Summer, Sweet Summer

Ah, summer. It seems so long ago. The Roses went to one week of day camp with their cousins. They LOVED it. Here are Rose #1 and her cousin with their counselor, "Ninja." (Aside - what a a COOL job for a college student. Being outdoors all summer with kids, goofing around, taking them swimming, etc.)

And Rose #2 and #3 with their cousin and counselor "Lucky." Who wouldn't consider themselves lucky to get bunny ears from Rose #2?

And all the cousins together. They are grubby and dingy and looking pretty happy.

Thanks Aunt Tonya for the pictures!

We Have Liftoff!

Four years ago just about now we started with a nanny. It felt so much gentler to have our childcare come to us - we didn't have to get a tiny baby and her 2- and 4-year old sisters bundled up and out to daycare every day. I worried myself sick about how we would pay for it all and whether we picked the right person to watch a 12-week old infant in our house. (Turns out we did - Hi Jill, if you're reading!)

How fast time flies! Now we have all three Roses in public school! Hooray!

Rose #3 started her school this week. Classes don't start until next week, but her extended day program took the 4-year-old kindergarteners this week (thankfully). You can't tell from this picture, but she was feeling nervous this morning! Don't worry - when I got back, she was walking around like she owned the place! She did very well today. She was very, very tired at bedtime - fell asleep in about 30 seconds.

Rose #2 and #1 are going to the same school this year - happy day. Here they are at the bus stop this morning:

And getting on the bus together. I LOVE it that they ride together; they can keep each other company, or help each other if another kid is bugging them.

Here are all three Roses together:

The only thing that marred this day is that my mom isn't alive to get the full report. She would have loved to hear about Rose #1 being so responsible and mature, waiting for me at Discovery Club like the big girl that she is. Rose #2 was so enthusiastic and excited to see her new school and do her first homework - she read out loud from Trumpet of the Swan for 15 minutes today. Guppy, there are some really hard words in Trumpet of the Swan. Celebrity! Squealing! Chambermaid! And Rose #3 made new friends at school, and she spotted her 4-year-old kindergarten teacher in the lunchroom and went up and gave her a big hug.

We miss you, Guppy.

So...We Went to a Cabin

And only managed to take pictures at Arby's on the way...


And of Rose #1 NOT kissing the first fish she ever caught:
That's Uncle Candle holding the fish, Niece Beatrice looking on and Aunt Tonya in the background.

Resolving to be better about pictures and posting.

Back to school night...

Tonight was back to school night, at two different schools. Rose #1 and #2 are together finally at a grade 1-8 school. We are happy that they are together this year, and their classrooms are on the same hallway. Rose #2's first grade teacher is the same one Rose #1 had two years ago. (She told me that she picked Rose #2 on purpose!!!)

Rose #3 is going to 4-year-old kindergarten at our neighborhood school. The St. Paul schools offer 4-year-old K, which is half days (bummer) but it is free (yay!). Rose #3 will go to before and after school care for the rest of the day. Her school is very nice and cosy. Very elementary school-ish.

I love the beginning of the school year. Everyone is excited to get back; the year feels rich with new possibilities. This is the year that I will be really organized about homework. This is the year that we will actually keep our reading calendars and write in our journals every night before bed. This is the year that we will go to the library every Saturday and be good active readers, we'll do everyday mathematics as a matter of course, we'll work on geography and spelling and history.

This is going to be a tough year, though, logistically. We won't have a nanhy anymore (I know - poor us) so the business of running our household will get more complicated. Hopefully I can get some help from the kids - no, really - and we can manage it.

Lots of stuff starting in the next few weeks! School! Church and Sunday School!

Night at the Park

Groveland Rec Center has the best park ever!! Here's Rose #3 enjoying the part of the park that is meant for children 18 months and under. Sigh.

And Rose #2 on the swing. I had to bribe her for a smile - I exchanged a big starter push on the swing for a big smile for the picture!

And Rose #1, with hat akimbo.

We're closing in on the last few weeks of summer, then the Roses are off to 3rd grade, 1st grade, and 4-year-old kindergarten!

Garden Bounty

Every night before dinner in mid to late August you can go out to the garden and see what there is to eat! Tonight we had a goodly number of cherry tomatoes and one cucumber:

The cucumbers are funny. We only got one plant but we don't have much room, so the one plant is scaling the pine tree that borders our garden. The cucumber pictured above was hanging about 3 feet above my head. This is a good thing, because many of our other vegetables have been overrun by SLUGS. Slugs are nasty. Slimy. No eyes. Horrid little antennas (antennae?). Stupid slugs - you didn't go to the garden store and buy the seeds and sow the seeds and water the seeds and watch with wonder and glee when the seeds sprouted. No, you just crawled your slimy little way onto all our green peppers - there were slugs HIDING INSIDE for pity's sake - and even onto some of the cucumbers notwithstanding their spiky skin.

Overheard tonight

Rose #2 (sitting next to me on the couch): "When are you going to be home, Mom?"

Me: "I'm here right now!"

Rose #2: "No, I mean when are you going to be home all day long?"

Me: "Saturday?"

Rose #2: "I mean when are you going to be home all day long on a regular day?"

Me: "Maybe if I get FIRED from my job!?"

Rose #2: Silence.