Family Retreat!

We ran, swam, canoed, sailed, paddle boated, lay on the dock in the sun, knit, read, chatted with friends in rocking chairs in the late summer sun. It was marvelous. And, as always, one of my favorite parts was the 5 yummy meals that someone else prepared and washed up from. yahoo for it all!

September 10 on 10

 (morning solo walk)

 (Elias and his hippo having a chat.)

 (apple picking in our yard)

 (pears from our friends' yard)

(the exciting walk to school)

(tada! applesauce!)

 (Every day after school, my kids sneak through the hedge to play or sit in the dirt next to the fence with sad puppy eyes, whispering to their friends who are doing the same thing on the other side until the moms relent.)

 (Don't you break out in a jig when you discover that you and your pal have the very same hoodie?)

I wish it could be September for about 3 months. I love the crisp mornings with enough light to see by for a run or a walk. I love the bounty still coming in from the garden. I love new school clothes, new pens, and new schedules. I love the feeling of a fresh start.

The Fair

I have already put in my request to sit next to my nephew Eliot at the rodeo again next year because it is quite fun to sit next to someone who so fully enjoys something and so heartily laughs at every joke.

My favorite moment of the fair was as we walked through the fried foods and Elias said, "I 'mell somepin'. It 'mell good!"