A Little Whimsy

We are making it! The first week of school should never be five days long, but we are doing it! 

Actually, we are doing really well. The kitchen has stayed clean, the laundry has stayed caught up, the kids are still getting up easily and getting their chores finished before school, and everyone still loves their teachers. We have only had two minor freak outs--one from each kid--so we are claiming victory.

With Issa's new dance schedule, we are eating dinner super early. When we sat down with calendars and schedules, we realized we had to make some shifts if we still wanted family dinner, which are really important to us. So...three days a week we now eat at 4:30. It is actually making life easier in a lot of ways, but Evan is not thrilled it cuts his after school playdate time short. 

I decided we needed a little extra dose of fun with dinner last night, so I made these:

They are teeny tiny lunch box bell peppers filled with Mexican black beans. I spent way too much time hollowing out and then filling these little two bite babies, but they were so fun!

Our Entrepreneur

This girl:

She is going to set the world on fire.

At the beginning of the summer, we made a deal with her that if she could successfully launch her soap business we would upgrade her phone. She had to pitch a project plan, design a business plan, create the product, sell to 7 non-relatives, and pay us back our start-up loan.

She did it...and then some. We upgraded the phone Sunday.

This girl went to the library and checked out business and soap making books. She tried a million soap recipes and developed a sample box. She made budget spreadsheets, supply spreadsheets, and sales sheets. She paid us back our loan, reinvested in supplies, and still has some pocket money. She's still selling.

She was so proud of herself, and we are so very proud of her. She may give up soap making in a few months, but I am confident that what she learned this summer will stay with her--especially that she can do anything she decides she wants to do.

Happy First Day!

They are off:

 We have two very happy kiddos heading into eighth and fifth grades:

 Issa is thrilled to be an Eagle this year:

 She is also very excited because she met her new choir teacher and really, really likes her. She was devastated when Ms. Kelly left last year, so we are all breathing a sigh of relief.

Evan is so excited to be in Ms. Chenlo's class:

Some of his buddies are in his class, and they all chose to sit together at Open House. We are banking they have new seats by tomorrow, but today should be fun!

We are enjoying the newness of the year. The kiddos bounced out of bed, ate breakfast, and we in fabulous moods, ready to go early. I know it won't last, but I sure will take it while I can! They also were so excited last night they were hyper organized down to having lunches packed! They noted how much easier it made the morning, so I'm hoping that one sticks.

I'm a bit of a mess. I didn't bank on the last years of elementary and middle hitting at the same time and hitting me so hard. I'm excited for new chapters, though, and I have no doubt this is going to be a great year!

I'm Calling it Fall

There is something about the return of students to campus and the launch of Company Camp for Issa that makes me just ready for fall. I've seen the first tinges of color on leaves on campus, and I am over summer.

So, it may have been 100 degrees yesterday, but I called it fall. I baked sweet potato muffins for this week's breakfast and pumpkin cookies for this week's afternoon snack. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and corn made it's triumphant return to the dinner table. I even made a pumpkin pie for dessert. It's time. Welcome back, fall!

And So It Begins...

School doesn't start for two more weeks, but our fall has begun.

I'm back at work this week. I work all summer, but everyone else comes back today. Students arrive Saturday. Campus is alive again.

And Issa is back in the studio. The first of many taxi runs:

This is Company Camp week, but she actually started Saturday. By the end of the day yesterday her entire musical theatre dance was finished and jazz will be finished by the end of the day today. She is loving her new team, and we are loving her make the leap to older dancer. She is hydrating and fueling and taking good care of her body without us having to say a thing. It's weird this phase of parenting. I keep wanting to help, but she's got it. I think I'll take it...

Practically Perfect

Starting last Friday, I had what will go down as some of the best days in recent memory. The boys headed to Mountain Quest Friday, and we girls settled in for a world-class girls' weekend!

Friday, we started with lunch and Zinburger and then Issa, Nana, and I headed out to find dresses for Tyler's wedding. We laughed at dresses that looked way better on the hanger. Had tears running down our cheeks when someone had a dressing room wardrobe malfunction. And we found them! And accessories. Mine was the biggest struggle, but I'm thrilled with this one:

 Issa was absolutely the most fun. To be young and athletic and look amazing in everything again. I love the dress she chose:

 And Nana found a super fun option, too!

 We finished Friday with dinner at the House at Gatewood, where we relived every moment and laughed until we cried again.

Saturday, Issa and I had big plans to be productive in the morning, but we settled for Gilmore Girls instead. Just as we were ready to actually start, Nana texted that we should go to lunch. Clearly that was the better option. We spent the afternoon eating pizza, finding the right jewelry to complete our ensembles, and getting our nails done.

We ended the day with a painting class! I've never done one, and I can't believe how well ours turned out:

It definitely won't be my last painting excursion.

Sunday. Issa and I did get up and get to work! We went to the grocery, packed, prepped meals, and then met the boys in Tennessee! Brad's brother and family had rented a cabin on Lake Norris, and they graciously invited us to crash for a couple of nights.

You know what one of the coolest gifts in life is: grown-up nieces and nephews. I have literally known these kiddos since birth, and to be able to sit with them and talk about career plans and big dreams and life is just incredible. And just to make it better, I still have the four-year-old to look at me with big eyes and ask Aunt Hedder to pretty please take her swimming. Clearly we did a lot of swimming. Well...she did a lot of jumping in and I did a lot of treading water and helping her back to the ladder.

I still am amazed when my kids are the big ones, playing hide and seek and being pulled around by a little cousin. I remember when they would drag the big cousins around, and it's surreal to see the full circle moments.

We played games and ate together and took boat rides. Brian rented a pontoon boat with a slide, and the kids thought that was about the best thing ever. I can still hear all of the laughter and squeals. As much as I wish I took pictures, I'm so glad my phone was in another room and I could soak up every minute. It was a very short trip, but we all left saying we need to do it more often.

We are barreling towards the start of school and routines. We put the fall wreath on the front door, and I saw the first tinges of crimson on campus today. I'm ready for the routines and structure again, but I am so very glad we had this last big hurrah to end our summer.