Indian Summer

I can't remember a September that has been so nice for so long!  We've been loving the sunshine and warmth, but it sure does make it tough to go to work (or school).  On one lovely afternoon, we had the pleasure of finally meeting my cousin, Lindsay's son Kai.  He is ten months old and the kids had so much fun with him.  He lives in Charleston, SC, but fortunately, for us, his grandparents (on his dad's side) live in Vermont.  Lindsay and Silas are great parents.  They seems so calm, cool and collected with their new role.

 

 

We got to get one more camping trip in.  This year we went to Branbury State Park (right on Lake Dunmore, near Middlebury).  The parents all got out for great mountain biking, the kids hiked to the Falls of Llana, swam in the lake, and did lots of biking.

Poor Cal had a terrible run in with a bee.  She had been drinking a smoothie, set it down, didn't put the top back on it, and when she went to take a sip later in the day, she had a horrible surprise. I'm not doing to lie, I ignored her cries, at first.  Having had a lot of tears from either or both of the kids this summer, I am starting to become immune/numb to their screams.  I've told them the story of the "boy who cried wolf" and recounted the story about me laying on the living room floor bleeding and crying for what seemed like hours (but was probably just 10-15 minutes) when I was four years old (because I cried all the time and my mom didn't even respond anymore).  Alas, this was one of those real cries because she'd been stung :o(  Her lip got huge, but she ended up handling it like a champ.

In other news, the kids had a great time at the High Meadow picnic with the College kids (Trek Leaders).  It continues to be so cool to see them so comfortably conversing and playing with all these great young adults. 

School is going really well for both kids.  Hazen is so, so happy at Poker Hill.  He is eager to go everyday and loves learning.  Cal is also, really happy.  She continues to love to read and is getting pulled out for some reading and math enrichment.  She gets herself put in the "thinking chair" quite a bit....... turns out she zones out and misses the teachers directions.  Not sure what is up with that.  I think she's pretty busy at school, so it's not uncommon for her to come home and do this for 1/2 hour just to unwind (which Hazey is building ramps for remote control cars or....... )

Routine!

It's bitter sweet!  The Abbott family had our last first day at Poker Hill School.  This has been such a special place for all of us.  It has introduced us to a community of amazing people and taught our kids how to be independent and autonomous and engaged.  Cally loved it from day one.  Hazen has been a little more reticent.  However, this year he is right back in his groove.  He's so happy to be back, he loves his teacher (Grace) and he's playing with other kids!  We can't wait to see what the year brings for him.

In other news, soccer season has begun.  It's still breaks up our weekend and makes for a hectic Wednesday.  But Cally and her peers really seem to be improving.  She is running towards the ball, kicking it towards the right goal, and excited to go to games and practices.

That said, she can still be seen, twirling around with a pinnie over her head and "spacing out" every now and again.  But it's a huge improvement from kindergarten soccer.

We are all getting used to the earlier mornings and the longer days, but so far everyone is falling into the groove really smoothly.  Because the kids don't see each other during the day, they are generally really happy to be together and get along.

Making Cookies for our new neighbors

 After passing like ships in the night for much of the last month, John and I managed to farm the kids out to various sleepovers and get away for a wedding!  We love weddings, but surprisingly, we haven't been to many together.  Therefore, it's always a treat to celebrate.

Rachel and Tyler were outing club kids who graduated about 5 years ago.  They live in Jericho, Rachel is a teacher and Tyler works for Backcountry magazine.  I wasn't sure how much fun I'd have at a "youngsters wedding", but it was a blast.  These guys love John and the experience they had at UVM.

We were only away for a night and since it was a three day weekend, we did get some great quality time with the kids. It was super hot, so the kids, Lila, and I went on a hike and stream walk at Mills River Park.  It was the perfect way to spend a 90 degree day!

 

Life is busy, but we are all getting back into our groove.  The kids make me smile everyday.  I love my jobs as a teacher, parent, partner, and friend.  It's all about balance and right now we are finding our sweet spot.

The Fair

I haven't been to the Chittenden County Fair in a decade.  We usually prefer to go to the Addison Country Fair or Tunbridge World's Fair-- they are a just a little more authentic and a tiny bit less "cheesey".  Really, they all have a certain familiarity and it is pretty fun.

          

Going for it on the alligator roller coaster

 Our friend Michael was visiting from Brooklyn and he and his son were looking to do something "different".  He did a little research and found out that there was a Monster Truck Rally at the fair the night we were there.  So we decided to go for it.   I'm really rather speechless about the whole experience...... It was, well, hilarious, ridiculous, and pathetic all at the same time.

Hazen didn't really know what to think.....

First Day of School-- New Neighbor, New Adventures

The most exciting thing happened a few weeks ago!  Cally and I have been talking about how cool it would be to have a friend who lived in the neighborhood behind our house for years.  She imagined being able to walk through Gary and Rose's yard to play with someone other than her brother.  Well, that dream became reality!  Lila Treines and her family moved into a house two houses away from Gary and Rose.  Lila and her dad came by to introduce themselves and the girls became immediate buddies.

It turns out, Lila is in Cally's first grade class, she loves reading, singing, drawing, and fairies.  She brother who is almost a year old, and she's super sweet.  Her dad is a teacher in Burlington and he mom is a day care provider who moonlights as a salesperson at the Gap.

The girls call each other all the time to play and they can walk back and forth between their houses so easily (Rose just requested that they tell her a joke every time they see her.  And, they are pretty good about including Hazen in the fun.

Lila was really nervous about taking the bus to school.  She moved from Winooski, so she didn't take the bus to school and walked.  She decided to walk to our house with her mom and brother and take the bus from the end of our driveway.  When the bus came, our happy-go-lucky lovely little gal lost it!  She cried, she screamed, she clung to her mother, she did not want to get on the bus.  But she did and Cal says she did stop crying pretty quickly.

Later that day, I saw this picture on Jericho Elementary School's Facebook page:

It's so great to see her showing empathy at an early age.  It's so great to have a friend for her who lives so close by.  It's a dream come true!

Dog Days of Summer

After a being on the move for much of late June and July, it has been nice to be home in Vermont.  Because Labor Day is "late" this year, the craziness of Trek was delayed a bit and John was able to spend some time doing some of the things he doesn't usually get to do, like Valley Stage-- a local, family friendly bluegrass festival:

Picnic time with the First kids

         

While John was gearing up for Trek, the kids and I put in some hard time at various pools.  Cally figured out how to make a hammock with a towel on a fence-- a cool place to hang during "adult swim" at Maple Street Pool.

We did manage to get to Circus Smirkus:

We also checked off another item on our summer "bucket list"-- cub bike races at Catamount

Rainbow Bike Race

Before everything started to get really busy, I got to get away with five of my favorite ladies and run the 100on100 relay.  And making it extra special, was celebrating Caroline's 40th birthday!  We ran through heat, humidity, and thunderstorms, but it was such a fun experience.

We met up with the Meyer cousins at Waterbury Reservoir for a fun day of beating the heat:

Underwater "boyagers"

        

Wrestling fun

 Once Trek training gets started, the kids look forward to several events-- their favorite being the dress up bowling night:

Amongst the chaos of Trek training and my school year starting off, we managed to host 8 house guests!  Our good friends Tim, Sophia, Beckett, and Iris passed through the area for a few days with their friends.  The heat was high, but we romped at North Beach and joined John's trek leaders at a BBQ on the beach.

Once John's trek students and leaders were in the woods, we took a deep breath and tried to get our ducks in a row for the start of the school year, no childcare for the kids (Tammy was away), and a drastic change in our "schedule".  I think we were all ready for a little more structure in our lives.  The kids were starting to fight more, they were wanting to see their buddies more, and I was also ready to settle into a routine again (although that usually takes a little while).

We did manage to do one last fun event before the first day of school.  The Cleary's, up the road, had a Pop Up Fire Show to raise funds for a trip to Burning Man in Nevada.  It was certainly an experience: