recorded

Our first full week is officially in the books.  I'd say we're coming into Fall with style.  In fact we might have approached the first stretch with a little too much enthusiasm.  At this rate we're going to be burnt out by the time Halloween rolls around.  But a little pomp and circumstance is always appreciated where new beginnings are involved and so we celebrate.  

Back to school party!

5 superstar kiddos

apple cupcakes

All decorations supplied by Target's fifty cent bin

A desperate plea for her friends to arrive so she can get her party on

Our first game of the year.  Ava's definitely getting into her soccer groove this time around.

She shoots and scores and beams with pride.  I'm trying to avoid fist pumping when she pushes the boys around.

 The first school lunch. 

 By request: pb&j, chocolate milk, snap peas, plum, and chocolate chip cookie.

 Kindergarten

 Bring it!

 Sometimes I'll run for the bus

 I can show my teacher how I ride a bike (seriously, these were unprompted)

 I'm so proud of this lovely little person

 This is her teacher, Mrs. Scott, right before Mama's were kicked out of the classroom

 There was palpable excitement on the first school bus day.  "When is it going to get here?!!"

 "Bye, bye!  You can come and visit if you want!"  I must say it took a fair amount of restraint not to follow her school bus with a pair of binoculars, but then I had visions of me as Shirley MacLaine in Terms of Endearment and went back in the house.

Finally on Sunday we took advantage of another gorgeous day and drove out to Sauvie Island after church.  The weather has been so nice I feel like I have to speak in hushed tones here but it looks like I'll be white knuckling summer well into October.  

I hadn't been out here since high school.  It kind of feels like sacred ground as Tien and I used to drive here in the old Honda Accord with nothing but our swimsuits and Bryan Adams greatest hits.  We would swim and pick the juiciest peaches and solve the worlds problems until we were sun burned and heart full. 

But a visit to this beautiful place was well overdue.  So we packed up floaties, and a boat, and sunscreen, and hats, and changes of clothes, and beach toys, and a cooler of food, and our high maintenance kiddos and made the short drive from church.  I pretended that we were road tripping it through Nantucket in the fall.  It was easy to do with all the road side markets and u-pick farms.  The roads were lined with ten foot high cornstalks and apple orchards as far as you could see.  

We took a few short boat rides and charted a course for the open sea.  There were sand castles to build and sticks to collect and stories to be told.

 Everything looks better when the sun is shining and you have a cheesecake brownie in your hand.

 Unfortunately Mama's plans to pick bags of apples for her new spiced applesauce cake recipe, were dashed when little 1 and little 2 fell asleep before the first dust flew up from our tires. 

 So yes, I know the drill.  It's time for some order.  Some Monday through Friday, top to bottom, routine.  But we will still look for adventure in the corners of fall and winter.  Maybe I'll have to work a little harder.  But in between soccer practice and homework I will search out those summer smiles.