What We Did {September}

September went by in a flash.

We survived my first month running my own preschool.

(I say we, because it really has been a family affair.

I don't think I could have pulled it off without LOTS

of help from Brett, Macy and Coleman.)

September marked the last month of my mom staying with us.

We're super happy she found a house,

but will miss getting to see her every day.

And let's face it,

everyone is going to miss us taking pictures like this.

Macy had her first school pictures,

and took great care in choosing her outfit and 

the perfect hairstyle.

We spent a morning exploring downtown Ogden during their annual Harvest Festival.

I have to give O-town credit.  It was much better than I expected.

We also spent lots and lots of time outside,

soaking up the great weather while it lasted.

And, finally, Coleman got into pumpkin carving a little early.

(Love the sharp object protruding from the pumpkin's top.

Coleman insisted we leave it there, as it was part of the "decorations.")

Fruits {and Veggies} of Our Labors

Growing up is a funny thing.

More and more I am finding myself

praising the things I cursed as a kid.

Case in point: our garden.

We had a pretty big garden growing up 

and I HATED it.

Working in it in any capacity was pure torture.

Fast forward 15 a few years,

and what is one of my favorite things about our new house?

The garden.

I'm by no means an expert at growing things, 

but I'm so grateful for the knowledge I gained

while "slaving away" in my family's garden.

Plus, it's so fun to see Macy and Coleman out there,

picking weeds and getting excited when they discover

different things growing.

This year we planted:

Corn, butternut squash, watermelon, pumpkins,

green beans, cucumbers, and green peppers.

We had major success with our cucumbers, squash and pumpkins.

Our corn grew great, but got attacked by bugs shortly before it was ready to pick.

We grew quite a few green peppers, but they were all pretty small.

Watermelons were a complete bust.

The green beans struggled a little, partially due to our neighbor's

dog repeatedly getting into our garden and digging them up.

Grrr...

Overall, a good first year.

We also had a great crop of raspberries.

(Thank you previous owners for planting the bushes.)

One little bush had these babies growing on it.

At first we thought they just weren't ripe,

but my mom finally tried one and found out they were super sweet!

Very few of them ever make it into the picking bowl.

 We have peaches too!

Even though it's a pretty small tree,

we picked two grocery bags full.

Delish!

C's Birthday Survey {Late!}

1D

Dear One Direction,

Just so you're aware,

you've got some pretty sweet fan mail

 coming your way.

 

 

And,

 just for the record,

I did buy her a cup with all your faces on it.

So there.

 

Get It Girl

Got to love child ingenuity.

She's gonna be a great mom someday...

Firsties

It's been a busy few weeks at our house.

Macy started kindergarten last week

and is L-O-V-I-N-G it.

And just for the record, I didn't cry.

I think I kind of surprised myself.

For weeks leading up to Macy's first day of kindergarten,

every time I thought about it I would tear up.

But the day came,

and the tears didn't.

I think between her excitement and mine,

there just wasn't any room to be sad.

Sure, it's a weird feeling to send your firstborn off 

into this crazy world,

and it still feels like yesterday that I was holding her for the first time,

but I'm just happy that she's happy.

Coleman started preschool today.

He's going to the preschool class I teach in the afternoon,

so at first I think it was a little anti-climatic for him,

but he is already super excited for tomorrow.

It's so fun for me to get to see Coleman interact with

the other kids in preschool.

He's a year younger than everyone else,

so I worried that there might be some social skill issues.

He's doing great though.

Participating, sharing and playing.

He sure is a cute little sucker.