First Day of School

The kids and I both started back to school on August 18th ... which seems SO early.  I have to keep reminding myself that they have now started finishing school before Memorial Day, so it makes sense that they go back earlier now too.  

By the way, if you ask them, they are quick to tell you that they would prefer to continue school into June because it is still chilly here at the end of the May and it still feels like summer when they have to return in August.

Samantha started 9th grade -- which means that I have a high-schooler!

Sophia started 6th grade -- which means that she is a middle-schooler now.

The girls ride the bus together and get picked up for school at 7 am.  This is part of a new strategy in the district for a "staggered start."  Apparently, it is supposed to help with the limited number of bus drivers that we have, but I have yet to figure out how it actually helps because they are now running 2 routes in the mornings and afternoons ... and we have 3 more drivers than we did last year.  Time will tell.

I always like to grab a picture of the girls in front of the front flower garden because the hibiscus plant is usually still in bloom and the black-eyes susans are so bright and colorful.

Jack is in 4th grade this year -- migrating down to the "big kids' hall" at the Elementary School (the school is filled with 1st through 5th graders).

And James is in 1st grade -- as he has moved up into the same school as Jack.

The boys get picked up at 8 am ... a full hour after the girls.  That also means that they arrive home an hour later and I am still working out the details on how that will work for us with after-school activities.

For now, they are excited because they get to sleep in longer in the mornings!

 

I wasn't able to get a group picture in the morning, like I usually do, because of the staggered starts.  So, instead, I took one after school.  Everyone had a great first day!  And for that, I am thankful!

As for me ... I am teaching more classes than ever at LCC this semester.  It wasn't in my original plans, as it is my first semester back after COVID, and I was planning to ease back into it.  But, the College was short on instructors and begged me to take on another class less than 1 week before the semester began.  So, I am teaching in the classroom 4 days a week with 3 lectures and 1 lab -- all with different preps.  And, on one of those days, I am traveling to campus for a class in the morning and another in the evening.  It will be tough, but teaching is something I truly love.

 

4th of July - 2022

The 4th of July holiday fell on a Monday this year and it made for a long weekend of celebrating with fun, sun, neighbors and lots of great food!

We participated in our 2nd Paddle Party with our neighborhood on Saturday -- the event was even bigger than last year and we had a real blast.  We kayaked/canoed/paddled from one house to another (there were 4 stops this year, I believe?) where designated neighbors hosted with beverages and drinks.  The weather was gorgeous and with everyone lubed up with sunscreen, NO ONE got burned!  

The girls tested out our new paddleboat a few days before the event:

A Hawaiian theme at the park before we departed:

Just a couple of ladies hanging out while the kids ran around eating pizza and drinking gatorade:

Best hammock ever!

This boy managed to find some nice shade in the middle of the afternoon and took advantage of that!

********************

As the kids get older, the decorations for the 4th of July parade seem to become a bit more muted (the girls did not decorate a bike or scooter this year), but all of us enjoy wearing our red/white/blue and sporting accessories, flags and bows.  The golf cart always gets decorated now too!

Ready for the parade!

Early that morning, Jack headed out with Steve for the bass fishing competition.  Another beautiful morning for the event and another 1st place medal (and gift card to Dick's Sporting Goods)!  Next year, Jack will move up into the older age group bracket and might find himself with more competition ...

Yup, we love a great holiday accessory!

After the parade, we met down at the park for refreshments, games, prizes, cornhole, volleyball ... and of course, sand-castle-building.  I chuckled out loud because there were SO MANY bikes parked at the park entrance.

The kids hitched a ride in fire truck this year.

Sand-castle competition!

Here's to another great holiday!

Summer Randoms

This summer has been filled with very few "scheduled items," and instead, the kids have been simply taking one day at a time (and me too!).  I have been teaching two courses online and keeping up on my usual business bookkeeping, and the rest of the time, I make sure that we have a few other fun things planned (crafts, swimming at the beach, going to the movies and outside fun).

Celebrating Papa's 74th birthday at our house with a big meal (shish kabobs, rice and fruit) and his favorite requested dessert -- raspberry cheesecake.

********************

One of Jack's gifts from us for his birthday was a ninja course which Steve and Jack put together and set up in the front yard.  This thing has gotten A LOT of use this summer and Jack has successfully mastered it many times.

********************

Firepit s'mores are the best.  We use our portable firepit (Steve put it up on wheels shortly after we bought it) and it makes it nice to wheel it around whenever we would like.

And those chairs in the background?  They seem to be about "circa 1990," but we acquired them when a neighbor was planning to simply throw them away, and they are the most comfortable ones that we own.

Perfectly roasted.

********************

Front yard baseball practice as the sun is starting to set? ... Yes, please.

********************

We have the most wonderful neighbors where we live, and while I certainly realize that as an adult, I hope that my kids have already started to realize that too.  Growing up in the country, we didn't have the same comradery and sense of community that I have found with this group of people in our subdivision.  There are always people out walking, out on the lake, both impromptu and planned parties, people stopping to visit and kids hanging out at all times.  

One of our neighbors stopped by one day with a gallon bucket of ice cream and a bunch of toppings for ice cream sundaes.  Bless her heart.

The weather was gorgeous so I set up an ice cream bar on the back deck and the kids got to enjoy an afternoon dessert.

Miss Nancy sure puts a smile on the kids' faces on a regular basis.

********************

Sophia will be starting 6th grade band this Fall and Steve took her to pick out an instrument.  We were secretly hoping that she chose a trumpet because it would be nice to have her older sister (who also plays trumpet) work with her, but we wanted it to be her choice.  Ultimately, she chose the trumpet all on her own and she has already begun practicing!

********************

Fresh Michigan sweet corn!

These boys are certainly great at shucking the corn!

They put the husks directly into a wheelbarrow and then when they are done, they just wheel it out into our back woods and dump it.

********************

And it wouldn't be summer without fresh zucchini muffins!

We made a couple of batches and I had a different helper each time.

********************

The girls and I LOVE doing puzzles and we had the opportunity to set one up in the Family Room and work on it for a few days.  

********************

We surprised Sophia with a new bike!  The one that she was using was too small for her and we really wanted her to be able to go on some bike rides over the summer with Samantha and Ainsley.  So far, they have gone on regular 8-mile bike rides to a nearby alpaca farm and around our backroads.

********************

Rock painting!  I washed some nice rocks that we had gathered over the last couple of weeks and brought out my container of paintbrushes and lots of acrylic paints.  

This little project occupied everyone for a couple of hours as they did more and more creative designs.

Sam's patience and attention to detail was stellar that afternoon.

Sophia turned one of her rocks into a nose!

Later, once the rocks had dried in the sun, the kids took turns placing them around the front of my house (in my flower garden) and I find myself smiling every time I walk by and see them.

********************

Summer Crafting

This summer has been filled with some crafting activities already.  This makes my momma heart proud because I can never say 'no' to a good craft myself and I love seeing the kids enjoying them too.  

One evening, it was just Jimmy and me at home -- the other kids were someplace with Steve -- so I lugged out our huge tote of sidewalk chalk and we set to work.  I would make a drawing and then he would try to mimic it ... all things summer-related!  I was amazed at how skilled he was just from looking at my drawings and then replicating them.  

********************

Sophia is such a patient teacher and loves crafts just as much as me.  One day, she set to work helping Jimmy turn wooden dinosaur skeletons into 3D structures and then covering them with clay.  Jimmy still has one of them on display in his room!

********************

One of our very favorite neighbors (and a babysitter for our kids when they were younger), graduated from high school this year and I chose to do something fun as our gift to her for graduation.  Instead of the traditional/standard gift of money, I turned it into a money cake and then decorated it in her school colors.  It made a great display at her Open House too.

********************

Sophia joined me across the street at a neighbor's house to work on a Pysanky egg.  It is a very tedious job that involves using blown-out eggs, beeswax and dyes to decorate the eggs with various patterns.  It involved several nights of working on it, but in the end, it turned out great!!

And I will now have it to put on display each year around Easter time:

********************

Jack found a several mailboxes out by the road at the end of our subdivision because a neighbor was apparently getting rid of them.    Multiple trips later, he lugged them all home and him and James set to work putting them together and have great plans to use them for random projects.  What kind of projects?  I'm not sure, but it definitely kept them busy for a few house one afternoon.

********************

Samantha's big project has been re-painting her room and updating it a bit.  This isn't the best picture, but she decided to change the beige-colored walls (leftover from when it was painted to be our baby nursery for Sophia) to a cooler gray color.  We also ordered some new curtains, moved her loft bed to a different area and painted all of the trim.

********************

Sidewalk chalk designs by Samantha!  Like her mom, once she has a picture in front of her, she is able to easily duplicate it.  Garfield and Odie graced our driveway for a full 24 hours before a big rainstorm moved in and sadly washed them away.

********************

Another fun project has been making bracelets out of paracord.  Sophia and Jack learned how to do this at a camp last year and now they are teaching Jimmy.  Note that he was not allowed to use the lighter.  It is there to be used by an adult to seal the end of the cord when the bracelet is complete.

Yes, Sophia received all of these colors of cord in her Easter basket this spring and she has been willing to share and/or make anyone a bracelet that asks for one.

********************

Sticker-by-number art: this is the perfect outdoor project -- so much light -- and the end results are always amazing!

********************