Our August: The end of summer and start of the school year

 Back to school we go, at least in this month. But, first we will finish up summer! If you know me at all, you would know I am someone who would vote to "long live summer." I like the quiet routine of life and picking out how our days runs (versus the schools and sports running the show). It is not missed on me that life won't stay this way. I may only get 5 more summers with my oldest living at home. That makes me treasure our time together so much.

This month we had family visit. My aunt, uncle and mom all came to stay with us for most of a week. It was fantastic. We have almost no pictures to show of it except for this picture taken just as everyone packed into their vehicles and left. 

Trust me when I say we had a fantastic time. The kids roped them into every game we had and forced outside play with them. The kids swam and we watched from the patio most evenings. We took Jayden to the last day the pool was open (the other kids were tired and wanted to stay home). I think we all cherished this time together. 

One random picture from their time with us was when we went to the farmer's market together. Afterwards, we debated our next activity while Avery demanded a picture in her "favorite sitting spot."

                                                

One quiet morning, I did a craft time. All the kids made dinosaurs!

August is a prime month for the garden. We didn't get the best harvest but enjoyed beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, and potatoes this year. Not enough to go more than a month or so for us. 

And the little bit of field corn we grew and harvested: 

We got out for several walks and one morning was fairly chilly and we were dressed entirely inappropriately for it. I pulled out a blanket and Avery had a fantastic time reading while the rest of us walked:

Payton and I went back to school shopping together as she prepared to go back to school. It was a nice time just the two of us, a rarity any more. We got out to Raising Canes afterwards. It was a great time together, yet made me sad knowing our summer was coming to an end and she would then begin her journey as a middle schooler. 

I have no idea why this picture was taken. I assume a book Payton bought herself? One day, she will see this picture and maybe remember in a way that I cannot. 

A few years ago we bought some inflatable hammocks that you air up with the wind. We randomly found them and Avery has loved them!

We saw that you could go to open houses and register to win a Blackstone. There were some new builds that we were just curious about so we decided to go. We ended up winning the Blackstone! We were so excited. It has been put to good use.

No post lately is complete without selfie pictures I found on my phone:

The kids cuddled up reading books on a quiet morning:

We went to an event for a local group and they had face painting. Avery chose to get an octopus on her face:

Jayden and Avery made donuts:

We got to the lake on the last day of summer for the first time all summer. It was completely deserted and fantastic! Best day ever swimming, climbing, enjoying our picnic lunch and just being together.

We even hit up a (new to us) coffee shop on the way home.

We made it to the park for a picnic as well. We were not able to on the last day of school and put it off until just as school was starting. 

And, just like that, we headed back to school. Another different year for us with some changes. Payton is now in middle school and the boys still in elementary. Payton will continue at our local school and the boys will be homeschooled. Bonus for me, as I get this extra time with my kids. Avery has been thrilled for time with the boys, too.

Our first day picture, I snapped this of Jayden reading to Avery. It is one of his daily assignments and we all look forward to them finding time together.

Riley set to work with his ants and continues growing his colonies.

Our first week of homeschool we had a field trip. We went to a local museum with a group of families. None of our household had ever been there before. We spent the whole day! Payton was dropped off to school and we left straight from there for our location. We left and arrived back just in time to grab Payton. I have never been gone all day like that with the kids. Was so much fun!

I locked them up in jail to get a break.

Payton came home from school that first week and asked to do something she never does. Bakes on her own! She whipped up some shortbread cookies. I was so excited for this day to come. Sadly, she hasn't done it again but she has been talking about. That is a start at least. 

We went to see an art exhibit featuring a teacher of Payton's. She had some friends there and as we finished up the art showing, we went to the park to so they could hang out for awhile. 

We did something super exciting this month! We flew in a private airplane! Let me tell you a little backstory on how we got here. About 18 months ago, Monte and I attended a fundraiser with a silent auction. Prior to leaving, Riley asked us to bid on a listing for 2 college football game tickets and private plane ride to the game for 4. We hesitated but bid, assuming we would quickly be outbid. 

In the end, we WON. Totally didn't plan for that. We had only entered the minimum bid thinking it would go quickly. Flash forward to the game day, the plane was unable to go as there was so much fog. So we drove to the game (we bought tickets for the rest of our family and we all went, except for Avery). Avery enjoyed the day with her grandparents. 

We were then told we could plan our own trip. We had several more failed attempts to leave due to weather and issues with the plane). Finally, after many attempts, we made our trip. And, it was the BEST time. 

The view inside our plane. Jayden sat next to the pilot. On the way home, he even got to fly the plane for a few minutes. This was a really good experience for us all, especially for Jayden.

Riley has been asking to go to an insect zoo that features ants. This was probably the only way we would go there as I don't know that we would have driven all this way. It was a wonderful experience. They also had huge flower gardens around the zoo so we enjoyed looking at that. 

It was here that he got to see leafcutter ants, a dream of his (maybe now he won't want to go to the Amazon rainforest to see). We also saw them as they got fed a leaf. It was amazing how fast they could disassemble that leaf. 

We also went to a discovery center with several floors of activities. The only picture I came home with was of Avery making a dinosaur. It was a good time though with lots of learning opportunities. 

A picture of Avery on our flight home and I think it sums up all of our feelings about the day. It was a dream come true and we may never get another opportunity like that:

Our local homeschool group also played at the park and then decorated cookies together!

Avery switched to a big girl bed and then got a new frame. She looks so tiny in this bed:

We went and watched one of Payton's friends as she runs in cross country. I haven't been to a meet in probably 2 decades so that was fun for me personally to see. I also love cheering this bonus child on:

The kids still go to the park albeit not as much as I would like. School has really changed the rhythms of our house but we are all finding our flow:

The kids do play outside a lot as we take breaks during the school day:

A snapshot into our school day. Every day is so different but we mostly sit at the table to do our work:

The last picture is a reminder of how loved and missed Payton is during the day. One day she had a particularly tough day at school and Avery was quick to comfort her:

These are the days. We are crazy busy but we are also soaking in all that this season brings.