Everland Trip #5

Today is Thursday. Today was the end of a 3 day work week for Keith when he got off at 1pm. Today we pulled Cole out of school early to go to Everland. I know, this Air Force remote is killer. Since we're all friends here, I feel like I can share the following pictures. And since only 5 people read this blog... if they ever end up on failblog.org or awkwardfamilyphotos... I will easily track you down, and do...... something. I'll have to think about it, but you should be intimidated by my threats.

Have I ever mentioned that Brad gets dizzy easily? He does. One twirl around in a circle and he's a drunken old man for about 3 minutes. Naturally, we like to take him on the roller coasters, tilt-a-whirls, and spin the teacups at ludicrous speeds. He has never complained and even asks to ride the things again. It wasn't until I saw this picture that I could possibly be doing brain damage to my little man. Here's Brad on the kiddie roller coaster. It's all of 40 seconds long and makes two fast turns. When you get off the ride you can see the instant pictures Everland captures of your time on the ride. I had to spend the $5 for this keepsake.





Sorry for the clarity. It's a picture of a picture. Please, do you really think I know how to operate a scanner? Notice the cute little head cock and googly eyes. It says "I love my mom, life is great" Notice the slacker of a mom too caught up in the thrill of the ride. I know we're horrible parents who possibly have a screw loose or two.

Exhibit A

The horrible parents even let their kids ride it again when they pleaded to go back in line. Ha, who am I kidding - there wasn't a line!

Those kids. I love em

Update

The teacher took full responsibility. He got a note from another mother saying a friend, Kaycee McDonald, would be picking up her son (Jake Jones). He got them switched up so there wasn't another kid lost or another mother worried. Good and bad.

I respect him for admitting his mistake, but here's where I'm still upset: He realized the problem as soon as I did not show up. He knew from his notes that Cole wasn't involved with the pick up switch. He took Cole to the office to wait while HE WENT HOME ON TIME! His teacher had left by the time we got there yesterday because their work day is from 7am-3pm. My son was at school an hour after release because of his mistake and he thought it was appropriate for him to clock out on time. GGGRRRRRRRRRR!

Keith says making a big deal about it would not get us anywhere with him. Agree. But I have a glimpse of his character and I'm waiting to pounce. Now I'm off to call and write the district office about the teacher/student ratio.

First Trip to the Principal's Office

Remember how I was saying I hated the bus idea... today confirmed it. Keith, Brad and I all gather our things to walk down to pick up Cole. Keith calls it "the Cole fan club" It's like we have been sitting on pins and needles waiting for him to get home. We all walked down 10 minutes early to the stop and waited on the bus. It pulled up. All the kids get off.... except for Cole.

HE'S NOT ON THE BUS

Trying to remain calm and not go crazy on the bus helper, we call the school. Turns out he's in the office waiting on me. Say what? First of all, Thank you God for him being safe and not on a random bus wondering the streets of Songton. Now I'm angry. The teacher got a message saying that I would pick him up and not to put him on the bus. Interesting. That message wasn't from me. By the time we got to the school, the teacher had already left. The school tried calling my cell phone and couldn't reach me (because I was downstairs at the bus stop) They called Christa, my emergency contact, and she was about to go pick him up. She couldn't reach me either BECAUSE I WAS DOWNSTAIRS AT THE BUS STOP!

My poor kid was sad and tired of waiting on us. After we picked him up and asked about his day he told me that he didn't know. He forgot everything while he was waiting so long on us. Haha.

Now, there's several different scenarios that could have led to this misunderstanding. Tomorrow morning I will be at the school bright and early to figure out how this happened. A bit of the back story.... Apparently last year the parents and district superintendents promised they had the funds, room, and availability for an 18:1 teacher ratio - along with an assistant. They had 3 classes and 5 days before school started, the higher ups decided to cut it back to two classes 24 students to each teacher with the max being 29 students per class. WHAT. The parents here are fired up. There's letters being written, calls made, and constant uproar. The other kindergarten teacher had her room set up - and still is! It's just locked behind an unused room. I haven't said anything because we are space A and we're lucky to have a spot. Could the ratio be better, yes. Was is crummy for them to promise one thing and do another, yes. Are they offering the BEST education possible for these kids, not really. Now my child's safety is in danger because a teacher/assistant/office staff can't keep up with 24 kids in a class. I think now I will say something.

Good thing I have until tomorrow morning to calm down.

He Left Me

Keith and I sat down and made a list of pros and cons for this schooling situation. Our list easily swayed us to homeschool. Keith said he was 70% for homeschooling and 30% for the public school. I was more 51%/49%. We went to meet the teacher and pull him from class, and the next thing I knew Keith was committing to giving public school a try.

I spent all we last week getting last minute school supplies, TB tests, shot records, enrolled in the transportation office to ride the bus, and getting his bus card. This morning came and Cole woke up before the alarm. He was so excited. We had blueberry muffins and brushed our teeth. We tied our shoes and got our backpack. I even drilled him on his name, teacher's name, bus number, and apartment name. Then it was time to walk downstairs.


I can't stand the idea of him riding the bus. I got to thinking.... I can only recall THREE times his entire life that he wasn't driven in our van by family members. (with Hilary in Colorado when Brad was sick, with Erin in her van when we carpooled to Boise, and when we rode to Ft. Worth in Molly's van... and I was with him the last two) Sheltered much? Yes. Today I'm letting a stranger take him away without his car seat.




We got down there and the bus immediately pulled up. It's not like an American school bus. This is more like a charter bus. There's fancy big cushy seats and SEAT BELTS! He happily walked straight on and found a seat next to Joesph. He's a 2nd grader who we've met on the playground in the apartment complex. He was so happy. I was so sad.


He's been going to school for 3 years now. This shouldn't be that different, but it is. I miss him already. He's at school and tonight is their open house. We'll head back and I can check out the place that holds my baby for the greater part of the day.


These are the ladies that kept me from running down the road to make sure the bus didn't get hit as it made the right turn.

More Than a Coffin

We went pottery shopping a couple of weeks ago. Instead of falling in love with the pottery, I fell in love with this trunk. This lady had the coolest store. Her decorating and creativity were exactly what Keith and I like. This trunk.... I love it. It's much bigger then it appears. I would guess it's about 7 feet long. Korean made, antique, dovetailed ends, rustic. It would fit perfectly into our lives. After thinking about it all week, we went back to her store. We found a lady who was able to interpert for us. She asked where she got it, and she wouldn't answer. Then she said she would sell it to us... for......







ONE HUNDRED MILLION WON!!


Is she crazy? That's roughly $100,000. Seriously? Needless to say, we left without a trunk. Our next adventure is to find a reasonably priced antique store!