Little Expeditions as Fall Starts

It seems like I can't fight Fall any longer. I dreamt last night that I decided to to swimming one last time and the water was just too cold. We're getting back into our homeschooling routines, and my husband is back into working his evening shift. Next week I'll be starting my new job and soon returning part time to my old job as well. Is it time for Pumpkinfest yet? {Sigh.} My good friend Jennifer and I went out last night for a bit. She had a gift certificate waiting to be used, and so we hit the scrapbook store and had some Mexican food. She is an awesome person. We disagree on things like politics, but she is super generous and fun, on top of being a super talented scrapbooker! Check out her blog for some inspiration.

I got these stickers at the store - can't wait to use them - I will have to challenge myself to post a project using them within the next week!

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Summer Isn't Over (aka Wishful Thinking)

The truth is, I hate these first couple weeks of September. It means summer is over, and the temperatures start to cool enough to remind me that before long I'll be paying the dreaded heating bill again. Even worse, my husband goes back to work at night, and it's another long, lonely academic year before I get him back for evenings in May through August. For the next couple weeks the fun Summer outings have dried up, but the fun Fall outings haven't started yet. Back to school for me means the phone ringing between 5 and 6 am, and even with my new job, I'm going to have to answer the call one or two days a week. In honor of pretending this isn't all imminent, I'm posting the Summer Dotee I made.

This was the fifth dotee I've made and was for a swap. I really enjoy making these, but now that summer is ending, and I'll have so much to do, I think I'm going to have to finish the last couple swaps I'm in and take a break. I have so many creative projects I'd like to do, like Christmas presents, some painting, and of course lots of scrapbooking, I think I'm going to need to focus a bit. The one thing that cheers me up is that Brownies starts back this coming Wednesday! Nothing cheers me up like a dozen adorable little girls making plans to rule the world!

There are so many great Fall homeschooling opportunities! It has turned into one of my favorite seasons since I've been a mother. We went to the Big E, apple and raspberry picking, to the pumpkin patch, a corn maze, a pumpkin festival, we designed and built a Halloween costume together, carved our jack-o-lantern, made pumpkin cream pie, trick-or-treated, etc. And as homeschoolers, we try to make each activity educational, from talking about the life cycle of plants, and to life skills like cooking and using landmarks to find your way.

Esme just finished her first long writing project using the complete writing process, from brainstorming to publishing. She wrote about The Big E and did a wonderful job. I would definitely say it was strong third grade work. She's also been plugging along in Math - she has a lot to do this year, so she and Ethan are working hard to stay on task and even get a bit ahead.

We're very proud of our girl!

Pumpkin Time and Jumping in the Hay

Every year we take Esme to the same spot to choose a pumpkin for our jack-o-lantern. Today she learned that pumpkins are actually a fruit and that the average pumpkin weighs twelve pounds. Last year was the first time she was big enough to jump in the hay pile, and today she had it all to herself. I think that was her favorite part!