Harry Potter Series

George began reading Harry Potter at the end of summer, and has progressed to The Prisoner of Azkaban. We are so jealous that he is getting to read them for the first time.

HOCO 2018

Last week was Homecoming week, and George's elementary school got to participate in dress up days. 

Day one: pajama day

George got up at 5:30 and put on his pajamas for school, and he wore them until we were ready to leave at 7:30. Since K4, George has had a thing about pajama day. He doesn't like it. So when I asked him if he was ready to leave for school, I wasn't surprised when he sprinted upstairs to change into regular clothing first. 

Day two: Twin day

Day three: Western or wealth

In the absence of a cowboy hat, George opted for being wealthy for a day. 

Day four: Board game day

BATTLESHIP

Day five: Spirit day

George loved celebrating Homecoming 2018.

School Lunch Date

Today I had lunch with one of my favorite lunch dates. This was my second time this year to pop in for lunch, and George and I agreed it's really quiet without the girls.

George hasn't said much about it, but I can tell he really misses his sisters at school.

Pixie's 4th Birthday

Pixie Lindsey turned four yesterday, and we celebrated with a Puppaccino. Pixie was also gifted with some new bows, and she was just generally pampered and loved all day. 

Open House

School is officially underway once Open House occurs, and we have been to both elementary and middle school Parent Night.

We loved seeing George's second grade classroom, catching up with his teacher and helping him complete a scavenger hunt that took us all over the school. George we are so proud of the work you have done so far, and you are already learning tons. 

We also attended middle school with Grace and Lauren and got to meet all of their teachers, as well as tour the school (again). We played pickleball with their PE teacher and checked out their lockers (they're holding up well). 

The below drawings are group projects. Each participant was assigned a body part to develop for a character from their summer reading.

We also got to explore the science lab.

George, Lauren and Grace are enjoying their school years so far, and we are thrilled with their teachers. Second and Sixth grade are awesome so far. 

Labor Day Weekend Update

Pixie during after school pick up

Obviously, friends, I am hopelessly behind. We had such a busy and fun summer that any thought of blogging went completely by the wayside. For our own memory preservation, I am going to take a very non-journalistic approach (can we stipulate that this personal blog should most definitely not be held to journalistic standards) and backdate various updates just so I have some record (and memory) of summer of 2018.  Bear with me on that.

The trio lobbied for a doughnut run Saturday morning

Any rate... after three very busy weeks of school, we were ready for a three day weekend. We needed to sleep in, rest and have some fun. Unfortunately, weekend homework is a new reality so we invested some time Friday evening in tackling some work. We had an important errand to run Saturday. Grace changed her schedule and added concert band so we had to go purchase her instrument - a clarinet!

But first, we needed to lunch, and this was no ordinary lunch, friends. A couple of weeks ago, our little city became the newest home of SHAKE SHACK. Yes, that's right: SHAKE SHACK. We fell in love with Shake Shack when we visited DC. We have been waiting and waiting for Shake Shack to open, and we knew we wouldn't want to battle the crowds on our first day. Although we do happen to know the sweet couple who had the privilege of being first in line on opening day, and I cannot even ask them how long they had to stand there. We knew that type of crowd scene was not for us. However, Skip mentioned that the Shack has an app, and that we could get the order to go.

Friends, that is why I married him. He is a genius.

The trio were unanimously on board. "SHAKE SHACK!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!" I downloaded the app, ordered, drove to the Shack and had their delicious burgers in hand within 30 minutes. They were sooooo good! My DC memories weren't fatigue influenced; it's really that good!

So after the Shack, we went to the music store to shop clarinets. It's been many years since I have been in a music store so it was definitely interesting, and our purchase was more band-centric. After much, much discussion and perusing, she/we finally made a choice, and she is thrilled.  Having a flutist and clarinetist has thrilled me more than I expected. I mean, we knew we would love anything they chose to do, but we LOVE seeing them with their instruments.

Lauren had picked up her instrument the week before at school during instrument purchase day, and she has been proudly playing it since then.

Saturday night marked the return of the Alabama Crimson Tide, and we were ready to watch. George and Grace were especially "game day ready".

On Sunday we, and Grammie, joined Skip's parents for some deliciously grilled burgers and hot dogs.  Again, some truly scrumptious burgers.  We had a good time visiting and catching up.

Gracie came up with an excellent idea for Monday... another last "hoorah" at the pool. So we packed some lunches and towels and had one last day at the pool. Although the pool will remain open for another week or two, we likely won't be back.

Monday night brought us back to reality, and the trio got ready for another busy week of school.