First Day of School

The first day of school this year seemed to come very quickly.  Actually, when I checked the calendar, the kids ARE starting a tad early; but it also means that they will be finished with the school year before Memorial Day weekend again this year.

The school has decided to go back to full-days of instruction -- thank goodness!  The kids really need the extra time to continue learning and also to play catch-up after the limited teaching that they received last year.  Any students that do not feel comfortable attending 'in-person' have been advised to contact the county and will be enrolled in a county-wide virtual learning program.  Masks are considered optional, except on the buses where a federal mandate requires them because the buses are considered 'public transportation.'

August 19th, 2021:

Samantha is in 8th grade, the highest grade level in the Middle School:

Sophia is in 5th grade, the highest level in the Elementary School:

Her favorite hair style right now is a high bun and she has SO MUCH HAIR and it is SO CURLY that this just works for her.  And ... since she doesn't need to wear a mask at all times, she opted to wear some earrings that would normally get hung up on her mask.

Jack is in 3rd grade and very excited about the school year.  He's anxious to see his friends and has big plans to try and play both football and basketball this year.

And this boy?!  He's going to all-day kindergarten this year.  While he may not look completely excited in this picture, he is more than ready to go.

My hibiscus plant was in full-bloom so the girls kindly obliged me with a quick picture in front of it.  Usually, we have sunflowers planted, but we didn't get any in the ground this year.

Waiting at the end of the driveway for the bus:

The highlight of Jimmy's life -- riding the bus for the very first time!

Here's to a great year back in school, both in-person and full-time!

  

End of Summer Randoms

The kids LOVE s'mores!  They especially love them outside, either with our backyard (real) fire circle or the portable firepit in the driveway.  As you can see, we had LOTS of wood to choose from -- courtesy of Grandpa's huge tree that recently got cut down in his yard.

(This is the last part of it; the other half has already been stacked out back on the patio for winter).

While I might have *preferred* some shoes on those little toes, I also know that the end of summer is coming soon and the kids are soaking up every last minute of it.

Absolute perfection!

Sophia joined in shortly thereafter ...

And Jack too!

Sam was babysitting that night, and while she missed the s'mores roasting, she was excited to make a little extra money to add to her debit card (something that I set her up with earlier this year now that many families prefer to pay sitters by electronically-transferring money).

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August in Michigan means PEACH SEASON!  One of our neighbors picked up some peaches and quickly realized that she had way too many and offered some to us.  Yes, please!  I made a quick pie and the rest were quickly gobbled up by my fruit-loving kids.

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Another milestone: Less than two weeks before Samantha started 8th grade, she got braces put on.

Before:

After:

While her teeth were not too crooked, there are some spaces that need to be fixed and a small overbite that needs to be adjusted.  Both Steve and I feel pretty strongly that this is a gift that we can (luckily) provide for our children that will last them their lifetime -- the gift of perfect teeth.

She had her top braces put on first and then in about 3 months, she will have the bottom ones put on (right before her birthday).  The orthodontist prefers to do it this way so that the patients have a little time to get used to braces first before trying to fill their entire mouth with metal all at once.

She will likely have to wear them for about 18 months, but at the rate that her teeth are already starting to shift, it might be even less time.  Now, we just need to make sure that she continues to practice excellent dental hygiene since she cannot floss very easily right now.

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Our neighbor turned 20 this summer, and we surprised her with a cake to celebrate.  She loves nature (she was one of the helpers at the Nature Camp that both Jack and Sophia attended this summer), so I made her a honeycomb cake.  The cake inside was simply white cake, but I added a honeycomb design on the outside, some chocolate-covered milk duds with stripes and almond-slivered wings, some fresh flowers from the garden and stuck a sign on the top that Sophia came up with.  She was so happy!

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At Nature Camp this summer, the kids were able to go fishing in the river that runs through the Nature Conservatory.  Sophia even caught a fish!

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Check out one of our new boat captains!  Jack is the perfect driver -- careful, observant and safe.  I just sit back and let him navigate on the lake now ...

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Fitting in some last minute fun before school starts, including bowling.  We have not bowled in a very long time, partly because every bowling alley was closed during the worst part of COVID. 

Bonus: we also had some great pizza while were were there.

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The kids and I celebrated Papa's birthday out at the orchard by bringing lunch and his favorite dessert of all time -- my raspberry cheesecake.

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Steve and I took the boys to a Lugnuts game one night this summer and they had a blast!  The stadium was pretty empty so we felt like we had a whole section to ourselves.  We ate, watched the game and then enjoyed the fireworks show afterwards.

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