First Day of School

Today was the first day of school. The kids didn't have a full day, so we decided to do something after school.

I caught a picture of the boy on the fly. He and his friends don't sit still very long.

The girl and some of her friends. They are much easier to photograph.

My kids and a close friend ended their first day of school in the pool at my Aunt's house. Thank you Auntie!

And So It Begins

The boy received this letter in the mail today. It is from his second grade teacher, letting him know that he is in her class and what they will be working on for the year.

The boy has the same second grade teacher his sister had. We knew she was going to be his teacher, as she told us at the end of the school year that she requested him. He is looking forward to her class. I can't believe the kids are in second and fourth grade...how did that happen?

The girl also got the teacher she wanted.

They start school on Monday. It seems like summer flew by. They were only out for 9 weeks.

The Race is On

Yeah! The water sprite is off the wait list. She got a spot on the racing team.  She is so excited, especially after watching all of the Olympic swim events.

The girl loves Missy Franklin.  She picked a good role model.  What a grounded and gifted young lady Missy is.

Who Needs To Go To The Gym?

Evidently, the dog feels I should be upping my daily amount of cardio (who am I to argue with a dog). He helps me get a cardio/step workout while I am cooking. When I am in the kitchen, Deacon insists on laying in the middle of the floor. This way, I have to step over him to get to the fridge, back to the stove and step over him again to get to the sink. The more I cook the more cardio. Deacon is ever hopeful that something will miraculously fall to the floor for him to eat. Since he is now weighing in at 63lbs with long, gangly legs I am going to have to start jumping farther to get meals made.

Day Trippin

Since summer is almost over, the kids and I are doing a couple of day trips while we have the time.

Yesterday, we drove to a small town where a large part of American Graffiti was filmed. I hadn't been there for years and forgot how charming and full of things you would want in a small town it is.

We toured a sticker factory. This is the only place we were allowed to take pictures, in front of the sticker wall. It was very interesting. I had no idea the amount of large machines and processes that were involved in making stickers. At each stop along the tour the kids got stickers.

My favorite part of the trip was finally getting to visit this seed bank. I order seeds from their catalog every year and have wanted to shop at it since it opened a few years ago. It is in a beautiful old bank building.

There are aisles of heirloom seeds of every imaginable type of vegetable and a lot of fruits. The kids each picked out a packet of seeds for our winter garden. I tried to restrain myself and not go overboard on seeds. I know, it is nothing but excitement hanging around me. Luckily, the kids were patient while I oohed and aahed to my heart's content.

Their reward for their patience was visiting a local pie shop and splitting a mini lemon pie. They are their Father's kids.
After the sticker factory tour and visiting the seed bank, we decided to walk downtown and explore a bit. Imagine my surprised when the kids wanted to go into an art gallery/antique store. We got their 20 minutes before they closed, but managed to see most of it. The kids pointed out different paintings and antiques they thought I would like. The best part was they managed to do this without actually touching anything...yeah!
Next, we visited a local creamery that had the best tasting organic cheese and ice cream. So you know we had to buy both. The creamery and farm have been in business for over 90 years. They had some uncommon flavors for ice cream. I ended up getting the lavender, which was delicious. The kids got cookie parade, a big hit and peppermint patty. I know, pie and ice cream in one day. You would think I was FSD. In my defense, the pie was truly a mini, miniscule, microscopic one bite pie. Also, we walked a lot (like my rationalization?).

Later, we visited the local farmers market and stocked up on fruits and veggies. The market also had a booth with some reptiles. The kids enjoyed the snake and turtle.

In case you notice the wrap on the girl's arm in the pictures, she has a sprained wrist. She was riding her bike and cut a turn to fast. She broke her fall with her hand. The Doctor said she should be back to her daredevil ways in a few weeks.