Boy Sandwich: Indian Summer

I could easily have named this post "Crazy September" but that might sound a little negative. Number one positive thing right now is the amazing weather we are having. I think I appreciate it more than I normally would because just a couple of weeks ago we had to pull down the "Winter Coats" box in the garage. Yes, it did get down to -6 one day. But we won't dwell on that! Every year I forget how crazy September feels. There is suddenly so much to do and so many places to be and getting into a routine is hard on all of us. There were some rough days and nights, but I think we are getting settled.

This is the final picture in our collection. Isn't he to-die for? Sorry it's sideways!

Tommy's in Grade 2 now! He started out in a 2/3 split, but then they got approved for another teacher. So now he's just in a grade two class. He seems so grown up to me! I can't wait to start volunteering in the class so I can get to know his teacher and see how she does things.

Owen claimed he wasn't nervous to meet his grade 4 teacher, but I think he was a bit. He loves school so far and is especially thrilled to be studying French this year. He and Tommy are also in my little violin class that I teach during lunch on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I told him he'd have to practice, and he was still willing! It's so much nicer teaching the class with them in it--last year I taught at two different schools.

Part of what makes September so crazy is that the first week of school also always lines up with James' WOW week for Institute (Welcome Out Week). One of the activities is always a giant slip-and-slide and James lets the boys come early and enjoy it. They all had a lot of fun this year although it was a bit cold and windy.

George asked me the first day of school if the boys were going to be gone LOTS and LOTS? I said yes and he said YES!! with a fist-pump. :-) He and I have been enjoying our hang out time immensely. James claims that there could be nothing better than hanging out with this kid all day long, and I have to agree!

He's really been getting into the boys' old teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles. Such an educational activity, I know!

A cute series of sounds I got to hear the other day when George was in the kitchen: a peeler peeling a carrot for a reeeeally long time. Then two little clunks as he cut off the ends of the carrot. Then the crunch of his little teeth biting into it. The only thing better than hearing all that was that after he took his first bite he came up to me in the perfect "What's up Doc?" pose and said with one leg crossing the other and a crooked and self-pleased smile on his face, "Mom, guess what I did?"

One of the fun things George and I get to do together every week is attend his music class. He loves it so much, but usually when we get there he gets a little shy for the first 20 minutes. The funny thing this week was that the kids were supposed to say what their favorite kind of food was, and one kid said chicken noodle soup. Then later, they were supposed to say what kind of pizza was their favourite, and the same kid said, "Chicken noodle soup pizza!" Now George requests that for dinner pretty frequently. I took him to a friends' who watches him while I teach a little violin class at the school. After I sat there a bit watching him play, he came up to me to hug me and said, "Mom, I was feeling shy but now I'm not. You can go now." Marvin K Mooney, the time is now! So I went.

Another thing I enjoy doing a lot with the G is reading. He is at a fun age now where his attention span can handle fairly long books. Sometimes we read while eating lunch, and other times we cuddle on the couch and sometimes that turns into mom having a little snooze. Never a bad thing, right? My favorite read so far has been a Sarra-recommended book called "That Book Woman." I made the mistake of reading it during a lunch read, and nearly choking on my food as I got fairly teary. Books are powerful, and I'm sure glad I love them and the boys seem to love them as well.

The other day George brought me the piano book for Frozen. He asked me to play and sing. I felt a little lost (Lucy did this lots with him when she stayed here and was so great at it) but I did attempt. He seemed to enjoy it! We went on a fall walk together to collect some leaves for a leaf picture. It is amazing how you just can't capture the colors, eh? No matter how many pictures you take or how many leaves you collect, you just can't keep the colors. They are just for looking at--soaking them into our brains as much as possible before they're gone. I sure couldn't be as happy without seasons. I think. :-)

George got to come with me to a funeral this past week. He was very sensitive to all the crying people in the chapel. It gave me a good chance to talk with him about the Plan of Salvation and discuss who exactly was inside of the coffin. I played "Goin' Home" and afterwards when I sat down he said, "That was good Mom!" :-) Later that night when I was reading a Baptism-prep book to Tommy and we read a chapter about death, I talked to him a bit about the funeral. He was quiet for a bit and then he said, "Can we stop talking about dying and stuff? There are too many sad things." I agreed. Tommy has been very sensitive to some of the struggles people around us are going through, and it has been sweet to hear his prayers on their behalf. We certainly feel so very blessed with our own set of troubles and worries as we pray for those that seem to have it so much rougher right now.

Ryrie allowed us to drive him and some friends on their field trip to the corn maze. You'll note that I didn't include a first day of school pic for the twins--I totally forgot! It must be because they are so independent this year and don't want me to make a fuss over them. :-)

George and his friend Isaac at the maze. We had a fun time enjoying the maze and the little farm there.

We attempted a September hike in Waterton but unfortunately they had just had 1 foot of snowfall that week, so we turned back after five minutes down the muddy-puddly trail.

So instead of a hike, we spent some money renting these! ;-) It was totally worth it. The coolest thing for me (besides being on a silent and peaceful lake in the beautiful sunshine) was seeing a bald eagle soaring all around just as we were crossing the invisible border to the US on Cameron lake. Pretty cool timing.

I almost capsized us taking this pic! Just kidding, but that's why its so uncentered, etc. I sat in the front and James got to deal with our little helper in the middle. The boat man called George "Rusty" and I thought that was pretty appropriate.

Owen was the only one adventurous to attempt the one-man kayak. He had fun trying to race his parents back to the boats.

Can you believe the color of that sky and the striking mountain behind it? We wound out our Waterton day by playing a little tennis. It was a truly perfect day. Snack driving home? Frosted mini wheats cereal for the boys. Oh yeeah!

George, Tommy, and Owen spent a few afternoons this week playing Harry Potter. I love the quidditch goggles and makeshift Nimbus 2000. I think George is supposed to be Ron.