Great Start!

School is underway, and we are happy and relieved to report that both kids have had a very smooth start to the school year.  They are excited about their teachers and they have already done some fun things at school.  We are so thankful for such a positive start after a challenging school year last year!  The evening of the first day of school, there was a huge rainbow in the sky, giving us a reassuring sign for the year to come!

Good luck hugs from Grandma and Grandpa

Rainbow after the first day of school!

Recovering from the first day back, ha ha!

Glad to have this "lap dog" to keep me company when the kids are at school!

We spent the final day of summer break at the fair with the kids.  It was the perfect diversion from the back-to-school nerves, and everyone was exhausted and went to bed easily that night!  Mission accomplished.  The fair was a lot of fun - we did the animal scavenger hunt, went on a ton of rides, watched the racing pigs, and ate waaaaay too much food.  

She got licked by a calf!  

We had a little date on the carousel with our giant lemonade!

Wacky Worm - everyone's favorite ride!

This is a Dilly Dog - a hot dog wrapped in a pickle, breaded and fried.  Delicious, but HUGE.

Matt was trying to eat all the fair food

The Dutch Wheel is SCARY.  I go on every year, but I have to close my eyes when it stops!

By the end of the first week of school, Evie had a cold and Noah had a 24-hour fever.  I remember the struggle last fall that they needed a PCR test to return to school for any hint of a sniffle or cough, and they were out of school for DAYS even though they felt fine.  This year, things are much easier.  And thankfully, they both recovered quickly, so we were able to enjoy an awesome visit from our Colorado family over the long weekend.  We packed so much into a few short days and the kids enjoyed some great cousin time.  Somehow in two days, we played Pickleball, hiked at Mills Riverside, went to the fair (again!), the girls did some Irish dancing, and we shared several yummy meals, including an early birthday celebration for me!  We are always so grateful for the time together with family!  Now, we need to get back into routine so we can recover from a busy weekend!  :-)