goodbye summer??

I enjoy blogging, but I hate doing catch-up blogs, which is why I usually try to post fairly often. But I fell off the blog wagon and have more catching up to do than I have time for. So I'll just blurt out a few things and try and find some pictures (because that's all you want anyway, right Mom?)

Zig took 3 weeks off from ALL work at the end of the summer. And that was heaven. He didn't take time off and do projects around the house. He didn't organize, build something, or help me decorate the house. That may or may not be because Eric is too busy right now to build a bike park in our forest :) Anyway, there was no shopping for art or furniture which has taken up a great deal of our extra time the past couple of years. Nice to have most of that behind us for this house. There wasn't even much gardening, other than just mild weeding, picking, admiring, and dinking around in the greenhouse. He hung out, played with the kids, took them mountain biking a lot, to skate parks, and on outings. They ate it up. So did I. I played tennis five times in one week and it was so nice to be able to play any time of day without thinking about who would watch the kids. I'm quickly meeting people to play with and joined a team that plays other clubs on Fridays in the fall.  The rust is slowing starting to wear off, and that feels GREAT! Wondering why I waited so long. I love it.

We went to Whistler for Labor Day with the Hendershotts. This family is spontaneous and very fun. I think they've done more hikes in their two years here than we have in ten. I questioned their sanity when they said they wanted to stay together in Whistler because you know, we have four (sometimes) crazy kids, and they have one very well-behaved and darling boy, Rune. But they are obviously not only spontaneous but also adventurous! We biked with them the weekend before and casually talked about biking in Whistler as we were eating lunch after our ride. Somehow, by the next Friday, we were on the road to British Columbia with eight bikes between us. Whistler was quite the mountain biking mecca. Broc had been before and he's got some serious skills. Zig and Broc rented downhill bikes in Whistler and after our ride with the kids, where Sela hit a tree and Rollin crashed in a ditch, they headed off on their own for the afternoon to ski the crazier tougher runs. They returned in one piece and Zig was already talking about our next trip back to Whistler!

Ready to ride (well, some of us)

Can we go yet???


Ketsy (6 months pregnant), was so kind to watch Evan while we rode.


It was hard to take pictures on the trail but I got a couple non-action shots.

Sela pre-crash.


There was an awesome kid area with all kinds of jumps, ramps and obstacles (I'm sure there are more correct terms for this stuff).




rollin psyching himself up for the see-saw
Nina and Rune at the hot tub


On Sunday we had a picnic at these falls after church.

I told Rollin and Rune to make a funny face (since all Rollin's faces are funny faces) and Rune said "I am making one!" So cute.



School started last week. I had grand visions of being organized, having a special back to school meal, goal setting session, etc, but I just wasn't ready for school this year, plain and simple. I was too busy milking every last drop out of summer. I did take the girls for their back-to-school pedicures, which are almost a necessity after the way their feet are nearly permanently stained with dirt from the long days outside. The one other thing I did do in preparation was stare at a huge calendar for hours and hours trying to get everyone's activities organized and falling midweek. My strategy this year is to try and keep weekends free and schedule most activies on Tues, Wed, and Thurs. It's not easy, but I think it's going to mostly work. Sela is going to be doing cross country,tennis team (3X a week), and art.  Nina is in gymnastics (with Micah again), tennis, and art. Rollin has preschool and gymnastics because they happened to have a class for his age group at the same time as Nina. Nobody begging for soccer this year. HALLELUJAH!

We didn't start getting the kids in bed earlier to ease the transition, we didn't make a big trip for back to school shopping but rather picked up a few needed items when we were out, we barely got pictures the morning of. The one thing I did do was make a nice warm breakfast, but I always make breakfast. I managed to get little notes into the lunch boxes, and that's pretty much it this year. Somehow the kids still felt very excited, and special on their first day of school. They all woke up on time, seemed pleasant, and made it to the bus. Sela opted for her older well-worn clothes, rather than her new ones, because she wanted to be prepared just in case it was PE day. Love that girl.





We gave big hugs and off they went. I didn't meet them at the school this year for another round of pictures as they bounced off the bus and even more  hugs. They were happy to have each other and venture off without me. Normally I would have gone anyway, but I had a tennis match, and I thought, well, they're happy so what's the big deal? At the end of the day Zig, Rollin, Evan and I met them at the bus. They came off the bus smiling, overflowing with details,and seriously excited about teachers, friends, and a new year. The first thing Nina said was "Mom, I loved it, and I WASN'T TIRED!!!" I think she had heard me mention to friends in conversation that I was worried at how Nina would do being away all day. But she did fine and she has the same teacher Sela had, Mrs. Struthers. She's a very nurturing teacher and has an abundance of energy. Perfect combo for Nina.




We fed the horses apples on our way home, a sure sign of fall.




Rollin started Mrs. Judy's preschool this week. Obviously, no hesitation there, only about a million "is it time yets?" He ran right on in, went straight to the toys he's been admiring for the two years Nina was at Judy's, and took his rightful turn! They have a wonderful class with great kids and moms as well. We have a sweet little carpool this year, and that alone makes my life much easier. I'll only drive one day a week. Yippee! Zig adn I were a little concerned about Rollin transitioning from "nature boy" to "school boy" so we had lots of talks about where to go when you need to go potty and you're playing outside. I hope his mind can overcome his instincts!! Oh boy, life on the farm.






We tried to get a normal smile...it's apparently all or nothing for this boy.

Ah, there's the smile! Happy to be at Mrs. Judy's

Very happy

Zig went back to work this week, and life seems to be moving along pretty swell. I am amazed at how well the girls jumped right back into their school year habits. I filled out the literal mountain of PTA forms the very first day so as not to have that looming over me and I'm slowly getting excited for fall. I have no choice I guess. The weather is getting cooler, the pumpkins are getting bigger, and it's time to pull out the jackets that were packed up for oh, about 6 weeks.

So a very hesitant and reluctant goodbye to summer 2010. We took it way easy and this was my favorite summer by far. Let this be a lesson, Ashley, that less is often more!!!