Go, Go, Goers!

We visited our most favorite apple orchard last Sunday (Fireside in Northfield), and Darren gave us a grand tour of the property in his side-by-side. He kept giving G apples to eat... at last count, G had five different apples! The weather was perfect, and it was lovely to do something as a family, especially since we've been so scattered lately. G loves the Koi pond! They have a fantastic rose garden, and it was blooming so nicely last weekend. G was taking the camera from Arya, and a bug came flying around him. They also managed to take photos of the shadow's action shot at the same time. Ha! Special tour! We were able to peek into their cold room (?) where there were SO many apples waiting for the next step. This represents only a small percentage of what was in the room. Brand new to the orchard this year is the barrel train. One of the employees painted all of the barrels (you can only see two here), and Tiff was the lucky driver today. It was the fifth warmest September o...

Whoa! It's been a minute since I posted anything. But, I'm ok with that. We are deep in a season of busy activity.  The RHSMB performed in their first competition at a neighboring high school on Sept 6, and they did great! They captured several caption awards, as well as the highest score of all bands at the festival. It's nice to see them kick off the season with such a strong showing. Happy to be sitting by friends and family on a really chilly evening! The following weekend was our turn to host the festival. Over 2100 performers, and between 3000-5000 spectators descended on our high school for one of the largest festivals in the region. And it went great! It was a warm day, but no rain. I volunteered at the high school on Friday to help prepare for the event. Then, my mom and I volunteered at the check-in table on Saturday morning and afternoon. I went back several hours later to help with garbage duty (yuck.) But no one had signed up, so another band mom and I took one...

Early this morning, I woke up with a sense of panic. You know, the kind where you have a pit in your stomach, your heart is beating fast, and you just *know* that something bad/sad is going to happen? Upon reflection, I had a dream in which I was looking through an old notebook that Arya had drawn in while she was growing up. Numerous small drawings showcased the progression of her artistic talent, allowing you to see how it developed. These are real notebooks...I have one that I use for work, and the last few pages are her scribbled drawings from early elementary school. I do believe that I'm grappling with the fact that she's got one more year left at home before she leaves for college. I'm happy and excited for the next phase of her life, but I will miss her so much. I know she has every intention to come back home over the holidays, summers, etc., and maybe even when she's done at school. She knows that she always has a place with us, regardless. I also realized tha...

And summer has officially come to an end. The kids both went back to school this past week. It's the first time that G had to go back before Labor Day, so that was a mind shift for us. It was a bittersweet day, knowing that this was the start of Arya's final year with us and G's first year of middle school. They're growing up, as it should be, but it still stings a bit. One day we won't have an empty nest... We'll have healthy birds who have left the nest! I'm focusing on the positive instead of dwelling on how quickly things are moving here. G's refocused his future on becoming a lawyer. With his debate skills and quick wit, this could serve him well! For the first time, she was truly locked in on a future career...the elementary art school teacher portion will start next year at RF! From Kindergarten to senior year! I was a little sad knowing this is the last time I will fill this out for Arya. Healthy birds, healthy birds, healthy birds...this will be...