Avery's First Day of First Grade

This was me laying beside her the night before. 

She could not sleep. 

Fill her belly with waffles.

Do her hair with a comb and a spray bottle.

One with Andrew.

Shiny new shoes that I don't have to tie. 

Her teacher is the best. 

I am so happy that the 7 hours she is at school will be a quality 7 hours.

Mrs. Shapiro.

But that's a lot of hours! I don't really think they need to be gone that long.

I could tell she was feeling very nervous and reluctant for me to go.

As I was about to leave, she held on to my arm and stuttered, "I just...I..."

and I assured her that she was with great people, and I would be thinking of her all day, and I would be there when she got home. 

She immediately let go, and nodded.

 "ok". 

August

August is a weird month.

We act like it's still summer, but at the same time watch the instas of kids going to school all over the country, buy our school supplies, all that.

I have so much on my mind this month. It's all up there simmering and stewing. Like, does our family consist of three kids or four? I can't decide, and it's taking over my brain.

Also, Allegiant is continually breaking our hearts by taking away the elements that procure a good quality of life. And really, QOL is the whole reason we are at this company. I add that to the brain stew.

I was looking for my patriarical blessing the other night...I haven't read it in years...and it wasn't in any of the places I thought it would be.

I asked Jim if he knew where it was. "Check my Portuguese Book of Mormon. That's where I keep mine."

Since we moved, and plan on moving again in less than a year, we have kept lots of stuff boxed up and stacked in the garage. So I walked out to the garage, knowing the Portuguese BoM is somewhere in one of those poorly marked boxes. I pretty much just picked a box, unburied it, and dug around in it.

And there was his O Livre De Mormon. With my blessing inside. First box. 
I know it was a special little miracle just for me.

So I read my blessing, and no specific question was answered, but I did find comfort in the words "let love prevail and dominate in your home." So that's what I'm gonna try and do for now.

Anywayyy.
Here are some other August-y things we have been doing...passing the time before school starts.

Our fun friends in primary:

Larsen, Black, Black, Larsen

Wild blackberry picking on a Sunday afternoon.

Hovander Homestead. This is my favorite park I think.

Animals, demonstration garden, tractors, playground...

Blueberry picking at least once a week. The Upick season ends next week.

But you know what? I'm getting sick of berries. Mother nature knows when it's time to move on.

C Shop.

Taking our new boat for a spin.

I took the kids to a splash pad at this park thinking they would just cling to me the whole time. 

Nope. They had a blast splashing around. Loved it.

Avery was playing around with the self timer on the camera one day. I love Andrew's photo bomb.

Evan loves to get "trapped".

Ssshhhh. Puzzles. 

I know I shouldn't be doing puzzles when the sun is shining, but I can't help myself.

Avery made us go out and take a family photo with the timer. 

I like it.

Mt Baker::Bagley Lakes

This was our last summer shee-bang before school starts.

 

Mt. Baker

Mt. Shuksan

Evan slipping around on a glacier.

 

 

They were fighting.

We hiked around Bagley Lakes.

It was easy and beautiful.

*but not without whining. 

 

Snack break. Dip your toes in the water.

He was tired.

She was tired.

 

And now we are officially ready for school.

PNE::The Vancouver Fair

It's the best day of my kids' life when they get cotton candy.

This is the main reason we came to the fair...

To sit The Iron Throne.

Yarn bomb.

We ended the day at the kid play area, waiting for the Princess Jubilation show to start.

Jimi took a nap on the grass, the kids played and painted.

It was a great ending to a tiring day at the fair.

You should have seen the canyon of great fair food. How does a person decide with all these choices? I've never seen anything like it.

Actually, this restaurant was the best ending to the day.

Vera's.

If you're ever in the British Columbia area, get yerself a burger there. It was awesome.

Also, I think my brothers would like the upholstery.