A Visit from Flat Stanley via Mila in California

An exciting visitor came to Kansas to see William from California via Mila & her her first grade class. While he was here, we were to show Stanley what Kansas is all about. We took him on quite a tour!

Flat Stanley came to my classroom to see where I teach!

 We took FS to Lawrence. We showed him the iconic Allen Fieldhouse! We checked out all the Jayhawk sports memorabilia and trophies. Of course, FS needed to see the original rules of basketball.

 

For some family history, we needed to stop by my & Aunt Meg's college sorority, Sigma Kappa. William had no idea what the house was, but he gladly sat for the picture ;)

Next, onto Topeka! We stopped at Bret's grandparents, Mary & Bill's. They are in their 90s and they are doing great! We wanted to take some time to visit with them. Most of the time when we see them, it's at a large family gathering so just having the three of us (plus Flat Stanley) spend time together.

Also in Topeka, we stopped at Bret's aunt & uncle and cousin's farm to visit the cows. It's calving season so we got to see the mamas and their babies. W got to feed them and get as close as the mamas would let him.

 

 William's PreK celebrated Read Across America Week with a popcorn & book tasting event. Luckily, FS was still in town and got to come along for the visit to W's school.

They even found & read Flat Stanley's books!

Just before FS needed to head back to CA, he checked out William's first soccer practice. He is old enough to be on a "real" team now (3v3, no goalie).

William Turns 4!

We celebrated our favorite new 4 year old! 

After his birthday treats at school, Bret picked up William and they had a fun afternoon together. Bret took him to see Santa at Bass Pro. William told Santa about his birthday and Santa gave him a special coin. It was so special!

William chose "chips & salsa" as his birthday dinner, so Mexican food it was. Pop Pop & Susie joined us for dinner. He got ice cream from the restaurant as his birthday treat. 

 

William chose Dinos & Donuts for his birthday party theme. He had family invited as well as friends from our neighborhood & school.

Thanksgiving 2019

One of my favorite traditions is making a hand print turkey each year. W likes to see how much his hand grows each year.

At school, W decorated a turkey feather to add to the classroom turkey. Each student decorated the feather any way they wanted. W used many of his stickers to make a lovely feather.

We celebrated Thanksgiving at Cousin Kylie's house this year. Many of the Dinkels came to gather together. My parents joined in the fun as well. We relish in any celebration with Bret's grandparents, Bill & Mary. Bill is who William is named after so they have a special bond.

Happy Birthday, America!!

We celebrated a day early in Topeka with family. W tried out some fireworks for the first time. He wasn't sure if he liked them or not. I'm sure his father will teach him the ways of the firework.

Bret worked on the actual day of the Fourth of July so we celebrated earlier in the day. W and Bret donned their matching America outfits and we got ice cream and shot a couple of daytime fireworks together. That night, W and I watched fireworks with our neighbors. Gardner put on quite a show!