Recent Happenings

Hi there.  School starts in a few days.  I'm gearing myself up for it.  I'll be sending Tralee off for full days now, and it breaks her mamma's heart a bit.  She keeps getting bigger, smarter, stronger, and more independent.  She challenges me daily, and I her.  I need to remember how quickly her first six years have gone, and make more time to enjoy special moments together.

Hunter will be in pre-school this year.  This is the first time I'm sending a kid to a pre-school instead of homeschooling or doing a co-op.  I feel confident in my decision.  He will benefit from a more structured curriculum for two hours at a time a few days a week.  Hunter is also in a little boys' playgroup once a week.  There are eight boys total, all three and four-year-olds.  Hunter's excited for his playgroup and pre-school to start.  I'm excited for the rest of the time when I get him all to myself.  

My kids are getting older.  Meanwhile, my sentimental heart breaks with this realization.  My babies aren't really babies anymore.  I know that's the way of it, and I'm proud of their every accomplishment, but, heaven help me, let them infinitely know my arms are always willing to embrace them, my lips eager to smooch their cheeks, and my mouth happy to give them words of encouragement and advice.

Realizing school is right around the corner, we've had some fun these last weeks of summer.

We ventured into nature and played by the river with some friends. 

We walked our family dog, as well as Tralee's new "dog."  She was super excited about this.

We visited some parks. . . 

We rode bikes

We played outside everyday.  Some of us played outside in our boots and briefs.  Others of us snapped pictures and whispered a prayer that these childhood days will slow down a bit, because moments like this are too much fun to be over so quickly.

We went to church when we were home.  This meant we actually did our hair!  I swear, moments where my hair is done and make-up is on must be documented. . . they're few and far between.

Jim and I took the kids to the fair a few days ago.  Tralee dressed herself for the fair, dumped all her piggy-bank money in her backpack, and was all sorts of excited to get her fair on.  

Hunter on the carousel 

While at the fair, Tralee wanted to go on a ride that looked wonderful and fun to a six-year-old, and horrific to a 31-year-old mother of two.  This was really the ONLY ride Tralee was interested on going on, she even skipped the carousel so she could save her tickets for the spinning ride.  So. . . I bit the bullet and rode with my girl.  I will say, the ride WAS wonderful and fun. . . for about 30 seconds. After about a minute I was done.  Then one minute turned into two. . . and I swear about three hours later the ride finally stopped.  I thought maybe the man in charge of starting and stopping the ride must have died, and the reason it lasted so long was the fair people had to find his replacement.  When the ride finally slowed down, I waited for the world to stop spinning as well before I could get up.  Tralee, on the other hand, was ready to ride it again.  Unfortunately for her, her parents aren't the spring chickens we once were, and once was my limit.  Jim couldn't even watch us ride without getting sick, so zero was his limit.  Tralee realized her wish to ride the spinning ride multiple times wasn't going to happen, so we moved on to playing some games. 

Before the ride started. . . she was so excited!

We also pet some animals at the zoo, that's always fun. . . even when goats try to eat your clothes.

Our last bit of summer news is this:  For the last few weeks we've been watching a swallow's nest by our front door.  There were four eggs we've been keeping our eye on, and finally one day when we checked on the eggs, we discovered four baby birds!  ADORABLE!!  We have yet to think of names for them, but their parent's names are Pepper and Hank.  Pepper and Hank have been very protective and kind parents.  I'm sure their little nest-full will fly free and far when the time is right. . . just like my birdies during this next school year.