New School Year and Summer's End

I know I am going to kick myself when it is time to write our Christmas cards this year because the blog is usually where I go to remember what joy filled our year. So, here's a little catch up about our summer and the start of school.

We spent our summer busy potty training a puppy, which meant a summer at home. There were days at the pool with neighborhood friends, swimming lessons, summer camps, a visit from Helena, a visit from our favorite baby, a visit from the Perlicks, our first Braves game, puzzles, video games, and books books books. Sprinkle in a lot of yard work (gardener's paradise?) and that's the summer in a nutshell.

This was the summer that Jack read the entire Harry Potter series and Luke read every Biscuit and Mittens book in print. Jack went to a robotics camp, a hip hop camp, and an art camp. Luke went to an animals camp and an art camp. And Hattie went to obedience school, although I'm not sure it did a whole lot of good considering how naughty she still is to this day.

On August 1st, the boys headed back to school. Luke went to 1st grade. His teacher is Mrs. Aprile. Jack went to 3rd grade. His teachers are Mrs. Lord and Mrs. Wingard. I've never seen a kid more excited about heading back to school than Luke. He was so excited to see his kindergarten friends, his kindergarten teacher, and all his bus stop friends. 

Now we are off and running with a new school year. School, homework, swimming lessons, violin lessons, and chess club keep us busy throughout the week. Hattie has turned into the most loving dog imaginable, but her love hurts a bit. She cannot contain her excitement and expresses her love with jumping and kisses. Our steadfast cat, Obi, has adopted an Amazon box that I keep out of Hattie's reach. He's still as sweet as ever though. 

And now, I'm all caught up on life through the first day of school and beyond. 

Last Day of School

Luke First and Last Days of Kindergarten

Jack First and Last Days of Second Grade

First Day of School 

Last Day of School 

Bus Stop on the First Day of School 

Bus Stop Friends on the Last Day of School

Miss Tammi's sign in her bus window cracked all the parents up on the last day of school.

The parents and older siblings on our street greeted the kids with Silly String and a water gun fight when they got off the bus on the last day. It was so much fun although there were a few kids (Luke and a couple others) who were less than thrilled because they were bringing home all of their treasures from school. I love our neighbors. They've become very good friends in only a short while.

Kindergarten Celebration

Luke's ice cream social and kindergarten celebration was earlier this week. I couldn't have asked for a better fit for Luke's kindergarten teacher than Mrs. McGaughey. She appreciates his sense of humor and loves him. Luke won some academic awards which I'm so proud of him for, but this mama's eyes were overflowing when I found out he won the boy's citizenship/friendship award for his class.

Luke's Bascomb Banner

Luke's 2017-2018 Awards

Paradise Island

John and I got to go to the Bahamas on our first vacation without kids. It was a working vacation for John, but napping during his meetings didn't bother me one bit. The view from our room was beautiful. The resort is gorgeous. I learned to snorkel. The pina coladas are good. And I didn't have to worry about the kids at all because Grandma was in charge. Thank you, Jane! 

Meet Hattie

It took seven months after we lost Winston for us to feel like we were ready for another dog. Meet Hattie, our Airedale Terrier puppy. We drove up to northern Virginia over the weekend to pick her up. She was worth the trip.