BACK TO SCHOOL PHOTOS

All five together. That littlest one just would NOT cooperate ...

Emily -- always so thrilled with the suggestion of a photo session with Mom.

Marci -- my sparkly-eyed one! May be the last tin grin we see ... let's hope!

Jared -- A bit blurry -- I'll have to try again tomorrow.

Briella -- last Saturday for soccer with "crinkle hair." We had time to do little braids Friday night. Fun fun.

Briella today with her natural hair :) On the hammock -- a favorite spot.

Titus -- a photo just before we left Iowa -- at the pond near Chip's, Ankeny, Exit 90.

Well, today was the official beginning of our school year. It is also the most unorganized and therefore I feel horrible about how we're starting out. Please do not come over. Maybe that means we will only get better as the fall progresses! I blame it on a busy month of travel in August. I also confess to just not wanting to shuffle books around in my basement while the sun is shining and my garden is calling. So, there, I'm just not the enthusiastic homeschooling mom you thought I was, am I?!? Sigh. Structure and routine is good, once you are resigned to it. I am now becoming more resigned to it and all the growth it produces.

I am excited about our Sonlight books. We are reading our read-alouds and everybody loves them. Well, Titus isn't paying full attention, but that's okay. We've been reading on the sunny deck and snuggling the kitties at the same time. Titus has been riding his bike or playing with sticks or ... stepping in a fresh pile of you-know-what. Sidney doesn't go in the woods, in case you still don't know.

Jared and I picked blueberries this afternoon. There aren't many left, but I bet we have a quart sweetning on the dining room table this evening. We'll have fresh ones with breakfast before I bag them up. I made bread for the first time since June, I bet. We had mashed potatoes earlier this week, so I had some fresh sour dough to use up ... plus the incentive of being totally out of bread and too tired to run to the grocery! Marci had the fun task of kneading the dough for me. I think she enjoyed it and it turned out very yummy :). I timed it -- about 10 minutes to mix the "sponge." Marci kneaded & cleaned for at least 15 minutes. I punched the dough & loaded the pans in 2 minutes -- no kidding! Baking doesn't count, because I could multi-task. Taking the bread out of the oven, buttering it & washing bread pans took about 15 minutes. I think that's at least equal to the hassle of running to the grocery for bread! Well, the superior taste of warm bread makes it worth it! Now ... to have some fresh applebutter next month...