from summertime to school time

I think summer is almost over. I'm so glad.

I get this sense I'm supposed to love summer and people are going to throw things at me if I saw something out loud about how miserable it can be. As the years go by I just am less and less a fan. I'm so ready for wool socks in the morning, fires in the fire place, apple picking & pumpkin gathering and all the foods associated with apples and pumpkins. I have had more than enough bees and mice and snakes and bugs of all kind scurrying around everywhere I step outside and the ugly state of my dead lawn. I hate the heat. Yes,  I'm ready to move on to a new season.


: : Back to School

Israel, Zoran & Azia off to their first day of school

Zoran, first day of first grade

The kids headed back to school last Wednesday. They weren't overly enthusiastic, but we're starting starting to get back to that routine.

A visual illustration of why it's unwise to have four children. . . the necessity of a box this big to hold all the shoes for school & fall sports. But, also why Zappos is ideal for people with four children: all the shoe shopping done after about a half hour online and the giant box arrives the next day. Free overnight shipping and free return shipping. Perfect when you hate shopping, especially with kids!

So far, we're doing a little better with having a routine. I've remembered to tell my kids to go to bed before ten most nights. We've been getting homework and reading and paper-signing done right when they get home before we get busy with other things. They've protested very little.

Zoran hasn't worn shoes since approximately May and apparently he's forgotten how to tie them. I guess it's not just the academic knowledge that regresses over the summer.

It was a little disappointing when I went to sign Azia's check-in sheet after the very first day of school. Her summary of her first school day back:



Yep, "School is slow."  That is what stuck out most about the day. But, she does seem to like her class and teacher and is mostly positive so far so maybe the slowness isn't all bad.

And this is what Lex does while everyone gets ready for school. He is not a morning boy. Sometimes I feel like I should get him up and have him start the day before 9:00 like everyone else. Then I decide he has more than enough years ahead of him to so that. Also, he's out grown naps, but if he gets up at 7:00 he's incredibly grumpy by about 6:00pm (and he still doesn't go to bed until after nine even without a nap). So, I think for now the sleeping in works.


: : New Pet (s)

Lex and his new friend

I finally broke down and got a cat. Well, two cats actually, but that was an accident.

I was really enjoying our pet-free life for a few months. And then Dev got a dog for his birthday. I actually really like the dog and don't mind having a dog, but I hate dogs ever having to be tied up.  My one stipulation in the new dog was that it had a whole fenced area of our yard for its own (not a fan of kids and dogs sharing the same fenced area) before it arrived, because we are gone a lot and live right near the school and town so our dogs tend to visit everyone when left on their own. Dev found a dog he really wanted for his birthday and promised the fence would be done by the end of the week if we got it. That was in May. We still have no fence. And even worse, there is a kennel in our carport. It makes me mad every single time I open the door.

Then this week I broke down on the cat issue too after seeing a mouse run across my floor in the middle of the afternoon. Then it happened again the next day. There is really not anything I can think of I hate more than mice and we live right in the middle of their perfect habitat. They kids started hunting them in the carport because they were scurrying around everywhere. You can hear them in the field when you walk out there and sometimes they just run across the back deck. Disgusting. I finally decided dealing with a cat was less awful than dealing with mice.

Gwen's cat had cute kittens on the 4th of July so I told her we'd take one when they were old enough. The kids picked one out and she was going to bring it down last week. Then Dev just brought one home from his brother's so we didn't need one of Gwen's.

Except I forgot to tell Gwen that and Lex brought one home from her house. I didn't realize this until many hours after he brought it in because the two cats look exactly the same.

So now we have two cats. I haven't seen any mice since they arrived, but I have seen a few piles of cat crap in my house. I really just can't win.

The cats may run away soon anyway. Lex really loves them. I'm sure it's terrifying for them.

He even took them out in the rainstorm so they could play in the rain. I told him they didn't really like rain but he didn't believe me. At least he believed they didn't want to bathe with him.

: : Hanging out at home

I think the younger kids actually kind of like it when the older kids go back to school. They'll probably miss them soon, but these first few days these two sort of like being the "big kids."

Apples must almost be ready. They'll used some trampoline and tree / fence climbing skills to pick a few off Naett's tree.

This week I had to add a "no live trees (or giant tree-sized weeds) in the house" rule to our existing rules about no insects, sticks, or rocks in the house. 

I've also been spending a lot of time with superheroes lately.

Wonderwoman waiting for Spiderman

She looks so sweat & defenseless against the scary wolf creature doesn't she?

But she has a mean punch and ferocious caped cousin for backup.



Dixon Melon Days

Melons for sale at the parade

I love how most small Montana towns have their own little celebrations each summer. Dixon's Melon Days is about the last one around here.

I tried to convince them they wanted some melon for a treat, but the melon truck was no competition for the Cool Truck!

This is Lex getting out of the car where we parked right on Highway 200 in Dixon. He got out & he and Zoran started talking about "Pickers" and the treasures they could find. Israel wasn't even with them but his influence lingers. And, Dixon might be a good place for the Pickers to film. You never know what you might find there.

Catching candy from Randi & Sage (& the Lake County Bank float).

Parade watching with the Morigeau kids (and a few others that wandered over)

So my cousin found this pretty lady. . .

 
Adam got married this weekend. It was a really pretty ceremony and good to see a lot of my mom's family I don't run into very often. 


And, the whole gathering seemed just about perfect for them: 

Adam cutting his wedding cake.

Last of the bees &  berries

Our huckleberry supply started to dwindle quickly when Lex discovered them in the freezer.  Dev did get his pancake breakfast Sunday and I finally got my milkshake. And, Lex got many handfuls of frozen huckleberries whenever the freezer was left unguarded.

I've decide if the huckleberries are nearly gone, then the bees must go as well. We can't just be stuck with all the awful things about summer if our good ones are all slipping away.

Lex trapped this one when I went to smash it. He told me bees didn't like to be smashed, which is probably true, but I also don't like them attacking everyone.

This is one of Lex & Ethen's new favorite ways to build their forts. It drives me crazy.  More than once I've read parents suggested this taking off of the cushions and playing on them with their kids as a fun activity to do with your kids.

I believe those parents are just as crazy as the ones who suggest giving a child a box of kleenex and letting them pull each one out, one by one, as a fun game.

I don't think my kids will be allowed to play with kids who have parents with those sorts of ideas.

Unless those parents want to host the playdates. I could probably be swayed then. Actually I'd like to send my kids over right now. Then I could reassemble all my couches and figure out how to get rid of all these bees.