Third Grade

I finally made a collage of photos from third grade. 

New Thing and Preparation

I am finishing up back to school stuff....

Luck of all luck I found a Duncan Phyfe style table!

Nate will begin his orthodontic journey at the end of the month.

And soon we will begin our fostering journey.

Moments

Nate has been adjusting very well to the recent move of his friend T.  It was especially helpful that friends moved into our neighborhood just as T was leaving.  Homeschooling friends.  The most polite respectful kids I've met in this decade.  They are a good influence on Nate after the buddies he has been playing with in the past couple of years.  

I've still been working on getting our new school year planned out.  This is the first year I put together our own plans.  In past years I bought a package that came planned!  So this year I have had to go through our curriculum and decide how much we need to do each day to finish the work.  It only took me four years to decide I had the ability to do this.

Last night after dinner we were invited to a monopoly night at our friend's home.  I was mid margarita when it was time to leave, so I just put it in a plastic cup and took it with me.  It is so convenient to be a short walk away.

Especially since more margaritas were being poured around the monopoly board.(to the parents)  It was a margarita filled evening, but nobody is driving. 

We went for a nice hike this weekend too.  It wasn't quite roasting hot yet, and it is kinda wooded so it was enjoyable.

The girls loved it too... especially the creek

They ran like crazy and slept the rest of the day.

Things are good.

Sizzling Summer Heat

 It has been hot and dry here!  Seriously triple digits several days a week for the past several weeks.  Luckily Nate has swim lessons in the mornings.  It gets us out of the house.

 But most afternoons we lounge around indoors.

I have to water most mornings and evenings to combat the intense temps.  But most of the garden is doing well.  Some things are doomed.

I've spent the past several weeks preparing for fourth grade.  I don't plan to start until the end of August, but with fostering possibly starting around the same time, I want to have things ready.

Nate has been doing great!  He has been busy playing with the neighbor girls, playing catch, riding his bike, and enjoying the summer.  I signed him up for four weeks of tennis in June and four weeks of swim in July. He passed his first session of swim lessons.  He is in the third level now, he is learning some impressive swim strokes.  We will have to see how well he does!

Moments of the Week

We have been busy lately.  Nate has been out playing all the time.

I have to water everyday since we are dry and HOT

Nate has been trying to spend as much time with his buddy T, since he is moving away.

The boys have been inseparable for the past couple of week.  

They have spent the most recent roasting hot days building LEGO masterpieces.  

I am really worried about Nate and how he will deal with this loss.

But we've had friends over the past four weeks for Friday night fire and smores. It is more socializing than we are used to in half a year!  Last week we tried out this color pouch you put in the fire and it changes the color of the flames.  It was really neat. 

In other news we bought a hot tub.  

 We decided to put it off the deck so we can get to the house quickly in the winter.

We had to move plants, take down the railing, and make a flat base to set it on.  

Luckily our friend knows how to do legit electrical work, so he put in a new outlet for the hot tub.  We found out the outlet the tub is plugged into shouldn't have anything else, and the plug we intended to use is connected to our classroom/sewing outlets.  

We want to put in some privacy things, and maybe cover it... if I win that debate.  

Full Swing of Summer

The last month has been a whirlwind.  

Just before David had his shoulder surgery we finished up the fire-pit.

WE LOVE IT

When Dave was feeling a little better, he and I put together this cool wood holder....

Becky brought Evan up on Memorial Day Weekend, and we went on a hike to Buzzard's Lookout.

The views are amazing

And we stopped at the Chapel in the Hills.

Evan spent two weeks with us!

It went by so fast!  We went to the pool, a chuck wagon supper, the fountains, and the boys did a week of tennis lessons together.  

Since he went home we had our yard sale, VBS, and another home visit for the foster parenting process.    The rest of the month should be better, with just tennis lessons in the morning, and the rest of the day free.  David's recovery is going great, and I think he will make a full recovery since he takes his PT and stretches seriously.

I'll check in soon!

Finished Fence

Last week we got the fence completed.  It was nearly done after the weekend, minus a few screws on the interior pickets.... The fence was actually just a two weekend job, and wasn't too bad. 

AND NOW IT IS DONE.

We took down the last side of chain link, Dave pulled out the posts.

We are going to remove the lilacs... but after they bloom because they are so pretty.

Our neighbor gave us forty pavers he didn't want, and we used them to make a firepit!

We still need to rock around it, and spruce it up. But the fires are fantastic... and we have a huge burn pile!

This past weekend Dave got the new dirt for the three new garden beds.  I have lots planted now and I can't wait to see how it goes having so much more garden space!