Peace is..

The month is flying by and the days are filled with routines that go along with school and work- preparing lunches/snack, laundry, spelling lists and the torture that ensues from them, getting clothes ready for the next day, signing daily communication logs, etc. Honestly the three of us have all been asleep before 9:00 almost every night since school started.  The weekends are filled with lots of fun things here and there, and catching up on all the mundane to-dos that don't get done during the week.  The late summer weather has been ridiculously beautiful.  I haven't taken out the camera too often, but I did snap these the other day when this colorful girl who dressed herself came outside to help me hang clothes:

yup, Atticus went into the basket all on his own, and Beatrice thought it was just great.

Then she squatted and I saw this beautiful young lady right before my eyes:

Where have I seen her before, I wondered?

Could be up in the Sapa Valley from the hills of northern Vietnam?  She reminded me so much of the many photos I've seen of children from that area, so beautiful, so happy, dressed so colorfully.  She and the girl in the middle of this photo are kindred spirits!

One of the fun things we did last weekend was attend the dojo picnic and one of the members' homes.  On the way home, we noticed a police officer directing traffic and lots of attention at this convenience store, because the little ice cream shop inside, THE ICE CREAM LADY, was giving free ice cream on its last day open for the season. Apparently it's been an annual tradition for over a dozen years and we took part in it.  We were shocked because it wasn't just a free kiddie scoop of one or two kinds, but literally the entire ice cream menu, including $7 banana splits or brownie sundaes were free....whatever people wanted, any size, as many toppings as you'd like.  And not just to get people to go there and spend more money because there was nothing else to buy.  Anthony proclaimed it "the best day of his life" and it just had to be documented:

Last night was Putnam's Peace Day celebration at sunset and Beatrice kicked off the event with a poem she wrote about peace.  She did a bang-up job and unfortunately this photo is all we got of it.  The video didn't come out!

She loves being a helper, and Bea was the official greeter and hander-outer of these battery-operated candles:

A beautiful night indeed.  We hope that these events about social justice and exposure to awesome people who stand up and speak out about causes dear to their heart lead to a lifetime of involvement and activism:

Since the video didn't come out, I had her reread her poem once we got home.  It took three tries and she kept adding things at the end, but here's the best one I got:

WHAT IS PEACE?

PEACE is.....having fun.

PEACE is...........friends. 

PEACE is...letting people use your stuff.

PEACE is.................a wedding.

PEACE is......being nice to every living thing.

PEACE is.....knowing and loving everyone.

PEACE is.................JOY!

and here's the Princess who got her face painted at the Circle of Fun this weekend, looking oh so very much a big kid with that new smile that I just can't get used to!

3-day weekend

How quickly a mindset can change from being bummed about "only a week left" of summer vacation to being ecstatic about 3 days off!  Labor Day weekend is a treat at the beginning of the school year, a final glimpse of the joys of a carefree summer.  It started out right when Bea came home to a box with airholes in it awaiting her....the cheetah sponsorship kit finally arrived from National Zoo!  She very proudly saved $40 to send their way to adopt "Velma," and here is a replica of her:

We met Samm Friday night at the Woodstock Fair, where Bea collected four first place ribbons and one second this year!

Saturday, Truman, Hank and family came over and hung out for a while, and on Sunday we went to the Fulcos for a picnic.  Here's Bea stalking people with a water grenade, while Annalena and Forrest have fun in the kiddie pool.

Monday Beatrice helped Weezy decorate her house for fall, then we went to Quaddick for a swim. I'm sure there'll be more dips to cool off this week as the forecast is for back in the 90's.  

Grade 2

and this photo documents not only another first day of school, but the undone project on my summer to-do list of painting the garage.  Oh well....

ending the month with a bang

So in the last week off, we spent an afternoon with Tita Judy and family and enjoyed their pool, met the Durands for ice cream (no camera for that one), and

Bea and Anthony spent a day together seeing Minions and shopping. He found this great shirt at the Gap:

and then we headed to NJ for Joseph & Karel's wedding.  First stop was New Haven, to the Atticus book shop, the one thing Bea wanted to do all summer and we finally got to it.  Man she loves this place, and when the worker found out we drive 90 miles to get there, she gave Bea a free cookie.  No wonder she loves it:

We arrived Friday afternoon and got ready for the rehearsal dinner.  Big girl packed her high heels!

(and changed into flip flops after about an hour...)  Here she is with J.J. and Annalena having a blast:

Saturday, the BIG EVENT:

This couple and every aspect of the wedding took everyone's  breath away!

(have I mentioned the cuteness of the flower girls????)

Mary Jane and her baby:

I think Joseph coined this move "The Funky Tony:"

Tired girl who was cold from the a/c:

ahhh, summer 2015.  You wore us out, but boy it was fun....

It took more than a flashlight....

But those two front teeth that have been the highlight Bea's smile all summer are history!  I finally took her to the dentist today to get his opinion on them since they didn't seem to be progressing at all.  He proclaimed her mouth to be "a traffic jam" and left it up to me. What with the wedding coming this weekend, school starting, and her complaining more and more when brushing and eating, I decided it was time to get them outta there.  I had a very sad little girl on my hands when the word "shot" was spoken:

She pretty much freaked out.  The staff at the office came to the rescue with stuffies galore and promises of more trips to the "treasure chest."  I upped the ante with a bribe of a trip to Booklovers Gourmet to get the sticker book that I denied her last night when we were there.  It was pathetic (the adults' and my behavior I mean) but we did what we had to do.  I thought of the family legend of my Dad's parents bribing him with a flashlight to go to the dentist.  I always thought Memere and Pepere gave in to him, spoiled him, and that he was manipulative. Oh well.  I get it now Mem and Pep.

So here we are back home with the novocaine almost worn off,  lots of goodies in hand (one of which she gave me "for being so brave Mom", two teeth to stick under a pillow tonight, and a referral to an orthodontist!

I sort of miss that crooked smile of Summer '15 already!