August

I guess I made one Freudian slip on the July pictures. I conveniently forgot my 30th birthday. Bleh. Enough said. Although the cake was good. :) And so were the presents.


In August we were finally able to catch up on some yard work! Here's the tree getting it's finishing touches on pruning...


And with John's parents and brother Gary's help (THANK YOU!!!), we finally got rid of the brush pile, or mountain, in our backyard!! We filled a 17-foot U-Haul truck full to the brim with all the brush we have cleared out of this yard since we moved in. It was nuts. I'll have to take an after picture, I guess, since we have a swing set there now and we love to have our backyard reclaimed!


August was a hard month for Calvin (and his parents) as he was growing out of his naps (*sigh*). He fell asleep at some strange places at about 5:00 when he just couldn't stay awake any longer. And then stayed up til 10pm that night...


And yes, he really is fast asleep in this picture...

AND... School started!!! Emily started first grade and Kimmie started kindergarten! And Calvin just had to be part of things. :)

Emily is doing great. She is so smart and such a great reader. She keeps begging me to go to the library for more chapter books that she can read. She was chosen from her grade to do the "Battle of the Books", a literacy program of some sort. Don't ask me what, they haven't told me yet. She's handling full-day school very well. There have been some rough spots with boys teasing her about going in the wrong bathroom the first week, and some girl friendship drama. Who knew the threesome problems would start so blasted early??? Unbelievable. But she's a trooper and really has been doing very well.

Kimmie is in half-day kindergarten. She absolutely loves it and doesn't even look back as the bell rings each morning. I have to stop her to get a hug good-bye before she goes in!! The three trips to school a day are getting a little tiring, but I'm glad she's having such a great time and learning words and all sorts of things. Today she told me they learned the word "the." I've asked her what her favorite thing about school is, and she said, "Everything!!"

Calvin and I are enjoying some time alone together. He likes to play on the playground after all the kids go into school for a while, and then we meander home and throw leaves and rocks in the canal, play chase, and look for ducks. He's a trooper about making all these trips to school everyday. He loves to swing in the backyard and get the tv and movie choices all to himself for a while. He's even helped me paint a bit, but that will come in September pictures!

At the end of August, my dad and sister Laura came out to visit, which was so fun! Here's a picture of the girls singing with Laura, I think it's "Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam" or something of that sort. They are jumping at having a grand time, anyway. There are more pictures of their visit in the next post, since they were here for Calvin's birthday!!