Fall In...

Another summer closes and autumn rolls in.. with that means the start of new school year and a bunch of birthdays.....


So Olivia enters 4th grade...


Kira goes into 1st...


and lo and behold our little Cooper is heading off to preschool ALL DAY.. loooooooves the bus ride each day... can you believe it?!?!? So we'll see how school itself goes, but if this rendition of the Pledge of Allegiance goes, I think things will be alright. Loves his Thomas back pack (thanks Aunt Kathy and Uncle Jerry)... but I think he could actually carry himself home in it. And he's just momma's little boy...


And our last (YES, I said LAST!!!) little boy stays with Miss Barbara for a little while longer.. it will be good for him to spend some time by himself and not be pushed around by his brother, but also kind of sad to be the last one there... Once Olivia was old enough, we always had 2 kids with Miss Barbara at once.. Olivia had Kira to transition, Kira had Cooper, and Cooper had Tae... so I do think he's a little shell-shocked... anyway, we move on...


So Kira had her 6th birthday ... she had a family party , got some wonderful new clothes and of course Justin Bieber ... then her 'Fancy Nancy' dress up party with all her wonderful school friends (no pictures for privacy reasons)... how much has changed here??? little older, same attitude.


And Cooper had his 4th birthday party... also got lots of cool stuff... and was just in heaven... Doesn't seem lie too long ago that this was how we remember him, does it??


Next up, Olivia = 10!!!! double digits for our little baby!!!


Well... alas, it wouldn't have been the unofficial end of summer without a great labor day party at Aunt Cathi's summer house (thanks Great Aunt Carol and Uncle Ed)... kids enjoyed the park - climbed rock walls, hit the slides, rode the teeter-totter and then we watched the sun go down.... down.... down.... and then out... quiet ride home...


The boys got to meet their very new friend, Jack, and had a great time at the Holt picnic. And all the time we get questions about Cooper and Tae being twins (I get the Asian connection, but really??) I digress.. the reason I mention it is just looking at Tae and Jack makes me think family ties much more, don't you think? Prior to the Holt picnic, the boys also got a chance to spend some nice time with Uncle Ron and their cousin Bradley... real fun playing on the gym set right on the beach.. really cool... Cooper in his best Land's End pose.. and Tae just going right after anything he can climb on.... the boy with NO FEAR!!!

And what would end of summer/ early fall be without a hurricane... or at least the threat of a hurricane... Earl the dud!!! But the kids enjoyed an afternoon over at the beach seeing the lightly rough surf... girls challenged the water's edge and the boys content with digging (as always).. and actually spending a little time together. Of course, Tae figures since we are at the beach, it's time to take his shirt off... and then he decides he will play bird whisperer.

So as I leave you with the remaining pictures, you may notice a few pictures from Susan's trip to Las Vegas that she took with her mother for an International Living seminar... International living you say??? sounds crazy I know, but sometimes you have to think about the future a little... I cannot say much right now.. but a few trips abroad will give us some more insight... maybe Costa Rica??? maybe Panama??? who knows...

Well, as I mentioned I leave you with the end of summer/ early fall slide show.... enjoy.....

Talk later,
S