September extras

dental check-ups

No cavities for any of the kids!

Now that he can eat eggs, Leo has discovered that he loves Ranch dressing and cookie dough.

neighborhood parade

another September to remember

Apples

We went back to the farm where we tried to pick apples last year but got there too late.  We got there early this year.  I'm not sure if we picked Evercrisp or Crimson Crisp.  Whichever variety they are, they are delicious!

apple cider slushies

Leo was the only one who enjoyed the sunflower field.

All the kids enjoyed the play area.

I made an apple cake which we used to remember my Grandma Grace (who Grace was named after) on her 100th birthday.  I think she would have loved it.

I also made an apple crisp.

We're bananas for apples over here.

birthday parties

Grace was invited to a birthday party every weekend in September.  They were trampoline, tie-dye, paint your own pottery and playground parties.  Lots of friends, lots of fun, lots of presents.

They boys were also invited to the paint your own pottery party.

Back to School Night

We had two Back to School Nights.  Middle School was first.

Leo's homeroom and math teacher

Harrison's homeroom and math teacher

This lucky teacher has both of the boys in her class, Leo for World Language and Harrison for Spanish I.

We learned a lot about the expectations for being in the STEM Magnet program.  The boys have to maintain a certain grade point average, participate in certain STEM clubs and extracurricular activities.  They are both in advanced classes, which are pretty tough.  It's been a process getting used to the teachers and workload. 

The next day Grace and I raced over to her school from a soccer game for the elementary open house.  We pretty much know everything about this school so we didn't stay long.  Grace is doing great, she loves her teacher, her teacher loves her and first grade is the best!

soccer starts

It's soccer season again and Leo couldn't be happier.

The Parks & Rec teams are assigned randomly so Grace is thrilled that two of her friends are on her team.  One of them also does gymnastics.

Her team has won both of the games they've played.

The boys' Parks & Rec team has only played one game (which they barely lost) and had a parents v kids game, which was a lot of fun, especially to watch!

Leo tried out for the middle school team.  He was the only sixth grader to make it and was a starter at the first game.  His team won and Leo scored a goal!

Harrison went to only one of the three-day school tryouts and decided he didn't want to play on that team.  However, a goalie position became available after the first game and Harrison was suddenly interested (after watching the first game) and now he's on the team, too.  Both of the boys played at the second game.  Unfortunately, their team lost.

Here's to a successful season filled with fun, friends, improvements, only minor injuries and being able to keep all the schedules straight.