BACK TO SCHOOL!

So school started at the end of August. I can't rule out the possibility that the kids were excited.

This one is in THIRD GRADE!!! So far his teacher has been great (she's a former arts and music teacher, which gives her points in our book). He misses being in the same class as one of his best friends, Justin, but manages to catch up enough over wall-ball at recess to survive.

And Addy's off to a fantastic start. She has M. Dube, who is one of my favorite teachers EVER. He's already noticed her art skills and gives her plenty of time to illustrate her journal entries, besides which he CRACKS THE CLASS UP at every opportunity and gives lots of extra recesses. The man knows how to teach first grade, I tell you.

And they both enjoy being back at Ecole Massey, which finally got some much-needed paint, along with a new principal (I was sorry to see Mme. Anderson go, but I like the new one--whose name escapes me at the moment--quite well). I think they'll both have a wonderful year!

August Rush

I'm just going to dedicate this post to the joy of summer. I love summer. I really do. And even though the temperature here rarely cleared 80, making for many nights where our heater kicked on, and despite the general sense that we warmed up to an early May before plunging directly into late September (there are already yellow leaves on some of the trees), IT WAS SUMMER. Since it's so short,we did our best to make the most of it. We dropped everything on hot days (there were a few) and headed to the spraypads. We basked in the sunshine at the parks (even if we were wearing sweaters), and barbequed all the hotdogs we could stand. The kids rode their bikes, roller blades, scooters, and tricycles up and down the street basically every minute we were home. And I even took some pictures. Well, I waited until the very end and then tried to make up for it, but still--we have real live photos to prove that yes, we were outside, loving it, for as long as we could. I wouldn't change a moment of it.

Alongside all that blissful enjoyment, we managed to get some long-awaited house-projects done. We have new carpet in our basement! New floors in the kitchen and bathrooms! We have that second bathroom more or less functional again! The back of the house is finally painted! We may be missing a few luxuries, like baseboards and taps to one shower, but to be honest, my happiness is full enough without them. Ask me right now if I will have a fantastic winter, and I'll give you a resounding YES. Although that may just be the vitamin D talking--it's pretty potent stuff, that sunshine.

Fun in the Sun

My favorite girls . . . or Scooby-Doo cast members, take your pick

Possibly my favorite afternoon all summer--we didn't know there was a spray-pad at this park, but it was a hot day (for once), and what's the good in being a kid if you can't sometimes just rip your clothes off? Too bad Sera's shorts didn't fit better. And too bad she had an accident already. All totally worth it for this picture though!

And Addy in a spare pair of shorts (size 24 months I think?)

Some tree had some berries on it. The kids picked them off and pelted them at each other for probably an hour.

There's nothing like water on a hot day. And given how few of them there were this summer, can you blame us for soaking in the opportunity?

I may have hated scrubbing all the sand out of their scalps, but man these kids love digging!

Hanging out at the spray-pad playground

I love when my kids play together!

Addy and her old Joy School buddy Ezra

Lots of afternoon picnics at the park

Gathering apples in the backyard

What ghetto backyard would be complete without a ghetto swingset? ($15 at a yard-sale)

I think these guys wore a rut in the sidewalk in front of our house

Ah, the joy on Addy's face when she took off without training wheels!

Family and Fun!

July was pretty front-loaded for us. We left on the first and drove down to Rapid City, South Dakota for a family reunion in the Black Hills and at Mount Rushmore. As we loaded up the van, the kids were whining a bit about taking another long trip. "How long will we be driving?" Addy asked. "About eight hours," we told her. "No, I mean how many days?" When we told them we would get there in less than one day, they could hardly believe it.

Despite a bit of rain, and oh yeah, sleeping directly on the ground in our tent (as testified by the large purple bruises I got on both my hips), it was fantastic to be with my sisters and brother again, not to mention my parents. All our moves have made it hard, some years, to fit in all the visiting we need. I'm so glad we've started having these reunions, although without fail they're too short. There was some landmark visiting and toasting of marshmallows around the fire, but the real highlight for us was Theo's baptism. We're so proud of that guy for taking such a big step, and glad that he was able to have his grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins there for his special day--one I think he'll remember for a long time.

Seeing Mount Rushmore was a little surreal. It's a little unbelievable that such immense figures could be carved directly into a granite mountain. We enjoyed a hike around Sylvan Lake, where a part of National Treasure 2 was filmed, and had fun exploring the lake around our campground. Fourth of July fireworks were great (although we didn't make it to the Mount Rushmore display), and the kids loved our trip to a Cowboy Chuckwagon for dinner one night. We couldn't have asked for a better (or more convenient) family reunion! We're already looking forward to next year.

After we got home, we finally got to enjoy a bit of "regular summer." The kids made some goals to work on, we picked up schedules for the libraries and science centers, and the bikes and roller-blades and scooters and tricycles all came out of hiding. To be honest, I feel quite terrible that I complained about this city so much during the winter, because they sure do an awesome summer! We've visited water spray-pads, lots of beautiful parks, gone to puppet shows and science discovery activities, read books, gone to movies, and played with friends. It's been so lovely that I'm not even joking when I say that I don't want it to end. There are even daily "Play Escapes" at the local recreation center where there are organized activities for the kids while I go grocery shopping or whatever--all free!

So, for the next few weeks, we're going to live it up all we can. It hasn't gotten warm enough for us to go camping at the nearby lake here (we're learning that when Canadians talk about camping, they generally mean in a trailer or RV), but we've had so much fun doing other stuff, and trying to slowly accomplish some renovations on our house, that we've barely noticed. The kids have strengthened their friendships, we've established some better behavior and expectations in our home, and Aaron and I are just having a blast enjoying this fantastic, once-in-a-lifetime summer with our kids!