Gabe's School Open House Ice Cream Social

Time to catch up! John came home early the Thursday before school started so we could all walk over to Alberta Rider's Ice Cream Social Open House. Ben and Max were very excited! Gabe was at least willing to eat the ice cream before leaving...no sense leaving good ice cream to go to waste, you know... Plus he had his new red Ninjago shirt to wear, and what good is a new shirt if only Ben and Mommy get to see it?

We walked over to the school and timed the walk - should take us about 5 to 10 minutes in the morning, even allowing for the slow coaches (Ban and Max). When we got there at 4, it wasn't too busy yet. We found Gabe's Room and met his teacher, Mrs. Miller. She seems very nice. Gabe said a grouchily mumbled, "hi!" under his breath, but wouldn't make eye contact. Luckily she had prepared a scavenger hunt. So we happily tooled around the room, checking things off his list. Cubby? Check! Pencils? Check! Bathroom for boys only? Check! Awesome activity room with a play kitchen and a puppet theater? Check!

Finally Gabe settled in the back of the room, playing with Math manipulatives that stack together like legos. Another boy came to stand next to him and play with the bead box. I pointed out to Gabe that the boy, whose nametag identified him as Aiden, was also going to be in Gabe's class! Gabe gave Aiden the flat faced stinkeye. Aiden returned the favor. Aiden's dad tried, pointing out Gabe's Ninjago shirt to Aiden, who is reportedly also a big fan. Aiden said...nothing. Gabe responded in kind. Aiden was wearing an Oregon Beavers t-shirt. They played silently side by side for another 5 minutes, while Aiden's dad and I exchanged rolled eyes over shy kindergarten boys. Then Aiden's dad told him it was time to go. Aiden turns to Gabe and shouts, "Beavers!!" at the top of his lungs. Gabe cracks up like it's the best jokes he's ever heard. I guess that makes them friends?
When we got to the final item on the check list - say goodbye to the teacher. The list said Gabe had to either hug, high five, or give Mrs' Miller a handshake goodbye. I guess I should start making lists for Gabe, because, since it was on the list, he voluntarily went back up to her and gave her a high five. I was a little surprised, since he'd been pulling the shy and silent routine the whole time.

Finally, it was time for ice cream out in the covered area of the playground. That was the easy part. Each boy chose a fudge bar. and ate them with varying degrees of neatness. Ben could not be bothered to stop eating long enough for a picture to be taken, and Max was disgustingly messy by the time it was all over. We took a quick peek into the gym, where Gabe and Ben made the video shared below. Then we left school for a spontaneous celebratory dinner out, since as parents John and I were both so relieved to have made it through the gauntlet of Open House with out a single major meltdown or embarrassingly messy incident. When you go out with three little boys, that's always cause for celebration!