Carmel, IN

From my last posts, you'd think we still lived in Fishers and that Tommy had just turned 18 months. Let me update...

We now live in a house in Carmel, Indiana (just north of Indianapolis). We are loving all the space and home perks like a garage, dishwasher, a basement, and a back yard. We have nice neighbors and lots of neighbor kids to play with.

Jared started Kindergarten this fall! He has adjusted to the long school day (mostly), and is now enjoying his class. I've been surprised by how advanced the kindergarten curriculum seems compared to what I imagine my kindergarten experience was. In writing time, Jared is learning to "draft out" his story first with pictures, then write a first draft, then revise it, and finally present the finished piece out loud to his classmates. He is also learning how to draw "real" people (no stick figures; guess I need to go back to kindergarten to improve my own sketches!). He rides the bus to school, and the stop is right on our driveway, which is nice. We even put out a little bench for the "bus stop kids" to sit on since everyone congregates in front of our house.

                                                     
                                                        Jared's first day of Kindergarten

Our kindergarten crew, waiting at the bus stop together

Mrs. Mann's Kindergarten Class 2012

Allison isn't in preschool this year, so we've been trying out some activities in the community. She just finished her first dance class last week. "Dance Games" turned out to be a lot of fun. She enjoyed getting dressed up in her dance outfit every Tuesday morning and having fun with her little dance friends. I think we'll try some ballet and tap next year.

 Tommy is getting quick on his feet--it's hard to keep up with him! He loves doing "bikes" in the driveway, driving toy cars, playing with Allison while Jared is at school, and watching for big trucks and construction equipment while we're driving in the car. Several weeks ago a neighbor had Jared and Allison over to play so I could do a "Mommy date" with Tommy. We packed a folding chair and fruit snacks, set up camp across the street from a large construction site across town, and spent the next 45 minutes oohing and aahing over the machines at work.

                                                           Watching the construction

                           At a local apple orchard (no apples, though. The drought was too severe)


Adam has been keeping busy doing science at Eli Lilly. I've enjoyed having him home all day every Saturday--even if our weekends do seem to get taken up with chores like stripping old wallpaper, installing sinks, and--most recently--clearing away a massive limb that split off of our big Bradford Pear tree during a storm. We are now well-stocked with firewood:

I've enjoyed getting my piano teaching going again. I have five students right now, and I may be picking up four more in the next couple of months. It's a fun thing to do on the side of my favorite job--being a mom.