Hello there, Autumn, my old friend...

Yay!  Fall has officially arrived!  As unoriginal as it is, this is part of my favorite time of year.  There is nothing like the time between now and New Year's.  The air is crisp, my creativity is bursting, people are cheerier, the atmosphere is festive, the earth is getting ready to renew itself...  Springtime is seen as nature's regeneration, but I think Autumn, with its vibrant glory, is its celebration.


Smarty pants!

 **Bragging corner**  Okay, I am giving you a warning now:  I am going to do some proud bragging right about here.  Before it makes you roll your eyes or want to throw up, skip this paragraph.  But I am going to do my boasting anyway.  :)  This week we had our first parent/teacher coference.  In preparation for this conference, the pre-schoolers were given a simple assessment test just to see where they were at.  Hannah did AWESOME!  She recognized all but two of her capital letters, all her lowercase letters, all of her single-digit numbers, and identified all of the shapes.  She was the ONLY student to do that with her lowercase letters and numbers.  Do you think Mensa allows 4 year olds???  :)  At the end of our conference we also got her progress report.  The school grades skills with numbers; a 3 means mastery, 2 means developing well, and 1 means needs improvement.  Hannah got all 3's and 2's!  Mrs.. Porterfield says Hannah is verrry smart.  We are so proud of her!

Here are some highlights of the week:

• Airy has turned into Momma's little helper.  This week she helped sort laundry and put clothes away.  She had so much fun putting the clothes away, she started taking all of her clothes out of the drawers, putting them in the laudry basket, then put them away again.
• One day I couldn't find Airy.  After calling for her, she marched into the family room with her waterbottle.  I thought I had left it for her on the kitchen table.  However, when I walked into the kitchen, the refrigerator door was wide open!  She figured out how to open the door and get her own water.  We really have to watch out for this one.  :)

• After Hannah came home from school on Tuesday, we had an impromptu fashion shoot.  Work it girls!
• Hannah told me, "Momma, when we were sitting down, Dylan came and flipped my hair for no reason."  I looked at Josh and said, "You know what that means."  He does not like this development at all.  Hannah also told me that Damien told her she is pretty.  I have a feeling Josh won't like that either.  You know what he'll like the very least?  One of the boys also asked Hannah for a kiss as he was leaving after school.  Luckily for us, Hannah retorted with a strong no. 
• Hannah's class had a cookie taste test.  I wish my science classes were like that.  Oreo won.  Of course!
• Hannah told me one morning, "Momma, these clouds look questionable."  Questionable?  Hehe...where does she come up with this stuff?
• One night Hannah brought my InStyle fashion magazine with her to bed so she could look at the clothes and the models.  When we were at the store, I showed her Vogue and told her it was full of fashion.  She begged and begged for it.  How many 4 year olds do that?

• Airy had the best time reading her new book with her Daddy.  These are the moments that make life beautiful.

To commemorate the end of summer, here is a little slideshow of our Fun in the Summertime Sun Highlights!  Enjoy!

**Side note:  I know it says "Happy Birthday Brittany & Jake!"  It is supposed to say, "Happy Anniversary!"  Let's just pretend that's what it says, okay?  ;)