Bright, Sun-shiney Days

After we arrived home from Utah, the rest of August flew by in a blur of sunshine-y days.

Our tomato crop was pretty good this year!

Watering the window boxes became a coveted chore during the summer months

And then it was time for school to start up again!

I spent months trying to decide whether Abby should go back to public school this year. Back and forth, over and over again, I just did not feel good about either decision. Finally, on the first day of school, we kept her home and I finally felt at peace. I am so glad we did another year of homeschooling. I have loved it.

First time Thomas wrote his name!

We have all loved the safety class we hold every other week. I was lucky to stumble on this excellent curriculum, it has covered far more than I would ever have thought of on my own.

Another excellent thing we recently stumbled on: this trail! Actually it's the C&O Canal towpath, which we walk on pretty frequently, but on this particular Sunday we started at a different place and, to our surprise, crossed the river parallel to the train tracks and ended up in Harper's Ferry. It was a lovely, beautiful surprise, and we loved exploring it.

And home again, home again, for stories that night.

We squeezed in another day trip to the lake before Labor Day weekend.

And when we were done swimming and playing, we hiked to the waterfall (which turned out to be pretty disappointing, but the hike was pretty).

We visited the Toy Train Museum in Charles Town and took a ride on their little train.

And explored a new playground.

And Lydia helped with chores, as usual.

And that was the end of August!