Hot August

 August has come and gone.  And even though it's still 100 degrees outside, school has started and Summer is officially over.  August brought some good memories though - Isaac's birthday, meeting cousins at the beach, trips to the museum, the splash park, the pool, and Monkey Joes. We buckled down with jobs and practicing in August, but we also played hard too.  We made more messes than we cleaned and spent more time at the pool than at the piano. We stayed up late and tried (me) to sleep in. Our bookshelves and board games were in constant disarray. And sometimes we drove each other crazy. But, despite the chaos, it was nice to be home. . . together. . . all month long.  August was a good month.  Hot!  But good.

Occasionally the temperature dropped below 100 and the kids gravitated outside.  Sometimes I watch them play and I think how lucky they are to have built-in friends - and enough to have teams! 

The only way to really survive a Texas summer though is with water.  We headed to the neighborhood pool most days, but we also made do with the hose, sprinklers, water-blasters, and kiddie pool in the backyard.

Love these two "mermaids"

Eliza and Lydia started a gymnastics class together.  Eliza (missing dance) is teaching Lydia all her ballet moves.

Ballet quickly morphed into scraggly-haired cheerleading when the boys brought out the football.  They are in heaven now that football season has begun!  Go Cougs!

When Isaac sat out with an injury, the girls doctored him up by clipping his flags to his hair.  He felt much better after that.

We cleaned out a few cupboards and drawers (mostly due to the ant invasion).  We got rid of our mountains of AR stars collected over the years.  Isaac at least wanted a picture of the 63 stars he earned in 3rd grade - a school record.

Clayton headed to 11-year-old scout camp in August.  He loved the diving especially and came back very sunburned.

I took the kids out to eat for Isaac's birthday.  Did I mention it's really HOT outside?  So the kids ordered hot chocolate. . . 

PTO meetings began in August.  The kids were good sports to tag along to meeting after meeting.  Here we are setting up for the Back-to-School teacher breakfast.  

I loved the table settings - so clever.

There was plenty of time for dress-ups in August.  Isaac is showing Eliza how to be a pilot.

When it comes to theatrics. . . she and Isaac are right up there with the best of 'em!

Basketball.

Birds.

Butterflies.

Milk mustaches.  Brig sure loves his chocolate almond milk.

Eliza is the queen of projects.  She says so herself.  She is always making things for other people too which is something I love.  And she doesn't just draw (like I always did).  She cuts, tapes, glues, ties, paints, colors, and folds.  She's a multi-medium (multi-mess) kind of gal. Here is a picture of mermaids swimming away from a "sea-worm" for Lydia.

A pair of rabbits taped on our bedroom door for Nate and me.  (if only she knew what this really implies)

And three girls with bows for her three best friends.

She draws stories too which are quite hilarious.  In this picture the bride is running away from the groom who is chasing after her hollering, "waaaaat Fr me".

The boys saved up their money this summer and purchased these battle-bots.  The dialogue alone during their battles was enough entertainment for my entire summer.  Love these boys!

Isaac taught a class on sword-fighting in August.  The girls signed up immediately.

They got pretty good.

Eliza decided she likes practicing in August - after I discovered the magic of chocolate chips!

Our house was a constant "fort" all month long.  I started getting used to all our chairs disappearing.

Clayton taught Lydia how to play checkers in August.  He also discovered the magic of chocolate chips.

Our August was full of reading. Isaac read 37 books and almost 7,000 pages this summer alone. The kid is like a black hole when it come to reading.  Eliza set up a "princess library" on our couch day after day.  For whatever reason, she insists that these particular books look like "princess books".

Of course, she also insists that putting her pink blanket on her head makes "princess hair".  Eliza and Lydia were lucky to have lots of big-brother reading teachers this summer.  

Clayton wins the award for awesomeness in August.  He cleaned and organized our garage.  Not a small task by any means.

We spent many late afternoons at the pool in August.  We've graduated from the baby pool finally!!!

We also had fun at the park.

I adore this picture of the girls playing "school" with their dolls on the stairs.  Eliza is a charming teacher.

Brig spent August with an animal of some sort in his hands or pocket.

And, because of the heat, Eliza requested this hairstyle. . . a lot.  So much that the boys started calling her Princess Leia. Which, of course, she loved.

Here's to a happy, bright, and sunny August.  What a fun and messy month you were!