The Final Countdown...

This weekend was the final countdown until back to school.  We spent it fairly quietly, as we were recovering from shouldering our way through the crowds at the Outlet Mall on Friday to finish up the school shopping.

J had her 2nd HS Soccer Game on Saturday - this one at home, so we all went to watch.  L actually served as ball girl.  Our team won handily.

 

This is the first year in a LOOOOONG time that I haven't been shuttling 2 girls to and from soccer practice and games this time of year, and the first time that we haven't had Soccer Sunday in 10 years!  Unfortunately, the County Soccer League didn't have enough girls for a team for L, and we are waiting on word as to whether she can practice with the Middle School Team and serve as Team Manager for a year before she is allowed to actually participate on the team.

We spent a couple of hours relocating the chicken run to the field of clover that I sowed in the Spring.  They have much more afternoon shade in this location as well.  The hens seem to be happy, and we are getting at least 20 small eggs daily!

Yesterday, L and I finished up a couple of projects that we meant to get to all summer, and the girls got their backpacks loaded up with all of their new school supplies.  I was super impressed that J did that without being asked, and also put away all of her new clothes, packed a lunch for today, and prepped her breakfast as well!  Maybe it's true that "With great power comes great responsibility."

L complained several times last night that she was not ready to go back to school, and that the summer was WAY too short.  Both girls commented that they didn't sleep well last night.  J is super excited for HS, L is pretty anxious about Middle School.  We'll see how they feel this afternoon!

 

All I can say is that it is amazingly quiet up the hill this morning.

Happy Back-to-School to all!

The Great American Eclipse 2017

We finished up our summer vacation this week, by taking a road trip down to SC.  No, we didn't go to the beach, although that would have been fun.  We went to see the solar eclipse in an area of totality, and that was awesome!

Since we left the house at 5:30 on Sunday morning, we were ready to turn in early that night.  We met up with JP's niece at our hotel, and she spent the night with us.

Around noon on Monday, we went to the local library, and sat in the air conditioning to read until around 2 PM.  Then we went outside to their good sized yard, where we found a spot near a tree so we could have a bit of shade (it's HOT in SC!)  We laid on a blanket and watched the earth's shadow slowly cover the sun.  It was amazing that we still had a decent amount of light, even though the sun was 95% or more covered.  The light was eerily flat, and the shadows were unusual.  The crickets began chirping as the darkness increased, and stopped again once the event was over.

 

JP took some really good photos...I'm just going to post them in sequential order.

After we got our fill of eclipse (although we are already planning for April, 2024), we headed north 3 hours to visit with JP's sister and family for a couple of days.  The girls got their cousin fix, and it was enjoyable to see their home and get our Carolina BBQ fix.

On the way home, we drove through Mt. Airy, and decided to stop at the Andy Griffith Museum.

 

 

We had a nice vacation, but it's good to be home.

Today we braved the crowds at the Outlets, and finished our back-to-school shopping.  J has a home soccer game tomorrow, and school starts for reals on Monday.

Whew...welcome to the real world!

More Summer

L & I have had lots of activities together this summer.  It has been nice to spend one-on-one time with her...something we've never really had the chance to do before!  We've done simple things like take a picnic lunch to a local park and play on the playground...

 

...or climb the trees.

 

We went mini golfing, but didn't get photo documentation.

Last week we went to a nearby village and museum with re-enactors from the late 1800's.  We had the chance to practice our atlatl throwing.

And of course, we've spend lots and lots of time in the car, driving J to and from work at the library.

L also FINALLY had her voice recital.  She did a great job, but looked extremely nervous.  She does not want me to post the video here...sorry.

 

All three of us spent a few hours at the county fair last week.  One of our favorite things, the petting zoo, was conspicuously absent this year.  We did manage to buy expensive food on a stick, and ride a few rides.

 

Today was J's last day of work, although she is returning tomorrow to volunteer for the final Summer Reading Club.  She has had extremely long days for the past 2 days...working 8 hours, and then going directly to 3 hours of soccer practice. She is getting home at 9:30 PM, eating dinner, showering, and going to bed.  This morning, she also had an appointment before work, so it was even longer.  Tomorrow she has a voice lesson after library, and then concussion testing prior to practice - another extremely long day.  Thursday she will finally have the chance to chill out during the day (I think!)  But, she has her first soccer game on Saturday!

The pullets began laying a couple of weeks ago, and now we are getting many beautiful brown and very small eggs.  Today I found 16!  I think that the pullets themselves are quite attractive.  We only have 6 old, balding hens any longer.

 

Summer is winding down, and I always start to feel a bit melancholy this time of year.  I will really miss the girls when they go back to school!  I'm sure that I will still have plenty of things to keep me busy, but I am happy to say that I managed to accomplish quite a few things that have been lingering on my To-Do list for years.

Here's to the final 2 weeks of summer.  Live it to the fullest!