Today was Kylie’s first day of 5th grade! As we start our adventure into another new academic year I am greatly looking forward to seeing all the things Kylie will accomplish, and all the new ways in which she will continue to grow, change, and expand her abilities. While my outlook is focused, mainly, on her intellectual growth and continued success that will hopefully lead to greater things for her future, Kylie is more excited to see all of her friends again. Regardless of the different reasons, we are all excited to see what the year has in store.
Category Archives: Kylie
Camping with Friends
We just returned from our first, hopefully of many, camping trips with our friends Alex and Nicole. We went to a semi-local state park, Metamora-Hadley, where Nicole camped a lot when she was younger. It’s what most people would refer to as “rustic camping.” There were bathrooms and showers that we could use, and our site had access to electricity, so while this camping was “rustic” it wasn’t as if we were out in the middle of the woods with no amenities. There are some nature trails we could hike along, and a beautiful lake with a sectioned off beach for swimming. You can also rent canoes and go out on the lake to fish or just row around. We didn’t do that this time, but perhaps next time we will. This was the first time that I have gone camping since I was a kid, and even then it was more of a resort type camping (less rustic, same amenities with the addition of a pool, game room, lounge, etc) and I only went once or twice. Kylie, Melissa, and I all had a fun time, though if we are going to go again we will need to get some of our own stuff as we had to borrow a tent, and luckily Alex and Nicole have basically everything else you would need to camp. We were only able to go out for the weekend, so hopefully next time we can go for a longer trip.
Another Turning of the World
Happy 10th birthday, Kylie!
Here we are again, that time of year where my little girl turns another year older. You have had another busy year… You began and completed fourth grade, and in between we got a new home, you had a couple of school events, we danced, and, you joined me at work. As you continue to grow into a lovely young woman, know that we are all very proud of you and that we love you very much. I can’t wait to see how you continue to grow over the next year.
Heading to Fifth
Another school year has come to an end, and Kylie is now finished with 4th grade! She made great progress this year and we are exceedingly proud of her and her accomplishments. She continued to maintain all of her academic progress and it seems like our problems with math in particular have been fully resolved, though we do continue to keep her in tutoring a few times a month to reinforce her confidence. The rest of her subjects all remained strong and steady, which we are also extremely happy with. As we look forward to watching this progress continue next year in 5th grade, Kylie looks forward to a fun-filled summer vacation!
Ballet Recital and Traditional Stroh’s
Tonight was Kylie’s annual Ballet Recital (I believe this is her 6th recital!) and per my preferred viewing method, I came into this recital knowing nothing about her routine. Also true to historical events, I was once again blown away by her routine and the advancements that she has made in terms of her technique and overall skill. Watching the younger kids perform their routines helps to see how far she has come since the beginning and watching the older kids allows us to have an idea of where she can go from here. After the show concluded we continue our tradition of going out to Stroh’s for some ice cream, which, I think, is secretly Kylie’s favorite part. Already looking forward to what next year’s recital will demonstrate.
Bring Your Daughter to Work Day 2015
Today was the first time that Kylie and I have gotten to participate in bring your daughter to work day, and I have to say it was pretty cool. Kylie and I arrived at work a little later than I normally do, just because of the timing for when the day’s events were scheduled to start, but still early enough that I was able to show her around a bit. As always, she was very interested in my white board, so I thought she would get a huge kick out of our technical engineering room, which is a room where three of the walls are floor to ceiling whiteboards, and man was I right! Thankfully the boards were empty and the room wasn’t in use, so she had a blast drawing and writing on the walls for about fifteen minutes, and then it was time to start the day. The day began with us going to have breakfast together, which consisted of a catered buffet of french toast, pancakes, sausage, bacon, eggs, juice, and toast. During this time some of the committee members gave a small presentation outlining what the day was going to consist of and telling the kids how to find out what group they were a member of. Then she joined her group, met her group leader, and went off for a day of adventure. The day was broken down into about 7 activities that the kids rotated through. Each activity was presented by a member of our staff and the topics ranged from learning to code, to building wooden cars depending on the age range of the groups of kids. We then all went back to the meeting area and met for lunch, which was the always popular pizza. Kylie told me about some of the things she had done so far and that she was having a really fun time, and then ran off to her next set of activities. About 3:00 we met back up again for the end of the day and I got to hear all about the fun that Kylie had. Even though she had liked all of the activities and said she had a blast at all of them, her favorite part remained the “drawing room!” She is already asking if she will be able to come back next year! I’d say today was a pretty successful day, and I hope I will be able to bring her again next year!
Daddy-Daughter Dance
Today was a great day because today was the Daddy / Daughter Dance at Kylie’s school! I think I may have been looking forward to this more than Kylie, but only because I realize the significance of these events. I know it won’t be too long before she will not want to go to these types of events with me, so I cherish all the moments that I can get. Unlike past years, this year I actually had a suit that would fit properly, so instead of just dress pants and a nice shirt, I went all out. Considering I knew I was going to be able to wear my suit, I even pre-ordered a matching wrist-corsage and boutonniere for us! Some pictures of them can be seen in the gallery. It was a great night and I had a lot of fun watching Kylie interact with all of her friends. While we didn’t actually dance together because she was more interested in running around with her friends, it was still an excellent evening. I truly love watching my daughter have fun, seeing her smile and hearing her laughter are the highlights of my days! I love you Kylie. Thank you for spending a great evening with me!
Christmas Choir
Tonight was Kylie’s Christmas Choir concert at school for her fourth grade class. The kids all did a great job and it was very enjoyable to see them all up on stage doing all the motions that went along with their songs. I’m a big proponent of the arts in schools, so I really enjoy watching her participate in these events, and seeing that she genuinely enjoys them herself, also makes me happy. I am hopefully that, as the years go on, she will continue to participate in and enjoy the arts in various forms.
Halloween Party
Kylie had her school Halloween party tonight, and I had the pleasure of going with her and watching all the fun. I still very much enjoy watching Kylie run and play with her friends and tonight was no different, with the exception of the costumes. Kylie dressed up as a Zombie Hunter, although originally she was supposed to be a failed Zombie Hunter, in other words a Zombie Hunter Zombie, but decided the makeup for that might not be school friendly. She looked great either way. The event was a lot of fun, and I had a good time watching Kylie having such a good time. A couple pictures of her outfit can be found in the gallery.
Beginning Fourth Grade
Today starts the beginning of another school year adventure, as it’s Kylie’s first day of 4th grade. As usual she is excited to be going back, mainly to see all of her friends again. We are certain she will continue with the good progress she made last year and will build new skills and confidences in her academics. She’s looking forward to continuing with science the most, and hopefully the math continues to stay on track as well. This year will provide me with another chance to participate in the WatchDOGS program, which was really fun last year. I am hoping to be able to participate again, but like many things, only time will tell. As always we are excited to take this journey with Kylie and cannot wait to see how she grows this year.