End of Summer Stuff

Yes, I know all I've done is inundate you with photos recently. I'll try to actually have something to say next time.  But until then, it would be a shame to not share these pictures with you, too!

We definitely have another thumb-sucker on our hands

Kendra got some caterpillars and we've been watching them turn into butterflies.  Here we are on their release day!

Coaxing them out of their home

(No, I don't think I brushed this poor girl's hair all summer...)

Ryder, as always, wants in on the action

Here's Ryder "helping out" with Colton's tummy time

Kendra contributes to tummy time as well

After visiting Polyface Farm, we are recommitted to planting a garden next spring.  Square Foot Gardening, here we come!

An evening at the park

Carrying Colton

How does summer go by so fast?  Seriously, how did that happen???

SAHBs

It seems like Ryder and Colton deserve some pictures, even if they didn't start school. So here are few recent shots of my two stay-at-home-with-mommy boys:

In his awesome lion towel-- roar!!!

Having some naked snacking time.  Every boy's dream come true.

Floor time

This is one of my favorite outfits for Colton-- thanks to my mother-in-law for finding this!

Colton can now roll from his tummy to his back and then back again-- I guess the next step will be crawling

Funny face

Surprised face

Some friends gave us this dragon costume, so Ryder wanted to try it on

So funny

And without the hood/head

Craig surprised us with doughnuts, and to this Ryder said, "Me like dis big doughnut!"  Indeed, son, indeed!

 

School Started Here, Too!

I think I'm the only person in the world who didn't manage to put these pictures on facebook.  But like the rest of the public-school-enrolled children across the country, we also had school start!  And everything went very smoothly-- both Bentley and Kendra are very excited to be back in school and learning and seeing their friends.  Life is good.  Here some pictures from the first day, before someone shows up at the door and confiscates my Mommy Card!

So excited, and SO ready, for kindergarten!

Yup, her backpack is wider than she is!

Guess who's not nearly as nervous as Kendra?

'Cuz he's a tough guy!

Seated in her classroom

Picking them up after school.  I told Craig we shouldn't be looking into the sun, but he thought we needed the school in the background.  I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that I was right and he was wrong...

September is a happy time!

Boating on Lake Anna

At this very moment, I have two children at school, and two children napping.  Can I even begin to describe how wonderful the peace and quiet is?  And rather than taking a nap myself, I'm using this time to update ye olde blogge.  I'm always looking out for you!

Earlier this summer, my father-in-law suggested we all go boating out on Lake Anna some time.  This sounded like plenty of fun, but due to scheduling conflicts, and the fact that Lake Anna is two hours away from us, we weren't able to make it happen until the very tail end of summer-- but better late than never, right?  Naturally, the night before this excursion, I began panicking about all the things that might go wrong when you mix kids and boats (not to mention my penchant for seasickness on small vessels), so I'll admit that I was nervous that things would go badly-- anything from sunburns to drowning played out in my mind.  This might have caused me to lose sleep, except Craig coming home from class around 11:30pm and Colton waking up ten minutes after I fell asleep took care of that issue instead.  So I started out the day exhausted.  (You know how there are some people who can get four hours of sleep and be fully functional?  Like doctors?  Yeah, I am NOT one of those people.  I like my full eight hours, thank you very much, and I make no apologies for that.)

But my fears were unfounded because we had an absolutely wonderful time.  And thank goodness, I remembered that we still had some Dramamine left over from Hawaii, and took some that morning!  The weather was perfect-- sunny, but not too hot, and with the pontoon boat motoring along, there was a splendid breeze.  And, Tom had splurged and rented a brand new boat, so it was clean and comfy and just wonderful.  I even managed to take a nap on the boat (hearkening back to my days as a regular commuter on the Seattle to Bainbridge ferry), so it was all good!

Here are plenty of pictures of us looking wet, windblown, and happy:

Yes, here's how paranoid I was: mandatory life jackets for children!

Feeding the baby, while on a boat

My Mother-in-Law enjoying the view

Bentley watching the wake trailing behind us

"I'm on a boat!"

Exploring one of the tiny islands inside the lake.  Kendra makes me laugh-- the pose and the swimsuit falling off her...!

Going for a very refreshing swim

Colton was very excited by his red solo cup!

Supervising Bentley while he paddles around

Kendra waiting her turn

Grandpa helps Bentley take the wheel

Kendra gets a turn, too, although she spent the entire time looking at everything except where the boat was headed...

Ryder was thrilled that he got a chance to steer, too--he looked like a little race car driver

Awesome booty shot of my two eldest

Thanks for a wonderful day, Tom and Donna!  We'll have to do it again!

Annual Shenandoah Campout

Most years, we go camping with a bunch of friends the weekend before Labor Day.  It's perfect, because the weather is usually great, summer is winding down, but the park isn't absolutely packed yet (like it will be the next weekend!)...  And since Craig and I usually go camping with just our little brood, this is something we look forward to.

Unfortunately, this year a lot of the usual people who come couldn't make it, but we decided that wouldn't stop us.  I'm so glad we made the effort, because even though our numbers were much smaller, we still had a wonderful time.  And added bonus: the little gnats that usually drive me CRAZY in the morning were nowhere to be found!  It made it all perfect!  So we were all very happy.  Here are some of the pictures:

Ryder enjoys pancakes for breakfast

Craig refusing to smile normally for me while he makes said pancakes

Bentley announced the day before that he would sleep in the next morning and he wasn't kidding!  He slept the latest he's slept in a year, I think...!

Those are our friends camped behind us.  And, looking at our van with all the doors open there explains why our battery died.  Fortunately Betsy had jumper cables!

Colton is happy, as always

And Ryder, goofy as always

Colton just nodded off.  What a great baby!

The kids having lunch with Betsy while we load the car (or, Craig loads the car...  And I take pictures?)

Fast asleep on the ride home, with absolutely filthy knees.  Must have been a success!

Seriously, probably the most fun I've had on a campout in a long time!  I can't wait to do it again next year!