didn't post about, but want to remember.

First Day of School

When the kids went to school in early September, Finn was quick to point out that it was NOT his first day of school, just his first day back to school. He walked confidently into his classroom excited to see some familiar faces. It's neat to look back on a year ago and see how far he's come. He's adjusted to the long days of school, he's reading, he really enjoys math (or 'maths' as they say here, which I find so obnoxious), he doesn't have a hard time at drop off like he did for a little bit of time last year as he was adjusting to the move/new school. He has come so far in his phonics and even further on his sweet little British accent!

Mary, on the other hand, had the typical reaction a little one does when going off to school for the first time - girlfriend was NOT having it. She cried big tears the first day and it broke my heart, but thankfully the teachers were well prepared for it and she was all smiles at pick up. The second day was better, though she was still a little leery, and then in no time she adjusted and started looking forward to school! She only goes for half days, but school has been really great for her and I'm glad she has the socialization with other kids.

Big hug after the first day.
She told Miles it was her favorite part of the day.

Berlin Marathon

End of September we flew to Berlin (where Miles was born!) and I got to run the Berlin Marathon. I couldn't have asked for a better race - the weather was great (just the slightest drizzle that kept the temps down), a great course, great crowd support, etc. I got to see Miles and the kids along the route and he said it was much easier to navigate than London was given that London is just so congested with spectators. There was an attempt to break the world record (current record was set at Berlin) so it was neat to run on the course knowing the world record might be broken. Alas, it was not, but still made for an exciting aspect to the race. Berlin gave me my first Boston Qualification which will be good for the 2019 Boston Marathon and I felt really great during the whole race - never hitting the wall or feeling like my legs were spent. I hope to be lucky enough to have more races like it in the future.

Afterwards, Finn told me he loved watching me race and that "Mary was a little bad."

Nothing a muffin couldn't fix, fortunately!

New Skills

Over the summer Finn mastered bike riding. He now rides to school each day which has been such a nice (and quick) way to get there! He's campaigning hard for a "gear" bike and we wanted to get him one for Christmas, but he's still just a little too short for it, so we are thinking maybe for his 7th birthday (how is his next birthday his SEVENTH!?!)

School Plays

In December the kids both had school plays. Mary was supposed to dress up as a star and looked adorable (they asked us to bring in a white undershirt and tinsel), but on the second day of performance she wanted NOTHING to do with dressing up (neither of my kids have ever really enjoyed dressing up) and the teachers said not to sweat it, there's always a few rebels - the show will go on!

Finn, who has never enjoyed the spotlight (a few years ago he had a Valentines program at his preschool in Savannah and he pulled his shirt up over his mouth so as not to have to sing in front of people) still proved he probably doesn't have a future on Broadway, but he did do a great job standing up and saying the two lines he had. Photographic evidence of his enjoyment ;)

I think that's most of what I neglected to post with the exception of family/friends visits and travel I have yet to share. Spoiler Alert: 2018 probably won't be much of an improvement for blog updates - sorry Danielle (and anyone else who might actually still read this!)

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