Five

Well, it happened again.  We went to sleep on Saturday night, confident that there was a four-year-old in our house.  But when we woke up on Sunday, we found a five-year-old in his place!  Quite a fun little guy he is, too.  He keeps us in smiles and laughs through much of the day.  He fancies himself as Dash ("I can run faster than anyone I know!") Incredible, loves numbers, music, and his big sister, prefers to read the part of Piggie in the "Elephant & Piggie" books, and is always ready to help with kitchen, laundry, and yard jobs.  Believe you me, we are awfully lucky to have this five-year-old living in our house! 

Nathan had a pretty good birthday, I think.  After church, we went to lunch at a diner where there is a train track on the counter and your food comes in a box car!  Then Nana and Papa met us to see Free Birds, which provided both laughs and popcorn.  The fruit van visited (Thanks GM and GP!) and we sang to the fruit man.  (Does everyone sing when they see an Edible Arrangements van, or is that just us?  "Fruit van, na na na na na, fruit van, na na na na na!")  There were some pretty sweet gifts, and we had macaroni-and-cheese-with-ham-and-broccoli and a turtle cake for dinner.  Yes, I think Nathan had a pretty good birthday.   Today he took treats to share with his class, came home wearing a crown, and built some impressive structures with new legos.  It is good to be five.

Madeline and her dog

I caught Rachel looking darling between the raindrops at her school's costume parade.

 Her brother was not quite so cooperative about getting his photo taken--or about leaving the black makeup on his nose!

 But once the main event arrived, everyone was in good spirits and had a lot of fun--and it got even better when the skies cleared!

Fancy fall fun

We've been having all kinds of fun around here lately.  There was apple picking.  There was a baby shower that brought three pregnant bellies to our house all at once.  Nathan spent some of the warm early-fall days rocking the galoshes-and-boots look.

Since summer backyard forts are not in the cards for another few months, my children have been finding other places to nest.  Closets are a favorite, as is anywhere they can pile a few couch cushions.  And they each have a corner of their room that they refer to as their "nook."


Rachel's school had a fun run on Sandwich Day (that's our name for The Day Between the Birthdays around here).  Remember what a dickens of a time we used to have, getting her to smile for pictures?  Look at this cheese!

Our newly-minted seven-year-old had a "fancy" birthday party, with hairdos, pedicures, and crafts.  They ate canapes (taquitos and mini corn dogs--gotta know your audience!) and petits fours and drank fancy punch.  A good time was had by all.  (Many thanks to Nana for her help massaging little feet and painting teensy toenails!)

Jack-o-lantern smile

Several weeks ago, I took this photo of Rachel before school one morning, intending to post it here with something like: Get a load of this smile while you can, because soon it will look very different!  (Sorry it's taken me so long to get around to the posting part!)

And here's a glimpse of just how loose that tooth was.  Every morning, she'd leave hoping it would fall out at school so she could get a tooth necklace.  And every night she'd go to bed, complaining that it was so loose it was poking her. 

 But then one night, after she was tucked into bed, after she called me in to complain that it was poking her and she'd never be able to sleep, after she told me that she just couldn't pull it out, out it came!

 We decided this was good timing--it's after corn-on-the-cob season, and she's gotten herself quite a jack-o-lantern smile!  Then the tooth next to it went from being a little loose to downright wiggly.  It still seemed like it had a week or two left in it, though, judging by how long the other one took.  Until I went to pick her up from school three days later, and she was wearing (at last!) a tooth necklace and a big, gappy grin!

She planned her real jack-o-lantern's face to match her own--pretty sweet!

(These pumpkins were grown by Aunt Beth and Uncle Bryan.  Aren't they terrific?!)

New school year

Rachel started FIRST GRADE last week!  Five days in, and she's still loving it.  She told me she really, really, really hopes she gets homework tomorrow.  (I am sure I will never hear that sentence from her again, unless she does not get homework tomorrow.  Poor kid has no idea what she's in for!)  Here's her first-day-of-school photo--don't she and Nathan both look so old?

Rachel is starting school a gram or two lighter than she intended.  She was hoping the tooth would hold on and fall out the first day of school, but it's awfully hard not to wiggle a loose tooth, so it fell out two days early!

Nathan wanted me to tell you that he had a big smile while Rachel was at school.  His big day is coming soon!

Our Big Trip

We went on a big trip this summer--we rode on an airplane all the way to San Diego, California!  We had a really nice time being away together.  It was a good mix of doing exciting things and hanging out together at the pool and beach.

 We met some big mice.

 We spun around in teacups--twice!

 We did lots of swimming.

 We tried out the ocean.  Nathan decided that he doesn't like seaweed, but the rest of us enjoyed it!

 Rachel got to pet a dolphin, and Nathan got to chat with one up close--definitely a highlight of the trip!

We enjoyed lovely weather and beautiful scenery, just about everywhere we went!

August already

Jeez--it's August, already!  I would ask where the summer is going, but I have a pretty good idea.  See below.

We made limeade.

 We went camping.  Hiking, eating s'mores, catching fireflies, peeing in the woods--the whole bit!

 We've done a lot of reading.  Rachel is tearing through chapter books like they're free.  (We get them from the library, so they are.  But she's a reading machine!)

 We picked blueberries.  Only about 15 pounds, but that kept us in blue teeth for quite a while!

 We did a week of zoo camp.  Rachel's group was called the Wildcats, and she decorated her face accordingly on the last day.  Nathan's group made capes and ears and binoculars.

 And we have made some spectacular forts and done some lovely al fresco dining.

So that's where our summer's been going.  We are living it up!  Here's hoping yours is going to lots of living, as well.

We are parade-ready

Remember this?  She was two!
 
Well, we've come a long way, but we're ready for the parade once again!

We're having quite a good summer so far.  Rachel did two weeks of Arts Camp--she painted, drummed, danced, baked, drew, danced, beaded and wrote, and she loved it all!  Nathan did a week of Adventure Camp--lots of exploring, games, and playing.  Now we're done with camps for a while, so we have plenty of time for other fun things.  This week we've drawn a 200-square hopscotch, made jam, and done some serious parade preparations (see above).  And we've been doing a lot of bickering, lying around, exploring, reading, bickering, coloring, gardening, and did I mention bickering?  As I said, we are having quite a good summer--probably learning as much about human interactions and relationships as we are about art and cucumber plants!

She's twins!

Rachel's school had Twins Day not long ago.  She and her friend E dressed alike and had a terrific day together, both during and after school.  In this photo, they're doing a treasure hunt with Nathan.  (Treasure hunts are so much easier now that they can read!)  Can you tell which one is Rachel?

(Rachel's the one in the bluer skirt.)

Gymnasts

My children are monkeys.  They have been monkeys all along--they both climbed things before they walked across the floor--but now they are becoming trained monkeys, with the help of some super-fun gymnastics coaches.  They frequently impress me with both their strength and their skills.  On their last day of gymnastics this month, I got to come in and take photos of some of their tricks.  Check them out!
 
 

Exploring music

We took in a children's symphony performance a few weeks ago.  Rachel had a chance before the show to try out some instruments...

Nathan wasn't feeling well and wasn't too keen on trying out the instruments, but he enjoyed the performance with the rest of us!  And, as usual in my experience of taking small children into a theater, he was enthralled with the lights and other peripheral things as much as with the performers!

Funday Friday

Both Rachel's and Nathan's schools have some crazy stuff going on today.  Nathan's school has crazy clothes day, so he's wearing (all backwards) plaid pants, plaid shirt, mismatched socks, and a striped tie.  He's looking pretty goofy!


Rachel's school has crazy hair day, so her hair is in five braids with pipe cleaners to make them twisty.  We have a couple of silly kids!