It’s a weekend day, which for Livie means jammies all day. (It also means putting away laundry and tidying up her room, but I’ll tell her that later.)
13 Aug
First day!
Today marks the first day of school. Ava’s starting fourth grade, and Olivia first. My mom was here this morning to enjoy the blueberry pancakes, photos and general chaos.
Ava didn’t stay by our side long at school—she immediately reconnected with her girlfriends.
Here she is with her teacher and two of her very best friends. I questioned the seating arrangements, but Mom pointed out they’d likely be fixed in short order this morning.
Olivia felt a bit more trepidation than Ava. She wore the quartz necklace she gave me for Mother’s Day to calm her, and Sleeping Bunny was tucked into her backpack. She’s nervous about her teacher, and she doesn’t have many friends in her class (yet…).
I trust she’ll do just fine.
11 Aug
Overheard
Owen, as I came at him with a washcloth: “Away go! Away go!”
Other instructions of late include “Watch out!” Not quite as cute as “‘cuse me.”
9 Aug
Summer’s gone
After a hectic week at work, we’re settling into a fun weekend.
Owen, who once served as the alarm we no longer needed to set, now prefers to sleep in late on weekday mornings (which didn’t work well for the 8 am swim camps we had last week). On the weekends, though, he’s up before the sun. We’re enjoying breakfast outside so hopefully the others will sleep in.
Today, we have yard work, errands and maybe even a boat ride (thanks to a boss who left his keys behind for us this weekend). The neighbors will join us for a cookout tonight, and then my mom arrives for a few days tomorrow.
School starts Wednesday–summer indeed seems over, though the blistering heat reminds us otherwise.
What are your plans for the weekend?
4 Aug
Western Nebraska
We spent last week in the Black Hills with the Smith family, and we traveled there via Highway 2 in Nebraska (thanks to Gramma Great’s recommendation). It was a long drive, but we saw dozens of trains—Owen at least was completely entertained—and the scenery was unbelievably gorgeous.
I’ve never been to the panhandle, and I was most excited to see Chimney Rock. We approached it from the north, which I think made it a bit less impressive than those who saw it as they journeyed east on the Oregon Trail. As we got closer, it’s stature was more apparent.
While I was ready to head to South Dakota after a quick photo, Bryan insisted we go further to the east to see Jailhouse and Courthouse Rocks. I’m so glad we did—they were astonishing in size (and they seemed to appear on the prairie almost out of nowhere). Despite only having flip-flops for footwear that day, we did our best to climb high.
31 Jul
Black Hills break
We’re wrapping up a week in the woods—I promise to catch up with you in couple of days. See you soon!
25 Jul
Hooked…
Here are two of my favorite photos from the cabin—mostly because of the conversations surrounding them.
Grampa keeps a step stool in the basement; Owen was certain it was for his own convenience. He took several liberties as he checked out the new space, and he was astonished when he opened this styrofoam box.
Gramma reminded me that previous generations of grandkids were strongly advised against playing with the minnows. When I mentioned this to Grampa, he said something along the lines of, “Nothing catches fish like stressed out bait.”
I know I’ve heard that before somewhere in the last 36 years…probably as I stood in exactly the same place.
25 Jul
Minnesota round-up
It’s no longer Throwback Thursday, which would have been perfect for these photos from our vacation in Minnesota. It wasn’t that long ago, I suppose, but the month has gotten away from me.
You’ll have to wait even long for a special set of our parade shenanigans—that definitely deserves a post of it’s own!
Thanks, Gramma and Grampa Great, for a another amazing year at the cabin. We love you!
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