hot hot hot

It is mid/late September and it is HOT out!  My phone says is 88 and feels like 91 right now.  Poor kids and teachers in school!  It was so cold at the beginning of this month and we managed to get through it without turning the heat on, now I'm trying to stand strong and not turn the A/C on, but I don't think I'm going to make it...  I challenged myself to see if we could make it all the way through September without using either the heat or A/C, but this is just ridiculous.

We've had a good start to the school year.  The kids are almost done with their third week already!  Caleb and Logan have had no problem jumping right in, and seem to really like their new teacher, Miss Griess.  Levi seems to be doing fine, he's just a little more shy and reserved than his older brothers.  I've been walking him in on the days he goes, and today I told him I wanted him to go ahead and get in ahead of me and that I would check on him, but that did not go over well.  He knows exactly where to go and what to do, he just likes the security of having me there.  I think once he gets set and into the day he's totally fine.  Levi stays home on Tuesday's and Friday's, and that has been really good.  It's good for both of us to have some one-on-one time (when Jackson's napping), besides just having a break from school is good when you're 5 years old, I think.  :)  We have just a little bit of homework to do on the days he's home, and the very first time didn't go so well (yet again re-affirming why I don't homeschool) but since then it has gone much better.

Jackson does miss his big brothers some, but does fine without them.  I hear a lot about "Wuvi" (Levi, which is what he calls all three of them...), especially right after we drop them off.  And, he's very happy and excited when we pick them up in the afternoon.  I also hear "Daddy" and "Hi cows Papa" A LOT.  Thankfully we visit Mike at work a few times a week (where he gets spoiled rotten by Mr. Pete), and we do usually see cows on our way to and from school.  I'm sure he would be thrilled if we saw Papa more often.  :)  The days we go to get groceries are not Jackson's favorite, he doesn't have enough patience to make it through both Aldi and Meijer in a good mood.  But, we're working on it!  He's going to have to get used to running errands with me, he's got a few years of it to go!  Jackson has adjusted his naptime to the school schedule very well.  Thank you, Lord!  I tried really hard not to worry about it ahead of time, because what good does that do?  But, it was hard not to wonder how it was going to go.  Last year the school schedule was hard with him and then he did so well over the summer.  He's been going down for his nap way earlier and still fitting in a nice, long nap before we have to pick up the other boys from school. It's great!

Our church's Wednesday night program started last week and Caleb, Logan, and Levi are going.  This week the Bible study I go to started, and next week volleyball will start (I'm just playing in a church league once a week).  Mike signed up to be a part of the our new men's ministry at church, and that will be on Thursday evenings.  And just like that we're busy!  I dislike having a crazy schedule so I think that's enough commitments for now, but hopefully these are all good things that we find to be beneficial.

the end

Well, that's it.  Summer's over.  It's done.  Today I'll send three of my babies off to school!

We had a great finish to summer break.  Last week we had a Back to School Night where the kids could bring in all their books and supplies, meet teachers, play with their friends, and we could get the info and paperwork we need for the upcoming year.  It was CRA-ZY.  It's so exciting to see what God is doing at our tiny, little school.  Enrollment is up again this year and it feels like we're just about bursting at the seams of our building.  It should be interesting at drop-off this morning on the first day.  :)

On Wednesday last week we had my niece and nephew, and a friend from school over for the day.  Both their mom's are teachers and needed to be at work.  :)  I tried to mentally prepare for a day of chaos, but it really went pretty well!  It seemed like all the kids played nicely together, and thankfully it was good weather so we weren't stuck in the house for the whole day.  Although, they spent quite a bit of their time working on a massive fort in the basement.

Thursday I was able to do my first batch of salsa for the year.  This is a big deal around here!  Last year I canned just over 30 pint jars of salsa, and we ran out sometime in the Spring.  So, I'm hoping to do much more this year...  Making salsa involves a lot of chopping, but it is so worth it when we pop open a jar in the middle of winter.

Saturday was our last trip to the cottage for the summer!  Wah-wah-wah.  We really lived it up.  I tried skiing for the first time in 20 years - it only took me a few tries to get up!  And, now for the last couple days I've hardly been able to walk.  Ha!  It was fun and I'm so glad I got up the nerve to try.  Logan tried again, but was unable to get up.  I hope he's not too discouraged and will try again next summer.  I went for a tube ride with Logan and Levi and had a blast.  Caleb went tubing a time or two, and Caleb and Levi went for a fun waverunner ride with Uncle Harold (speed is the name of the game...).  Of course Mike went skiing and showed everybody up with his skills.  :)  Jackson had fun again playing around in the water.  He's a little TOO brave, gotta keep an eye on him!  It's so much fun to see, and I hope he doesn't lose that desire to be in the water.  We had such a great summer at the cottage, and love all the memories we've been able to make.  More and more I appreciate all the family time together.

I've got little boys waking up for their first day of school, time to get to work!