Chica’s First Grade Field Trip!

So...today was a pretty notable day ‘round these parts, because it was Chica’s first grade field trip!

But not just any first grade field trip.

No-hooo.

Apparently, when you live in San Antonio, you go to freaking Sea World for field trips, ha.

No biggie. ;)

And what hilarious timing that we made the move just weeks before the big day! And, also, quite hilarious that today was one year to the day, of Chica’s kindergarten field trip (and, yup, I know this, because I looked up an old blog post about it, hehe).

Chica was soooooo excited that she was up several times last night just to ask if it was time to go. “Nope, honey, it’s midnight. Go back to sleep.” Oye.

But she could not have been cuter in the gear we rounded up—zoom in to see the adorbs fanny pack she selected that was stocked with a sunscreen stick and sunglasses. ;)

Two things to note:

1. My poor girl’s scrawny legs. Strep has seriously taken its toll! Her original skirt fell off and I had to run upstairs and grab one in a smaller size. Fluffing her up daily as much as possible.
2. See that palm tree back there? Yup. We have one now. Well, sort of two. And tons o’ wild cactuses (cacti?). Welcome to South Texas.

Now, of course, being the dim woman that I am, I made too much of a big deal about the big field trip day, and then the little ones were green with envy, so I added to my dimness by just agreeing to take them to Sea World today, too. 

Season passes, earn your keep. :)

But seriously, despite the work of getting there and out alive...could they be any cuter???



It’s pretty funny to me that we now live someplace that allows us to just go to Sea World on a random weekday whim. And I’m trying really hard to count this as a major bonus in a city I have so not bonded with, yet (even though it still seems like it will cost about $40-$50 every time, even with season passes! Hello, parking, stroller rental and food. Oye.)

But I must say...today’s excursion was slightly bittersweet (for me, certainly not for them!), because I found myself reminiscing about Chica’s kindergarten field trip and the very different place—mentally and physically—I was in, at the time.

And, ugh, just look how much my babies have grown since then!

One year ago, we were still new to this whole elementary school thing, and I didn’t have the bonds with some of the mothers that I did even six months later, but still. There was at least some familiarity with it all. And so much ease.

Last year, unable to be an official chaperone with my other two underfoot, I simply showed up at the aquarium, happened upon Chica’s group and parent chaperone, and was happily able to tag along for the fun. Unofficially.

This year, despite the randomness and sheer joy of coming across Chica within the grounds (what are the odds?!) when I asked, her teacher (who is nice and lovely) sadly told me I wasn’t allowed to tag along in an unofficial capacity. 

And worse yet, when I asked about a recent email I received, it was clarified that no, siblings cannot be accommodated for a class party that’s coming up, even if that’s the only way a parent can volunteer to help.

I’m not gonna lie, I won’t ever be able to look at the following picture without feeling that sense of deflation, and, well, slight rejection I felt in that moment.



Just after this shot, I had to kiss my girl, shoo her on her way, and cry a little behind my sunglasses (yup, I’m going to own up to it), as I mourned—once again—the lovely and relaxed school volunteer vibe that I’ve left behind with our move.

There wasn’t a single school event or volunteer opportunity at Chica’s previous school that couldn’t accommodate my younger kiddos, and this will be a hard one for me to accept without some sadness.

Sure—that might have just been luck of some official school guidelines not being enforced, but still. It made for a very inclusive experience, and there are certainly things I wouldn’t have been able to participate in, otherwise.

That said, Chica’s new school is a highly-ranking, smoothly run facility, with nothing but kind teachers and staff members, from my limited experience. So I know that I’ll find positives here, as well. I’ll just perhaps need to look for them when I’m not feeling quite so emotionally bruised. :(

But like everything these days...no choice but onward and upward. So off we went to tackle more fun on our own.

During Chicklet’s birthday visit, we caught the orca show, and this time, it was the dolphin/beluga whale. Both are so much fun! So glad we’ve had a variety, so far. 





















Seriously happy times and smiles. 

And hungry kiddos who were happy for ice cream an hour or so later, once we officially picked Chica up from school.



And I wasn’t far off the mark when I joked that bedtime would be at 5:30 p.m., tonight.

At 6:38 p.m., I found Little Man passed out in her bedroom glider...



And ten minutes later, his sister’s were snoozing as well (sleepover style in Mama’s room).



So, in summary: a slightly bittersweet but happy day today, that was perfectly aligned with my theme of the week, which is: we gotta just dig in and move on with this new life.

Over and out.