And Soccer Begins

Soccer season began with a kick off day. All the teams played at least one game. It was a beautiful day. Dan had two short games and Rachel had one regulation game.

Dan is playing in the 8 and under division. The field is bigger and so are the nets compared to last year. He did pretty well, although in typical Dan manner, he gets very easily distracted.

Rachel is playing in the 13 and under division. They play on the big field and the competition and level of play is much higher. She was so thrilled that her team, the only one with a woman coach, got the very cool tie-dyed jerseys.

Pretty much every week night and some Saturdays, we will be at the field, until tournament day on October 16th. Sometimes I must admit to growing weary of so many games, but I enjoy watching the kids play and they have a great time. So, let the games begin!

An Afternoon Stroll

Gabe and I are slowly settling into our fall school schedule. I still have some material to order and we are setting up a more permanent school area. For us, getting into a new routine is the toughest part. Both he and I tend to live life as it comes, going with the flow as it were. That doesn't always work so well for getting a lot accomplished. We are trying to find a balance; getting things done and still enjoying the days as they unfold.

We both enjoy walking and this week we are getting back into our daily (most days) walk. This is a great time to get out, exercise for us and the dog, talk, enjoy nature and take a break from the books.

There is always so much to see along the way. We pick different routes, all are pretty, most end up on dirt roads, with plenty of fields and woods to enjoy.

Fall is most definitely visible in the plants along the way, Asters, Sumac, grasses and sedges.

Gabe and I have always had a very special relationship. I suppose most parents have one child that they just "click" with. He and I have a lot of similar interests. Our relationship is easy and comfortable. He loves to chat as we walk and I don't mind. Today we talked, among other things, about each of our expectations for the coming year. We are both of similar mind in how we would like this year to go.

It was an extremely pleasant walk today, great company and great conversation.

Thanks, Gabe! :-)

First Day of School

Today was the first day of school for Rachel, Hannah and Dan. They were all excited after meeting their new (and old) teachers on Tuesday night. They put on their "first day clothes", we loaded backpacks with new supplies, made lunches and we all waited for the bus.

All smiles and excitement for the new school year.

Rachel, lovely as always. She has such a sweet, tender personality.

Hannah, ready to embrace it all. She is so full of life and excitement.

And Dan, just look at his hair and wrinkled shirt (and no it was not wrinkled when I laid it out lastnight). That about sums up our wild and adventurous boy.



I snapped this last shot when the walked out to the road. I think it is so cute how they always line up youngest to oldest.

They came home happy and excited by all the new things. They seem to love their new teachers and were not too nervous about all the new things to learn and schedules to figure out.

I still have mixed feelings about them going to public school, but if they have to go, we are pretty happy with our local school. They work hard to give our children all the special help they need and they do it in a warm and friendly way.

Labor Day

We had a quiet Labor Day at home. Perhaps we could call it a puttering day, not so much labor. A little of this, a bit of that and overall a pleasant day.

Bess has been redecorating her room. We brought up a desk for her so she didn't have to do all her schoolwork on her bed. Brian built her a shelf and put that up and a few rows of pegs. Bess did some fun stenciling on her walls. She is quite happy with how it is all coming together.

Brian spent time on and off working on his big boat. He and Gabe worked on the wiring and got all systems up and running. Dan blows the horn. :-)

Maybe next summer she will be ready to bring out on the river. This is a cabin cruiser and in theory we could sleep on it. Time will tell whether this will happen or not. I have to admit to being a bit nervous of the idea.

The younger guys enjoyed playing in the new sandbox. It is quite a bit bigger than our old one and has fresh new sand.

It was a bit cool for swimming, so we ended the day with a campfire. Nothing is more soothing or peaceful than a fire.

Labor Day, for our family, marks the end of summer. We will have nice days and still do some summer like activities, but the fall schedule will be begin this week and our leisurely summer days will end. I am a bit sad. Hopefully we will have a nice long fall.

Late Summer Blooms

There are still quite a few things blooming in the gardens. The weather has been hot and humid with little rain the last month, so many of the usual plants are looking rather parched. We don't water our gardens much preferring for the plants to develop good deep roots, which generally hold them well enough through these dry spells.

The Sedum is pretty close to it's full bloom.

This miniature rose is doing well and has been blooming most of the summer.

The variegated Butterfly Bush is in full bloom right now. At one point today, I saw three Monarch butterflies enjoying the flowers.

Another miniature rose. I love how this blossom hasn't completely opened yet.

We will still have a few weeks before the first frost and the perennial garden will continue to provide color well into the fall.

Cool Down

It was quite hot and very humid at the fair. When we got home, we took a wonderfully refreshing swim in the pool. Nothing beats the total cool down that is provided by the pool.

I usually just grab a noodle and float around, but Bri and the kids have a rousing time of splashing and play. Brian and I played "toss the children" for a bit. A couple of them are almost getting too big. Not sure whether we will be able to toss them quite so far next summer.

Look at that red hot, steamy sky. The end to another wonderful summer day.

A Day at the Fair

In our family, Labor Day Weekend means the local county fair. If Brian is home and not on a trip, he takes the Friday before the weekend off and this is our fair day.

It was very hot and humid, but thankfully a few clouds rolled in and made it a bit more tolerable.

We like to watch the tractor pulls to start off our day. The children aren't huge pull fans, so we only catch part of it, enough to satisfy all, but not cause too many "can we go do something else" remarks.

I never tire of watching these huge, powerful machines do their best against the pull machine...this year named "The Humiliator".

They are very loud, so we make sure and bring ear protection for everyone.

The poultry barn is a favorite. There are so many strange and interesting types of poultry. Dan wanted to know, "Where are his eyes?". Under there somewhere, Dan.

Dan looks a bit concerned about this whether this big turnkey wants his balloon.

We all enjoyed the fried dough. The local high school booster club has the best booth and their fried dough takes up two plates...yummy!

Dan and Hannah await the woodworker who is making them each a "magic wand". It is amazing to watch this men work on the lathes.

I love the baby goats. This little Nubian was so cute.

Dan wanted me to take his picture through the tractor wheel. The poor guy has a nasty cold and was sort of droopy all day. He did pretty good and did not complain too much.

Even though we do not do the midway portion of the fair, I love to walk around and see all the pretty lights and hear the booth tenders hawking for their games. It must be quite the life living traveling from small town to small town.

Check out these huge engines. I can't imagine the amount of time, effort and money it takes to keep these big tractors working.

A great day at the fair.

Lynda's Birthday Dinner

Had a terrific evening tonight with some wonderful ladies. We took Lynda out to dinner for a belated birthday celebration. We went to FGI Fridays and had a very enjoyable time. The food was good, the company, well, you ladies are the best. Lots of laughs and good fellowship.

Lynda, the birthday gal.

All smiles after a great time.

Slip N' Slide

We do have a pool, but some days, the kids just love playing with one of the sprinkler things we have or the newest addition to the water fun, a Slip N' Slide.

Check out Dan's face in this picture...priceless.

Gabe takes full advantage of the whole slide and the little pool at the end.

After repeated runs down the slide, they did go into the pool, but I guess there is a special allure to running and doing a belly flop down a wet, slippery piece of plastic.

Bessie's First Day as a College Student

Wow, where did the time go. Bessie headed out this morning for her first day of classes as a college student. Compound the fact that she drove herself. Our "baby" is such a wonderful young woman now. We are so proud of her. It has been fun, scary and exciting to see her growing and maturing over the last few years.

Way to go, Bess! You will do terrific.