Trumpet

One thing Harrison loves about middle school is band.  His first choice of instrument was the trumpet and he got it.  I'm shocked at how easy it seems to be coming to him.

He let everyone in the family try it out.  Grace was the only one who could immediately produce a decent sound.

I think he's doing great!  His first performance is in December.

And we haven't had one complaint from the neighbors, yet.

September extras

when grandparents visit Italy and bring you back the same crowns from the pizza box

neighborhood parade

soccer start

Fall soccer is in full swing.  Leo's had four games already.  Grace has only had two because of rain.

So far, Leo is one of the high scorers and Grace has kicked the ball each game.

Grace's Pre-K teacher came to her first game.

This was Leo's best game ever.  He scored three goals and had two assists.  He was the MVP of the game!

He got to celebrate with ice cream.

And Grace is having fun with her friends.

Back to School Night

Back to School Night was a chance to see what the kids have been doing since school started.  Leo came home from school early that day because of allergies so it was just me and Grace at the elementary school.

She showed me everything in her class, including her desk and where they keep their tablets.

Grace's teacher bragged and bragged about her.  Kindergarten agrees with Grace!

The next night, Harrison was excited to show Jeff his middle school while Grace and I were at Leo's soccer game.

Harrison is in the archery club.  This is his coach.

So far, Harrison says band is his favorite class and this is his favorite teacher (US History).  6th grade agrees with Harrison!

According to their teachers and their grades, it looks to be a great year!

September 11

As important as it is to never forget September 11, for our family, it's also important to do something good on that day.  We chose to honor our first responders by bringing them cases of Gatorade and telling them thank you.  Each 9/11 anniversary brings all the feelings back to me of fear, sadness and uncertainty.  That's why it's important to me to create good memories of this day.

I don't know if the police officers and firefighters don't get thanked very much, but they sure seemed surprised and grateful for our acknowledgement of what they do.

Harrison wore his fire department shirt (given to him by our firefighter friend) to school to honor the first responders.  Leo wore red, white and blue and Grace wanted to wear stars for America.  I asked them what they could do to be better Americans.  The boys came up with respecting and accepting all people who live here.  Grace said tell the truth.  That sounds like a good start.

and other Labor Day adventures

The kids had the Friday before Labor Day off so we squeezed a few things in.

a few more splashes before the pool closed for the summer

a finished puzzle and an arcade game at our Airbnb in North Carolina

It was a pretty good sendoff for summer.