Final Days of Summer

I've been pleasantly surprised by how smooth the transition back to school has been for all of the Kennedys. Most days, Emmy will ask "What are we doing a-day?" I think she became a bit accustomed to our summertime adventures. Luckily she is mostly satisfied when the answer is "school", but then I also try to add in anything we might be doing in the evening: a neighborhood walk, a visit to the library, or out to dinner. Now that we are back in the habit of weekday alarms and carefully choreographed evenings, the weekends are precious once again as we get extra time to spend together as a family. Two weekends ago, we went to Asheboro to celebrate our niece Whitlee's 1st birthday. Ellison and Emerson continue to bond, being the cousins closest in age and only three months apart. The girls loved screaming and running in the driveway as the boys attempted to play a game of basketball. We will be together again with the Kennedys this coming weekend for Labor Day and to celebrate Paw Paw's birthday. Yay for more cake! :)

This past Saturday was rainy allll day. After sleeping in, we went out into the yucky weather with Emmy wearing her purple rain boots for the first time. She was a little upset when they did in fact get wet, but luckily her tears didn't last too long. Our big adventure of the day was going out to brunch at a place called Dame's Chicken and Waffles in Greensboro. I've wanted to try this restaurant for a while, and it did not disappoint! I got the Quilted Buttercup, a chicken cutlet in between two sweet potato waffles with a maple-pecan shmear (their name for the buttery spread that comes with their waffles), and Boomer got the Buff Brahmas, two wings and a cutlet with a blueberry waffle and the vanilla-almond shmear. I had a side of potato salad, Boomer got the mac-n-cheese, and Emmy sampled a little bit of everything! She particularly like pouring her own syrup, much to Mommy and Daddy's chagrin. Everyone was a little sticky at the end of the meal! I love the picture of Emmy's profile as she concentrates on stabbing another bite of waffle. 

The fall sports season kicked off last week, and Boomer had several late evenings either at the volleyball court or football field. No doubt we will soon be replacing his dress shoes once again! When Boomer is working late, Emmy and I have some girl time but generally follow the same routine of dinner, bath, books, and bedtime, just as when Daddy is home. Emmy has been doing really well in her new class at school and has been rewarded most days with a lollipop when I pick her up. The stricter side of me wishes the lollipop could wait until after dinner, but usually Emmy has the paper ripped off and the sucker in her mouth before we even make it to the parking lot. Here is the lollipop collage (and a bathtime photo!) that I sent to Boomer this past week!

Emmy is still spending some time with her previous teachers, Ms. Jewell and Ms. Melissa. Often the teachers will shift among the different classes depending on the time of day. At pick-up one day, Ms. Jewell gave me this old paper from Emmy's last class. I got a little sentimental seeing the pictures of a younger Emmy -- and pictures of the now-MIA Bobby and baby. It is still a mystery where these two are, somewhere in Star we think!

I also get sentimental seeing something like this in the mail. I've held onto this silly postcard for several days because I am still just so excited to see the address line to "Dr. Robert Daniel Kennedy!" 

With football on the tv again and the evenings getting darker, we are closing out the final days of summer. I'm always a little sad at the end of a season, but we have a very full and fun fall ahead!