Back to School

Jackson and Raina have been back to school for two weeks now, and have made the transition from carefree summer days to the routine of school. Sixth grade looks to be a busy year as Jackson has already gone on an overnight school field trip to Wolf Ridge, has joined the School Patrol, and is looking into starting band.
The school board voted to have a four day school week to save money, so they're going to school Monday through Thursday most weeks. I'm not letting them slack on Fridays, though, and we're doing music lessons (piano for both and guitar for Jackson), math enrichment, and other fun learning activities together.
Ollie takes a good afternoon nap every day which gives me time to do things with just Remy. Last week we painted with apples. Raina had a little fit when she found out Remy got to paint and she didn't, and I had to explain that she does lots of fun things at school that Remy doesn't get to do.


When I see the kids day to day, I don't always see realize how much they grow in a year. Here's how they've each changed in the past year:

Ollie, 8 1/2 months

Ollie, 20 1/2 months

Ollie would not stand still, he kept running away or crouching down, so I made him sit instead

Remy, 2 1/2

Remy, 3 1/2

Raina, Kindergarten

Raina, First Grade

Jackson, Fifth Grade

Jackson, Sixth Grade

Summer Recap

Here we are at the last weekend of summer. The kids go back to school on Tuesday, and I'm sure we'll quickly settle back into that routine again. Here's some of what we've been up to since I last posted in July:

Running through the sprinkler on a hot day

The sand table has been an endless source of entertainment

At a rest stop off I-35--I guess no one wanted their picture taken

After eating pizza at Do North in Two Harbors, we watched a ship come in

Sometimes we split the kids up--Raina and Remy had breakfast with me at Betty's Pies, we went on a little hike along the lake, and then we went grocery shopping

The garden looked like this early in the summer, but flourished enough to produce plenty of veggies to go with our summer grilling:

Peas, which the kids ate raw straight from the garden

Green beans, lettuce and more peas

Roma tomatoes
and also some stubby carrots and round cucumbers

I made freezer jam for the first time out of raspberries from my mom and blueberries (I bought a case)

Remy has been attached to Woody most of the summer after seeing Toy Story 3

And my buddy Ollie