And...the Rest of August

As I may have mentioned, I'm going back and catching up on the blog, which I'm happy about, but I'm sad that I don't remember the details of all the pictures.  I'm enjoying them anyway, and I hope you do, too.

Grace is working on her student of the week poster here.  Apparently, this is a comfortable position.

Enjoying a swim with Daddy as swim season winds down but isn't over yet!

This one needs no caption, right?

The kids come home after school and read.  They have had their fill of crowds of people by the afternoon!

The laundry monster!

How to enjoy Barnes and Noble 

More reading...

I love so many things about this!

Burgers and swimming with good friends!

We are still blessed by our neighbor, Mr. Tom, who delivers yummy produce to us now and then.  His corn is the best.  I can't even buy store corn anymore because his is so much better.  He says the variety he plants is called Triple Sweet.  I believe it!

Some predictions and aspirations on the wall of one of Jonathan's classrooms at Open House.

The Lego fun continues at our house and doesn't show any signs of stopping!

Porching

After school started and all the kids were at school all day long for the first time, I finally decided to pay some attention to my much-neglected porch.  It had been used for four years for the landing spot for strollers and scooters and little bikes.  We're beyond the stroller stage now, the kids' bikes are too big to be kept on the porch in good conscience, and we keep the scooters in the garage with them.  So, I scouted out some deals on a few cozy items, and in the process, I discovered an extra room to our house that we didn't know we already had.

I tried to make the front door more welcoming to guests and to our family.

I had this new sitting area facing the street for awhile.  Yes, the tags are still on the cushions because they were on trial and I wasn't sure whether I would return them.

I ended up putting the chairs over here.  They felt much more cozy.

We discovered that the porch was a great place for Jonathan and me to debrief after school each day.  You can see how hot and sweaty he gets on the ride home...and how much he's enjoying his new instrument in band.

Grace loves reading on the porch, too.

It's also a great place to take pictures of the silly kids.  This was picture day for the youngers.

The porch has turned out to be a great place to sit and chat with a friend, too.  Time to sit and chat - as well as friends who have time to sit and chat - are difficult to find these days, but my friend Ashley and I have broken in this spot and found that it is perfect.  She coined a new term to describe sitting on the porch and chatting:  porching.  If you're in the neighborhood, I hope you'll drop by and enjoy some poaching with me!

Teeth

Look at this guy with those dangling teeth.  Yes, he chose to wear a sweater in August.

One popped out! Can you hear him laughing?

And the remaining tooth looks so gross until it's gone...

It popped out three days after that first tooth while I was wiggling it, which caused tears and happiness together.

He needed a moment.

A brand new smile!  And my last baby's smile is gone...because once those adult teeth are in, the face has a whole new shape.  Sigh...

The First Day of 7th, 3rd, and 1st Grades

As soon as Jeff and I got back from our trip and thanked Cheryl, school started!  Our babies are getting so big, right? 

First, Jonathan.  His first day of 7th grade and junior high.  He had a lot of big new responsibilities this year, and since I am posting this in November and backdating, I can confirm that he has truly risen to the occasion.

I was a bit sad that we'd miss out on the threesome pictures this year because Jonathan needs to leave home before the younger kids need to be awake.  Never fear, though - on the first day of school they were up and ready early, so we got those crazy sibling pictures.

Jonathan rode to school for the first time - which he had practiced over the summer - and Jeff shadowed him to make sure all went well.  Of course, it did.

Now Grace.

And Benjamin, going to school for a full day for the first time.

And of course, these are the poses of their choosing.

I always appreciate how Jeff makes the first day of school a priority over work and goes to work only after the kids are all settled at school.

These girls needed first-day outfits and pictures, too.

Everybody had very full days and need to retreat to their own corners to read their books.

This is our first year for repeat teachers:  Grace has Jonathan's 3rd grade teacher and Benjamin has Graces' 1st grade teacher.  Grace's new teacher, who is not new to us, texted me this sweet picture of her at school.

A year ago, I was on an accidental blogging hiatus, which I hope to go back and fill in at some point.  right now I'm trying to catch up on 2017.  Anyway, for those who love to look back like I do, I'm linking to previous years starting with 2015.  Links to previous years can be found there.