Where did August go?

I cannot believe that this month of August has nearly ended. The old cliche, "time flies when you're having fun" partially applies here. Were we having fun, exactly? Yes. Sometimes.

Here is an update:

As a diversion from the oppressive summer heat and the inability to play much outside, Dylan and Amelia spent time with some markers. Notice where Dylan stored his when he couldn't find the cap (it was on the back of his marker, by the way).

And Amelia decided that coloring on paper just isn't that interesting.

For much of the summer, post swimming lessons, Amelia and Dylan would agree to change from their pajamas by about lunch time. Sometimes, when the lounging was really good, it was later.

The Richardson cousins visited. Kassie is pictured here with Amelia and Abby. Tommy, Marcus, and Jared were napping when I actually managed to pull out my camera and snap a few. Katherine and my mom helped to watch all of these crazy kids during the last week of July--I echo Katherine's sentiment: were there really just eight children or 20?

Kassie and Abby were both wearing Amelia's swimming suits. We had to roll the bottom portion of Kassie's suit to keep it over her barely-there bum. If she moved wrong, the bottoms just slipped right off.

And Jacob, with his usual theatrics, and a size 24-month swimming suit that also miraculously fit his barely-there bum, played Darth-Vader-Poseidon and sprayed the girls with water from the slip-n-slide.

Dylan thought this was all very funny, but abstained from his sister's and cousins' antics.

And here's Abby, with her typical fashion model pose.

So, then the first day of kindergarten arrived for Amelia. She was so excited to wear the outfit she chose and use her new back pack. She has since worn two pony tails of varying heights and lengths to school every single day.

When asked what her favorite part of Mrs. Giroux's kindergarten is, she replies, "the homework." She has very little, and it often consists of the pages she scribbled on rather than finished during class. But her teacher assures me that when Amelia is focused and attentive, she really does know a great deal. This is comforting. Something is getting through those pony tails.

Dylan really wanted to go to school with his sister. He kept asking for her the first few days that she was gone.

And this is what Evan did to make himself Dylan's favorite parent. I just cannot play horsie with the same gusto or jostling as Evan provides. Now Dylan constantly wants to "Go fo wide?"

And how can we refuse?