Goodbye, summer!

The denial has been strong lately, but the start of school is upon us.  School nights are hard when its warm and bright out at 7:30, and the kids just want to keep playing outside.  Last night was our first night of dragging the kids in and trying to get them to bed at a reasonable time in preparation for Noah's first day of school.

For our last week of summer vacation, we did a few things to help the transition back to school, and the most helpful were the social gatherings at the kids' schools to say hello to the teachers and classmates that they will be spending their days with this year.  I have volunteered to lead the family group at Noah's preschool, and to help coordinate the Four Winds nature program at Evie's school, so it's sure to be a fun and busy year for all of us. 

CPEC Watermelon Party

Noah always tells us that Magnatiles are his favorite thing at preschool

Someone was a little wiped out after all the excitement

Evie's Welcome Back ice cream social

This comfy chair is in Evie's new classroom!

Enjoying a treat at the EES playground

For the rest of the time, we lived in denial about summer coming to an end by hiking Mount Philo, browsing at the farmer's market, visiting with family, and spending a fun-filled day at the fair.  I was shocked that both of my kids hiked the entire way up and down Mount Philo on their own little legs!

The farmer's market activity was to make a face out of veggies. Nice one, Evie!

We always love seeing Aunt Di and her family.  Can you tell that she and my mom are sisters?!

Evie found herself a new bestie - cousin Bri

The fair pictures probably deserve their own post!  It was 6 hours of grease food, rides, animals, games, and fun.  Evie declared that it's her second-favorite day of the year, after Christmas.  Evie went on some pretty scary rides, but she was also such a sweet big sis to Noah, and went with him on all the smaller rides he wanted to do.  Noah tried one bigger ride (the swings), and when he got off, he said, "Whoa, I felt wike I was gonna frow up the whole time!"  Despite it being a hot and sticky day, the kids were troopers, and they are begging to go back for another visit before the fair ends next weekend.  Mom and Dad need a couple days to recover first, I think!