Pumpkin Farm

Last Friday I chaperoned Nathan's first field trip with his Kindergarten class.  We went to a local pumpkin farm where the kids picked pumpkins, explored some farm animal exhibits and played on some pretty neat slides made from farm equipment.  It was a great day!

After a hayride, picking the perfect pumpkin

Under the big cow

Feeding the goat

Wondering how on earth they got a school bus up on those poles

Shooting out of a slide

Clowning around

Relaxing at the picnic tables

Nathan took this one of me

Taking a photo together

Star Student

This week is Nathan's turn to be the Star Student in his class at school.  The week officially began on Friday afternoon, when he brought home Curious George, the class mascot. 

George got to spend the weekend with us.  Nathan truly enjoyed having George at home.  The first thing he did was read books to him Friday afternoon.

 

Then he took George outside to play and swing with Mark and Charlie.

We had pizza for supper and cookie bars for dessert that night.  On Saturday, we took George for a morning walk.  Then, we went to Discovery Place for a short visit. 

Back at home, the boys and George watched some Curious George episodes on TV. On Sunday, George watched Nathan and Mark go through a "Knight Training Session" with Daddy.

Both boys are going to dress us as knights for Halloween this year, and there have already been several dragon-slaying, Mama-protecting events at our house.

Goodbye, Curious George.   We'll miss you!

Team Fire

Here are the photos from Mark's first soccer "game."  It was great fun! His team name is "Fire" and his number is 17.

Daddy and Uncle Rick helped with warm-ups.

Aunt Melanie and Nathan were the fans

Waiting his turn

Taking it all in

Crab-walking

Kicking practice

The Meaning of a Weekend

Now that we are in "school mode," I feel the value of the weekend even more than I did before.  This Saturday morning, the boys woke up around 7 am. 

We had a surprise pastry breakfast from Gram and Gramp to celebrate the first days of school, and after we sampled the tasty treats the boys and I went outside to enjoy a cool August morning. 

It is so strange to be able to say that, but it truly was about 65 degrees outside!  I sat and enjoyed my coffee while they swung and climbed and slid. Eventually I was invited into the playhouse with Mark, and I accepted.

Then the boys swept the deck to clear it of the fallen leaves.

A little later, Nathan and I sat on the front porch and he made a home for a beetle.

It just felt right to be here, doing the "little things" together.  I will miss him while he's away at school tomorrow, but I know he is in God's care and in good human hands, too.

First Day of School

We dropped Nathan off for his first day of school today.  He woke up happy and eager to get dressed in his uniform.  He likes wearing his belt!

Mark was eager for the school day to begin, too.  I don't think he quite understood why we were taking all of these pictures, though.

Looks like we got the right backpack and lunch box to match his class t-shirt color.  Don't worry - we will quickly switch to Carolina blue shirts in the days to come.

Daddy got to come see the classroom and Nathan's desk before going to work.  Nathan liked checking out all of the school supplies that were stored in his desk cubby.

We already love his teacher.

Now Mark and I are back at home, trying to figure out what to do without Nathan!

A few things I want to remember

When the boys were smaller, I did a pretty good job of writing down the things I wanted to remember at different stages of their development.  I have gotten away from journaling on a regular basis, but there are a few things on my mind right now that I would like to capture in writing.  

This has been the summer of preparing to launch Nathan into Kindergarten.  We have made a lot of good memories with our family and friends, and there has been so much growth for both boys.  

After spending the week in Cheraw, Nathan decided he no longer needed to sleep with a lamp on at night.  Now, he sleeps with a very dim mini-lamp on his bedside table.  This week he went to Kindergarten camp at his school, and after the first day he said he "couldn't wait for real Kindergarten to start!" He is happy about his teacher and his classroom and all that he thinks will happen at school.  

Also, just yesterday he figured out how to put his head under water and really swim!  He can swim atop the water and also go under for short periods of time all by himself.  This is the same child who would not let his ears get wet a few months ago! I am amazed.  

We have been trying to do a few of our favorite things before school starts.  This week we visited the Reedy Creek Nature Preserve and the kids had it all to themselves for a little while before the crowds came in.  They still like pretending they're on a camping trip and playing with the binoculars in the Nature Center.  I love that this is a special place for them.

Aunt Kate and Uncle Dub's visit

Here are the pictures from our week in Cheraw with Nanny, PopPop, Aunt Kate, Uncle Dub, Aunt Melanie and Uncle Rick.  As it sometimes happens when we are with family, I only took a few photos - but I have a lot of good memories!