Weekend

  Another dear friend passed away this week.  I am really quite ready for 2010 to be over, thank you. The weekend plans changed as hubby went down to be with the family and help in whatever way he can.  So I will be on deck as the parental taxi - getting son #1 to a cross country meet and then throwing clothes at him so he can change in the back of the car as we drive an hour to a new horse back riding stable. The directions given by the lady in charge do not sync with anything I map quested or mapped on Google.  I just hope my dying cell phone has enough juice to save me if I get lost and need new directions!  I think tomorrow night will be a movie night with pizza and sundaes on tray tables in the living room! It has been a long week.
   Nice news for winter is our pellet stove arrived and was installed today.  Nice to know we will be able to sit in the living room this winter without getting chill blains!

School Days

   Wow! This year each of our children is in a different school!  Everyone began class today - the eldest in high school (gulp!), the next in middle school, and the last in kindergarten (double gulp!).
     What is it about the first day of school excitement that gets them up and ready at least ten minutes BEFORE the bus arrives, and the rest of the year we are shoving them out the door, jacket in one hand and a piece of toast in the other??  I wish we could bottle some of the energy from the first day and  sprinkle it on them throughout the year!
    Our youngest was ready for school - washed, dressed, fed and brushed - at 7:40 a.m.   His bus arrived at 8:25!  He jumped onto the bus and raced to the back looking for a seat - even though the bus driver reserves the front two for the little ones.  He finally got turned around and seated, and I managed to get a photo - not of him, but of the bus driver!!

my baby, heading out to join the world

waiting for the school bus

   Getting through this week with sanity intact is our goal.   A sample day.

Yesterday:
8:30 am - husband drives eldest to HS to get his locker and lock
9:00 - I drive daughter to swim team  (at the HS) meet hubby and eldest and go to store  as hubby heads to work.
10:30 - pick up daughter from swim practice.
11:00 - head to work, teach three classes between noon and 5:15
2 pm - hubby cancels office hours and head home to children
3:30 - hubby takes eldest to Cross country practice
5 pm - hubby picks up eldest child from practice and races home telling son to shower quickly.
5:30 - I return home
5:45 - husband and eldest son (who somehow never made it to the shower) go to doctor for the school physical
6:30 - start fire in backyard fire pit for a last night of vacation hotdog roast and s'mores dinner (fight mosquitoes most of the event)
7:30 extinguish fire, start supervising bathing/showering all three children
9:00 finish filling out all forms and emergency contact sheet for school, try to find lunch boxes and beverage bottles - get them set for morning.
10:30 - collapse in a heap knowing that 5:50 am will come all too soon!

Last Weekend of Summer

   Just kicking back, enjoying the kids for this last weekend before school events take over our lives.  Cross country meets, rehearsals, Girl Scouts, and swim meets will fill the spare time left over after homework! So we relaxed yesterday. In the morning we watched a version of Peter Pan I had never seen with Jason Isaacs as Captain Hook. It was sweet and the kids loved it!
     The town had a balloon event in the park behind our house  this weekend - we saw a couple balloon ascents on Friday night, and Saturday evening was supposed to be a "balloon glow."  We went down to the park and watched the balloonists shoot flames into the sky from their gondolas - it was way too windy to put the balloons up.  However, seeing some friends and eating cotton candy (yuck!)  seemed to make it okay for the kids!

the balloon flames from across the pond

 

 We went on a ramble today in the Audubon Bird Sanctuary near us.  This is a taste of the walk.

Let's not get wet before the hike begins!

Dad and his boy

A feather found on the mountain

the spider was too quick for me to catch (on film!)

A caterpillar which will become a Monarch butterfly, hanging out on a milkweed pod

Hornets and their incredible nest

       It was a gorgeous day with a breeze and plenty of sunshine.  The kids and the dog all got some exercise and fresh air, and we all got to hang out together.  A good day.