Bailey practicing dock jumping

Bailey has made such great progress in her dock jumping.  Thanks to the help of Kathy Case, of Whiskey Creek Chesapeakes (breeder) Bailey now runs and jumps into the water without stopping for 5 minutes at the end of the dock.  Hopefully her new skill transfers over to our next competition, in Bristol, TN.  RACE WEEK here we come!

Sam's first day of preschool

Joseph and I have been soooo excited about Samantha's first day of  preschool.  We were REALLY lucky to get into this program; Only 12 kids in the program and only 6 are girls.  So, her first day finally arrived and was a total success.  Sam LOVED it!!!!!!!! As we got out of the car at drop off she asked me if I would stay with her, so I had to explain that school was a place where she played with friends and teachers, not mommies and daddies.  I reminded her she could play dress up and wear a beautiful princess or fairy costume.  Once she heard that, she eagerly walked her way up the corridor holding her  butterfly lunch box with matching icepack, water bottle, and sandwich holder, and her Ariel (Little Mermaid) bag containing an extra set of clothes.

Once in the classroom she slowly found her hook and cubby, took off her shoes, sanitized her hands, and went to the dress-up corner with one of the teachers.  The teacher cued me to exit and I did not look back.  I left filled with excitement for Samantha and absolutely no tears were shed.

Pick-Up: I gathered in the external corridor and watched through the window while the teacher finished her activity.  I saw Samantha standing in line behind one child and in front of another.  She looked out the window and saw me, waved, and had the BIGGEST smile on her face!!! She was the smallest but by far the cutest child of the bunch (no child is cuter than Samantha!).  She waved and then followed the teacher's instruction to walk in a line toward her cubby.

Teacher Report: Samantha talked and talked and talked throughout the day and one of the teachers said Samantha was SOOO enthusiastic!!  Sam was the only kid in the class to sing along with the teacher when learning the "name song"!!!

Sam is exhausted but refused to take a nap once we got home.  So, I guess this means she is really DONE with naps....

  

My little, now big friends

We spent the last 3 1/2 days with my friend, Angela, from Charleston (and her twin girls).  Their dad had to stay home to work:(    I first met Angela and her family ten years ago while living in charleston.  It is hard to believe TEN years have gone by.  The girls were almost three when I met them and they are now 13.  Angela and her husband, Ron, are doing something right because their daughters are the sweetest teenagers ever.  Seriously, I cannot say enough positive things about these girls.  I can only hope that Sam and Seth grow up to be sweet and considerate.  The girls attend a small private school, and despite my advocacy for public education I think their small classes have contributed to their wonderful nature.  Angela informed me that all of their classmates' parents know each other, and for the most part, have the same values and morals, and informed me that the teachers are very interested in nurturing and instilling good values in their students.  The teachers are hands-on with the students and all communicate with the parents regularly.   I am still an advocate for public education but now see the benefits of private schooling when provided by invested, passionate teachers.

We all had a blast playing with the girls and were very sad to see them go.  We will also miss Angela's pancakes!!