End of Summer

Today is the last day of August, and even though it stays pretty warm in the south through at least mid-October, I begin to think about fall right about now. Wrapping up summer is kind of sad. The kids have been back in school since the 15th of August, and they are beginning to settle in with their new teachers. Matthew is in fourth grade and is being drilled on those wonderful multiplication facts. Jonathan is a freshman in high school and is taking honors English, Geometry, Biology, and World History. In addition, he is in the Freshmen band class and is taking Spanish I and PE. He is at school until after 6 PM at least 3 days a week for marching band practice. Yes...football season is here! I love it, although it makes for a busy time of year!

This summer was what I would call "forgettable." Not trying to be a negative "Nancy," but we didn't get to plan and do a lot. Ed went to England for a week for part of his course work in working on his PhD. I had foot surgery (an Osteotomy) on my right foot. That put me out of commission for the most part for six weeks. I am still recovering. We did manage to get in a couple of weekend beach trips right before school started, and we have been taking advantage of the pool lately.

Although I am sad to see summer end (I miss my boys when they go back to school), I look forward to pulling out the fall decorations and sprucing up the house. I even cleaned out our "office" closet this morning! :)

Fall

I love the fall. No, I mean I really LOVE it! Except for my allergy to ragweed, I love nearly everything there is about fall...the cooler temps, the beautiful colors, and all of the activities that happen only in the fall. By the way, the photo in my heading is a fall picture taken from my parents' backyard. Here are some of the sites around our house so far this season.

Usually we visit the pumpkin patch with the kids, but this may be the first year we haven't taken them. We've kind of overscheduled ourselves, and it looks like we may not get to go. But last night we did something we haven't done since Jonathan was real tiny. We went to the fair. We were so proud of ourselves because we used our yard sale earnings from the weekend and had a blast! One of the best parts was the Southern Monster Truck Show. Matthew was just loving it!

We also loved the rides, the games, the animals, and of course, the food. What's a fair without funnel cake and cotton candy? I hope these are family memories that my kids will remember forever. So what if Matthew got to bed at 11 PM last night...and I let him sleep in this morning...and took him to school an hour late? You only get one time around! :)