Vacation Countdown

We're headed out on vacation tomorrow evening.  We're doing the cabin-by-the-lake scene for six days. We cannot wait.  All P and I plan to do is lie around, read, watch movies, and drink adult beverages.  Oh, and yell at the kid to stop letting the dogs out.  We do plan to work in a few other activities, such as making s'mores, swimming in the lake, and doing a bit of hiking (there is a state park nearby with a nice hiking trail). For the most part, it is all about nothing.

The packing is, as usual, the biggest challenge.  I started packing a couple of days ago.  What I have to pack: my clothes, the kids' clothes, swimsuits, towels, bedding, dog food and other supplies for the dogs, a dog crate, food, drinks, shoes, DVD player and DVDs, toilet paper and other paper products, cleaning supplies, floats and stuff for the lake, bug spray, books and toys for the kid, umbrellas, and underwear. What my other half has to pack: three pairs of shorts and a few tee shirts for himself.  Talk about your unequal division of labor.

I would have accomplished more this week except that I took the kid to the county fair last night.  Our neighbor came along, too.  The rides at the state fair are insanely priced (literally, several dollars PER ride, for kiddie rides) so I told A I would take her to the county fair, where she can ride all she wants on a $10 wristband.  So, that is what we did.  You know we cannot pass up a festibul.

In other news, I took my daughter to meet her Kindergarten teacher on Tuesday.  Her new teacher also gave her an assessment to figure out what her new student knows.  Her Kindergarten teacher, much like the 4K teacher she had last year, was clearly born to do this exact job and no other.  She likes kids so much she invites them to her house in the summertime! On purpose!  Having a caring teacher makes such a difference.  My all-time favorite teacher was Mrs. Crawford, who taught sixth grade.  In fact, I adored her so much that I continue to force Christmas cards upon her to this day.

During the assessment, I was asked to sit on a wee chair in the hallway and fill out some paperwork.  The classroom door was left open, so of course I kept one ear pointing in that direction.  You know, for confirmation that my child is a genius and all.  I heard Mrs. L asking my daughter to run through her colors, numbers, and letters.  Mrs. L asked her, "Can you think of a word that starts with the same letter as 'moon?'"  "Mouse!" came the reply.  Then they got to the numbers part of the test.  A was able to count to 99.  Then she was asked to write all the numbers she could think of.  Rut roe.  It occurred to me then that I really hadn't worked with her on writing numbers at all (maybe it's the English major in me, but I like to pretend that numbers don't exist). She wrote a fair volume of numbers, but several of them were reversed.  It is my understanding that it's pretty normal for her age.  Anyway, the teacher stopped short of using the G word (maybe she is required to notify me of that by certified mail or something) but she did deem my child "very bright."  Of course, then I wondered if my kid could've sat there mute and I would've gotten the same feedback. 

Anyway, there won't be any blog posts for a few days (please try to muddle through).  This time tomorrow I'll be sipping sangria and listening for loons on the lake. Ahhhhhhhh

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