Snow Cones and Boston Cream Pie

Guests in town always calls for bonus desserts, right?

SuperRu vs Glitch

Rudy has declared that he is going to be SuperRu for Halloween.  I hope I'm not ruining his big reveal, but his costume consists of his red cape, a red mask, a London Bobby hat, and a Nerf sword.  It's creative, at least.

Brady isn't committing for Halloween, but his preferred costume for household battles is a Superman blanket knotted as a cape, his Gladiator helmet, and a sword.  He waffles between two personas:  Killer Bee and Glitch.

Growth charts

I'm not sure what prompted the final installation of these growth charts, but they are officially ready to go at Brian and Rebecca's house!!

Teddy was super excited to help James with the installation process, and even more thrilled when he got to use the drill!

First day of school

As always, I find myself with mixed emotions at the beginning of the school year.  I want to be excited for the kids because I want them to like school.  And, it is exciting, of course:  new school supplies, bright new sneakers, excited teachers.   There is also some sense of craving for routine by the end of the summer.  Two and a half months of a free-wheelin' schedule takes its toll on the cleanliness of the house, our rest, our home-cooked meals, and our budget.

And yet.  I never feel like we've done enough with our summers.  Didn't squeeze in quite enough time at the pool, or day trips, or time with friends, or trips to the beach, or camping, or really anything!  It's tough to put them back on that bus on the first day of school and acknowledge that another summer has come and gone!

Brady started fourth grade this year.  He is thrilled with his teacher and has loads of friends in his class.  He will not be switching teachers for different subjects this year, which I think will be a good thing since his teacher seems really excited about cross-subject learning.  

Rudy is in second grade.  He didn't know much about his teacher when he first go the assignment, but loves her already.  Mary Emma and Tanner are in his class, which sealed the deal in his eyes!

I love the comparisons...Brady this year and in 2007 on his first day of preschool:

Rudy this year and on his first day of preschool (2009):

 

For a little look back:

I'm not sure what has grown more:  my kids or my hydrangeas!

2012

2011

2010

2009 (Brady), 2009 (Rudy)

2008

2007

Summer homework and reading

These poor kids have such a mean mom...making them do homework every weekday over the summer!  10 minutes of math, 20 minutes of reading, and a piano practice.  Thankfully, we didn't have very many epic battles over school work this summer; they just accepted it with resignation, I guess.

And the reading...who knew you could read in so many places?

At Dad's softball game:

 

At a swim meet:

 

 

In the shopping cart at WalMart:

 

At home, preferably upside down:

Of course, sometimes all of that reading can really wear you out:

Rainbow

Not a bad way to wrap up the last evening of summer vacation:

BB gun

 The boys came home from Camp OmaPapa quite enamored with the bb gun.  James dug his out and managed to find a couple dozen BBs.  We passed a fun hour or so in the back yard, aiming at soda cans and toy soldiers. 

Jumpology

We jammed in all the fun we could manage on the Saturday before school starts.  We made our first every excursion to Jumpology, which is a huge gym full of trampolines.  When we first got there, the kids were SO excited, but just the tiniest bit disappointed that we'd only paid for an hour.  After about 20 minutes, we were all pooped!  We kept jumping for the whole hour, but I'm not sure we would have gotten much out of too much more time!

After that, we went to Cold Stone (for "lunch") and then to play two games of Laser Tag.  We managed to squeeze an errand to Costco in before coming home for pizza and a movie.  Great day!