Good-bye to Summer and Hello to Fall . . .

 

Near the end of summer we got together with a group of friends at the outdoor pool. Aaah, the good life. 

Assumption Floats! 

Somebody got his wisdom teeth out. He recovered
very well. He is pleased that he kept his dignity and didn't do 
anything silly those first several hours. His only communication was a sleepy fist bump. 
He doesn't remember a bit of that. 

During the last days of summer, I assigned Nutmeg some sort of an art project. So she chose one that she had her eye on from Pinterest. Beautiful, we say!! 

Just before Labor Day some wonderful friends of ours stopped by for a visit. Part of the gang is playing a fun, silly game at a restaurant. 

Hanging out in Red Lodge. 

"First" day back to school pic. Not our best picture ever, but it's in the books anyhow. Can't believe how quickly time is flying!!  

Nutmeg is enjoying this new activity this year! Fun team! 
This weekend they are having a pizza party. 

A couple weeks ago Mace and I took a little time out to go for a nature walk at some gardens in town. Wish I would have taken my mom here when she was in town. 

Mace and I are reading The Wind in the Willows right now, so this was a fun find. 

Nutmeg's first week of basketball practice, we had to wait around downtown 
for a couple hours. So Mace and I had a date. Ice cream and sequence. 

Back at soccer again this fall! We have three sports going on right now: swimming, basketball, and soccer. 

I am teaching again this year in our co-op, although I am pleased that I think it will be more manageable this time around. Instead of teaching eight subjects, I'll only have 2-3 subjects. One of them is my personal favorite: geography. I'm excited to be sharing this subject with the kids! Last year I was in Nutmeg's classroom. This year she is in the middle school class, reading the Aeneid and practicing public speaking. This year I get to be in Mace's class. I was nervous to be working with the younger kids, but I am relishing their enthusiasm! 

Summer Swimming

 Hello loved ones!

Aren't you proud of me?! Only one month since my last post. Hooray!! It's been a busy summer of traveling.  Gabe and I traveled to North Dakota for swimming. The kids and I traveled to the Midwest to see family and friends. I drove my mom to Missoula (5 hours) and then drove back.  Gabe and I traveled to South Dakota for swimming. Our whole family traveled to Helena for swimming and exploring. Gabe and I were in Missoula again last weekend for state swimming. This week we will be in the Tetons camping with friends. Next weekend Doug will take the kids camping at Flathead while I prepare for our upcoming educational year. Phew!  All the driving has been a bit rough on the chronic blood clotting situation in my "bad" leg, but I think it will be okay. I am going back on a supplement for a couple months that will hopefully break down some of the built-up fibrin.  

Here's a little pictorial tribute to Gabe's summer of swimming, with some other pictures from the same trips thrown in. 

Cathedral in Helena

Fellow Catholic homeschool school mom in this pic. Brooke, our boys, and I hang out at most of the travel swim meets together. 

 

Found a great VRBO in Helena. Cheaper than the hotels, so we brought the whole family. 

Checked out the museum there. Some got more physical than others. 

I really enjoyed learning about the cowboy artist, Charlie Russell, and checking out all his artwork.

We also checked out the capitol. 

The Helena trip was also our anniversary, so we went out to dinner on the way home. 

Hotel prices for state swimming (Missoula) were insane ($300-400 a night), so Gabe and I got a KOA cabin instead. There were HUGE bunnies all over the campground. Here is Gabe trying to make friends. 

Gabriel S and Gabriel S.