birthdays and such

September is the month of birthdays around here.  For our immediate family, we celebrate five of them.  It starts with Tanner, then Grandpa Dave, Grandpappy and Auntie Beesie, and the birthday girl of all birthday girls -- Vivian.  The first round of celebrating was fun!

Between parties, I ventured to California (the beautiful island of Coronado, to be exact) for work.  It was a whirlwind trip and we managed to suck every ounce of fun out of it.  How could you not at a place like this?!

One of the highlights was visiting Miramar, the military base that used to house the Top Gun school and where part of the movie Top Gun was filmed.  While there, we got to meet some marines, tour aircrafts, meet some marines, eat dinner, and -- did I mention? -- meet some marines.  In all seriousness, it really was an amazing experience and reiterated the importance of supporting our troops....we saw only a glimpse of the life of the men and women who work on the base and serve our country, and it was humbling.

Back on the home front, we had a busy weekend that involved cheering for ten bands in the Waseca Marching Classic.

The drummers were loud.

Then we came home and caught some crickets.

And now it's time to buckle down and prepare for another week. And more birthdays!  Let the fun continue!

Class of 2026

Miles' first day of kindergarten was a great success!  Let's hope every day proves to be this good until June of 2026.  A few noteworthy items from the day....

Miles complained that it was too cold outside for pictures.  We convinced him to pull back the hood on his sweatshirt and cooperate for 2 minutes.  Deep down he liked the photo shoot.  It's obvious in those poses :)

Weston woke up with an upset tummy and stayed home for the day.  It did smell like he had nervous toots this morning, so maybe he was holding all of the anxiety for the rest of the family.  Regardless, he was still very excited to pose for some pictures and bring Miles to school.

That was the "nice" picture.  He's the "real" picture.

The grass was wet from dew as we tromped through it to get to this sign.  Miles grumbled and it immediately brought back memories from my first days of school....years ago.... The grass was just as wet then as it is now.  Amazing.

Part of the new routine involves leaving his orange folder in the "IN" box for Ms. Jen every morning.  It took a minute to finagle the zippers on his backpack, but Miles quickly figured it out and took care of business. This is also when he looked at me and asked why I was taking so many pictures.  It's a big deal, kiddo!

Then it was time to join the class!  They look like a sharp group!

Miles told us his favorite thing about kindergarten today was recess.  So it has begun... I suggested maybe reading or math, but he said no.  Today it was recess.  Okay!  We're excited to see what tomorrow brings. For now, he's fast asleep dreaming of his new friends and classroom....and maybe another treat. The girls at the ice cream shop went a little overboard.  They must have known we were in a mood to celebrate!