Second Week of School/Activities

The second week of school was another good one with the biggest news being in Hillary's grade.  Her teacher, Mrs. Clark, was going to teach a combined 1st/2nd grade class, however, after getting everyone settled in the first week and accommodating new students and some redistricting, she was moved to another class with Mrs. Murray.  As it turns out we love Mrs. Murray and think it is going to be a great move for Hillary.  The only complaint of the week was that homework began being assigned!

We also had Back-to-School night and although John was out of town, I was able to make it to all three of the kids' classrooms and find a little more out about how the classes are run.  I am so happy with all three of their teachers and was very excited to learn that T-K's Academic Performance Index (API) scores, as determined by the CA Department of Education, was 890!  The state's achievement target is 800, and all the Title I schools (which includes T-K) far outpaced schools around the state with similar student demographics, in some cases logging API scores over or close to 900.  This is an increase of 29 points in one year and very excited for the school.

Peyton is playing football for T-K this year and on Wednesday of last week he was given a game jersey with a "1" on it...the number of the Quarterback!  To say he's excited would be an understatement...he's always wanted to play quarterback, and with this being his first year to play any sort of organized football, he was thrilled.  He's so

Trace decided to run cross country for T-K and he was also excited to get his track uniform this week.  We hope to hit some shoe sales tomorrow to stock up on running and football shoes!

We've also been playing a little golf lately.  Peyton and I went out and played 9 holes a couple of weeks ago, and he also has been out with a friend of his to play a couple of times.  Trace and I had a golf day this past Saturday and had a great morning of 9 holes.  We live just a few minutes from a great little 9-hold par 3 course which is very handy to even go and hit a few buckets of balls in the evenings.

First Week of School!

Well the Niemann's started school on Monday, August 22 and all three kids had a good first week. Their school is Temperance-Kutner, or T-K for short. Peyton's teacher is Mrs. Vang, and being in the 6th grade this year he's the "Big Man on Campus" since the school is K-6. 4th-grader Trace landed in Mrs. Dupras' class, which is a combined 4th-5th grade class. He was pretty excited because Mrs. Dupras was Peyton's teacher last year, and Trace took a liking to her then (it doesn't hurt that she's pretty!). Hillary had a fantastic first grade teacher last year, Mrs. Clark, and as it turns out we were pleasantly surprised that she is also teaching a combined class of 1st-2nd graders! So Hillary will have the same teacher again which couldn't be better for her.

The best part of the week as voted unanimously by the kids was having "no homework"! I'm afraid that will change this week but it was nice while it lasted. We are set on school supplies, new routines and of course having new backpacks is always a bonus.

The boys started sports practice this week. Peyton is playing football for T-K and Trace is on the cross-country team since he can't start football until 5th grade. They will both have sports practice every day after school except for Wednesdays, and their games/meets will be at the same locations on Friday afternoons at 2:30. Peyton is quite excited about finally playing football since he's looked forward to it since he was - oh, say 2 years old.

We also started piano lessons back up last week. Last year our piano teacher, Troy, came to our house to teach the kids, but this year we are taking lessons at the Valley Music Center of Fresno where Troy is the school director. It's a fantastic facility, and all three kids all take on Wednesday afternoons when they have early release. They will get to have recitals there, and they also offer keyboard, jazz and other classes that mom will be signing up for too!

We topped off the first week of school with a fishing trip to Hunting Lake on Saturday. It was a beautiful day - we didn't catch a lot of fish but according to Hillary the fun was all about learning to cast by yourself! We saw a lot of great scenery on our hikes, and it was amazing to think that on December 31 we were skiing in the same area in fresh powder and 4 degrees! All just over an hour from home...it was a great day.

Our Stay-cation

Thanks to our good friends the Caudle's who came to see us for their summer vacation, we also got to spend a few days enjoying the sights of California, some of which we had not yet gotten to experience. Here are some of the highlights...

Day One - After a tour of the Cargill Beef Plant we played a few rounds of putt-putt golf and then spent the rest of the afternoon at the pool.

Day Two - We headed to Sequoia! Some of the sights we saw that day included the General Sherman Tree, the largest tree in the world (by volume). It was awesome! We climbed through the trunk of a hollow tree, drove through the Tunnel Log, hiked 400 steps up Moro Rock to see a stunning view of the high sierra & canyons and stopped to hike along a stream and take some pictures in the late afternoon. We topped off the day with supper at the Bravo Cheese Factory on the way home. What a great day.

After a day of recovery from our Sequoia excursion at the pool, we headed south to Woodlake where our good friends the Henderson's live. They hosted us on a float trip down the St. John's River -- views ranged from mountains to valleys to pastures of cattle and a clear, blue sky. A cookout of steaks ended the very fun day.

The next day was church, more "recovery" at the pool and packing to head to the coast! We left the following morning for Avila Beach where we soaked up some sun and the kids (and John!)braved the cold waters and went boogey-boarding. After the beach we stopped at the Tolosa Winery, had supper at Splash Cafe and crashed for the night in San Luis Obispo. The next day we visited Morro Bay, drove up highway 1 and saw the elephant seals at San Simeon. Another VERY fun day!

First Post on Blog!

Well, the Niemann's have decided to join the Blogger world! For a number of years I have kept journals for each of the kids but over the past year I have not kept them up as often as I would like. A friend suggested I start a family blog so I can quickly update what is happening with our family so we are going to give it a shot.

We have had a fantastic summer full of softball, baseball, swimming and seeing the sights of California. We have one more week of summer before school starts...Peyton is 11 and will be in 6th grade, Trace is 9 and will be in 4th grade and Hillary is 7 and will be in second grade. They attend Temperance-Kutner elementary school in the Clovis USD, and this is the last year they will all be at the same school.

John is the general manager of the Cargill beef plant here in Fresno, a job he has really enjoyed. He's also been able to involve the plant in a number of community service projects, including building houses for Habitat for Humanity and a number of park clean-up projects.

Over the past year I have been studying to become a personal training and just recently received my official certification from the ISSA (International Sports Sciences Association). I am starting a fitness blog as well to go along with my new endeavor and I am very excited about helping people become healthier!

Jen