Toothless Grin

This is a more accurate representation of Mason at the start of 2nd grade. Top tooth gone and about to loose the other one. Tell me you can't help but smile back ;) I love his eyes when he really smiles. Oh my heart.

His second day went great.

1st day, 5th and 2nd Grade

Our morning felt more rushed than I would have liked, but went smoothly with no complaints or hints of nervous jitters. Owen is a "safety" on the bus this year, so he CAN'T miss it. They rarely rode the bus in the morning last year because it was just as easy for EJ to take them on his way to work. This will be an interesting change once the novelty wears off.

I will have to take a 2nd day of school photo of Mason b/c tonight he lost his top tooth. 

 

Four 5th graders at the bus stop this year.

The littles and I went shoe (for them) shopping (thanks Mim!)

 
I kinda forgot about a "special" snack and dinner for that matter ;) Thankfully our family scored the leftover smore items from our recent beach trip. Kind of a weird snack on a 99degree heat wave.

 Apparently I need to work on my questioning skills. I was attempting to hear about their days. Ha!

A lot more was shared over dinner. I guess they just needed some time. They had good days. No complaints. Owen has the same teacher as last year so the learning curve is easier. Mason is pretty excited to have a few buddies in his class.

Getting back to the routine is PAINFUL. I miss our summer pace.

Family Gathers

Before heading home, we had the privilege of celebrating my Great Aunt's 85th birthday with some family I haven't seen in a LONG time. The Fogartys were the first to arrive (shocker) and took a few family photos with these two fun backdrops. Mason took this photo ;) I got a good one of all four that I won't share just yet ;) 

 Silly brothers

Silly Avery

The birthday girl with her 2 nieces, nephew and their spouses.

Their kids

And their kids' kids

All 5 (EJ included) slept on the way home Sunday afternoon! I enjoyed the peaceful drive home :)

Mountain Top High

We spent part of the Labor Day weekend with my parents at their mountain house. Their house is on the golf course so Ryan's highlight was searching the backyard for golf balls. He and I went by ourselves :) It was like an Easter egg hunt. He was thrilled to find 5!

 

We also spotted some wildlife

 

a doe and mama deer

 

We spent some time at the pool. Nothing like a mountain side pool view.

  

"extreme" ping pong, aka no real rules apply

 
My sister's family was there too. Uncle Alex was asked to drive Mason's car at the go-carts. Mason isn't old enough to go solo.

Ryan chose to bounce instead of race.

My parents also treated us to a bluegrass concert. It was a gorgeous night to be out. 

The kids enjoyed a bit more grandparent spoiling with dessert treats.

What a wonderful end to our summer!

OBX, Fond Memories

These great pictures showed up in my inbox from Courtney. I LOVE them. Her beach post fills in a lot of my gaps. I didn't take nearly the amount of pictures I normally do.

I am wishing we could go back to the beach. I don't want to send 2 of to school tomorrow. The summer days are exhausting for me, but I wouldn't trade them. Compared to last summer, with a trip to China and then helping a "stranger" learn about life and love in our family, this summer was a breeze. We've had a super fun weekend, but tomorrow morning is coming and it's going to be a rude awakening for all of us.

These couples are such a gift to us and our kids. Left to right, Brian and Peyton, Pat and Courtney, us, Cary and Leah, Tim and Chari.
Both these little girls have 3 brothers ;) Tim and Chari's daughter, Cora, and Avery enjoyed their girl time. I can't wait to watch their friendship blossom over the years.

I still love watching these two together. Joshua and Owen, pretty much side by side the whole week. And their phone calls to each other are becoming a little more regular. Of course it's strictly sports talk ;)