The Earles' New Groove

Last week we said goodbye to summer.  In all, we managed to piece together a good summer.  The kids and I made it out to Catalina, the kids went to the aquarium, we did swim lessons, we played with friends, and went to the beach.  As our last hurrah, Steve took his one and only vacation day this summer, and we headed to the Natural History Museum before our passes expired.  It warms my heart that my children love museums!  Marshall, you trained us well!

We felt that we'd finally arrived when it came to museum visits!  The kids are really interested in learning, and Steve and I actually got to look at the exhibits without chasing constantly after kids.  It was a super fun day out! 

 We had hoped to alleviate our cabin fever by going away somewhere for the weekend, but truly were just too tired to try to find a place that was accessible, restful, inexpensive, and not a 6 hr. car trip away.  We opted for a Stay-cation. We surprised the kids by taking them to the Lego Store at Downtown Disney and letting them pick out a lego set of their choice.  Why I didn't get their reactions on film is beyond me, because it was GOLD.  Their faces lit up as if their dreams had all come true.  

Doesn't it totally look like Hulk is about to push Steve's wheel chair?  

 They put together their legos for hours, and I got to work on a latent craft, a (fabric) succulent wreath for my front door.  I refuse to put up a Fall wreath when it's 100 degrees out.

Not totally sure who is happiest with the Legos... 

So.  Then came September 4th, the First Day of School.  Also known as The Day I Remember What Quiet Sounds Like.  Many of you were praying for the day, as we often just don't know what kind of reaction we'll get to a new school year.  It truly couldn't have gone better.  Søren was super chill about the whole thing, Lucy was more excited for Søren than anyone.  We were sad not to see a couple special friends there who have moved away, but also so happy to see other great friends.  Lucy's teacher is such a great fit for her, and is a stellar teacher.

Søren got Lucy's Kindergarten teacher, and we couldn't be more thrilled.  I'm looking forward to helping in her classroom--she is the Circus Master, and I totally love helping out there.  He doesn't really know anyone yet, but it doesn't seem to bother him.  I know it won't be long before he connects with some of the really great kids in his class.  

Kindergarten and 3rd Grade!

And then this weekend, we bought Steve a cane.  I totally wish we had a super awesome cane--this one was the generic black cane at Rite Aid.  But it's already a huge help to him at home, as he can carry things with more stability.

So we are all in a bit of a new groove.  The kids are getting used to school, Steve is trying out some new walking tricks, and I am remembering what it is like to Think my Thoughts during the day. I can't help but chuckle -- the PTA has been swooping low as they discover that I have BOTH my kids in school all day.  I just smile and decide not to tell them that I'm driving my husband to 3-4 appointments a week, working through all of our medical paperwork, and catching up on the past 8.5 years of having small children at home.  And maybe doing my own grooving to something other than Everything Is Awesome.