september was

Summer is indeed over and we have quickly adapted to our new/old school year routine. School, soccer and swim lessons have all started up again and so our weeks carry with it a familiar rhythm of moving from one to the other on the same nights and days, week after week. This year though Felix has started soccer for the first time, with Sam as his coach, and Henry and Walter have moved up in the league to where their division requires both Saturday morning games and Monday night practices. Swim lessons have amazingly worked out to be in the exact same time slot for the three different classes, Tuesday and Thursday nights. Both the big boys have nightly reading requirements and all three boys take lunches to school now ... so each evening has their own rhythm and routine as we wind down the day and I prepare for the morrow. Shorts and shirts have been put away, vests and jackets brought up again, the garden has been turned over, the leaves are changing, the car is cold when we get in at 8:05am, and the dark mornings and evenings are growing longer and longer each day. Our favourite season is finally here! September is also the start again of our family birthdays, with three months straight of cakes and candles and celebrations. Sam turned 42 mid-month, on a rather lonely Monday this year where he had to work his usual two jobs long into the night. And Henry turned 7 just today with Walter turning 6 in only two more days, their joint all-boys birthday party planned here for the weekend. So you can imagine that this is the ultimate week of cakes as I want to make sure each boy feels special on their day of days. So ... September ... thank you for a good, good month. It always feels like a new year as school begins again and the relaxation and heat of the summer is replaced with routine and cozyness. I've always loved that.

first day smiles

last week

The beginning of school is so close we can feel it! One more week of summer holidays and so our events and our energy are winding down now. Looking back it's been a very fun and full summer, even though we didn't even leave the Island (and I'm thankful for that!) and we've certainly had a lot of home days (I don't mind a bit). After our camping trip my sister and her whole family came over from Vancouver for a few days ... though we were smart and didn't actually have them all stay with us in our tiny house, ha. They were in a hotel downtown which worked out really well and we did have Isla and Eden sleep over the first night for some extra special cousin time. It's so fun now that Grey is walking around and joining everyone - we've got a right proper set of six now. Walter especially is completely smitten with Baby Grey and loved on him as much as he could, as Walter always has a soft spot for most anyone smaller than him.

Mabel celebrated her very first birthday last month - the boys have literally been waiting since November for her special day! My parents came over for a weekend to stay with the boys while Sam and I had 2 nights away at a local hotel, a late 12th anniversary treat. Hot days at the beach, pajama mornings at home building towers and drawing superheroes, Ninja Camp for Henry and Walter at the Rec Centre, Nature Camp for Felix on the same mornings, 3 days spent up at Nana and Grandad's while I stayed home by myself and scrapbooked like crazy, evenings going biking around our high school track, a full afternoon labelling new school supplies, having friends over for supper and getting our fill of newborn snuggles, and even this morning ... the boys made their entire breakfast all by themselves, a very first for all of us! They did a fantastic job, working together and not fighting about anything. They had so much fun doing that and I was honestly so proud of them. Bit by bit, more freedom for me and more responsibility for them.

We just found out who Walter's two teachers will be this year (actually different than Henry's last year, which was a surprise for all of us) and so on Friday he and I are going in to school to find his desk, introduce ourselves to his teachers and hug his best friend who is also in the same class. (Yay!!) Then one last long weekend and then ... Tuesday. The beginning of Preschool, Grade 1 and Grade 2. Haircuts are on the list this week plus getting my camera and outfits and yearly signs ready for our first day photos. It's another end and another beginning. I'm thankful for all the wonderful memories from this summer but happy knowing it's time for us to get back into a schedule, with school and friends involvement every day. I know they've missed both. And I know I'm r-e-a-l-l-y tired of the fights and littlest brother shrieks and the whining and the bugging and the close quarters for 10 weeks. Summer is good but, people, it is too long!

So here's to our last week of summer holidays ...!