Life Lately

We had some unseasonably warm weather through the month of September and the kids were still wearing tank tops and shorts.  In fact, we even went swimming in the lake in the middle of the month!

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I have decided that we need to keep Jack's hair buzzed as short as possible.  He looks so cute when it is all closely trimmed and it helps to tame his thick cowlick:

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The girls and I got dressed up and headed to Zoe's baptism.  They chose their own dresses out of the closet (and of course, the purses!) and then added jewelry.  Sophia asked for double-braids and she giggled with happiness the whole time.  We've been waiting quite some time for her hair to be long enough for this!

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The kids love to hop in the hot tub whenever they can ... even if it is hotter than hot outside.

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Mr. Blue Eyes is always on the run.  I asked him to stop and take a picture for me and this is what I got.  I'll take what I can get these days.

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Every year, I try to make a few loaves of zucchini bread.  I'm not a big fan of the vegetable prepared any other way, but can't resist it in bread or muffins.  This year, it was Jack's turn to help.

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He also helped make our special first day of school pencil cookies while the girls were in school.  I know that he won't always want to help me in the kitchen so I am savoring these days as long as I can.

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Mis-match day at school for Spirit Week:

(I think that we did a pretty good job with that theme!)

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Red and White Day (school colors):

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These boys are the best of friends; Jack genuinely loves him and you can see the total admiration on his face:

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We did a lot of chalk drawings this summer -- I taught the girls how to add more colors and textures.  Samantha took the information and ran with it and made a dragon on her own.  I just love her creativity.

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We were at Sleepy Hollow one weekend and there was a random display set up there.  We grabbed the kids and snapped a quick, impromptu photo.  Jimmy was most interested in trying to eat one of the gourds, of course.

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The First Grade Class does an annual assignment where they are asked to decorate a "turkey feather" using whatever they want and however they want.  And then the feathers are displayed on a huge turkey out in the hallway.  Sophia took so much pride in this and her finished feather is "so her."  Purple and pink with a touch of green, adorned in pink beads with shiny purple stickers.