It Sure Is September!

September and October in our family mean lots and lots of activities on the calendar and the second week of school was no different.  Monday started off with Dakota working for EcoAdventures at a Turtletacular Camp at KinderFarm Park in Millersville, MD.  He had to be there by 9 and then I had the three little girls here all day while he was there.  It was glorious out so I decided to put up the bounce house.  Things went downhill from there.  The three adorable angels turned into three little devils.  There were meltdowns, tantrums and worse.  By the time I picked him up I was completely wiped out and not at all in a good mood.

Tuesday was our only day home all week so we got in lots of schoolwork.....wait.  No.  I am looking at my planner and we got in very little.  How did that happen and what did we do?  Who knows.  It's a week behind me at this point.

Wednesday was a great day.  Dakota and I got to go to the National Aquarium in Baltimore for a homeschool day presentation.  Two educators taught us tons about seashore animals that neither of us knew.  It was a little silly, but good nonetheless.  Then they gave Dakota a booklet and we were to do a self guided tour of the aquarium, stopping at the 6 learning stations as we went and finishing with a dolphin presentation.  To my pleasant surprise my son was thrilled to be getting this information and seeing all the marine life.  He actually said "I am having a great time and learning a lot!".  If you know my son that's a miracle.  He is a chronic complainer and doesn't like anything that has the word work attached.  He did great here and we both had a fantastic morning topped off by a nice lunch at Johnny Rockets.  I had to pick up the girls and run some errands and he chose to stay home alone for the first time.  He is more than ready maturity-wise, but his confidence was low.  This time he did a perfect job and now I guess we move into the next chapter.  We had a little bit of time to relax and then off to football.



Thursday was our first day of co-op.  It was nice to get back into the routine of "school" for us and to be around our friends.  Things went smoothly.  I taught the preK kids first and enjoyed every minute.  I love having a class of little ones!  We learned about the alphabet, ate Alphabits cereal, drew our letters outside with sidewalk chalk, made Chica Chica Boom!Boom! playsets and made alphabet crowns.  Then for just this week I had to go upstairs and teach the middle school health class.  I love this particular group of kids, but my son was less than cooperative and he and I spent the rest of the day at odds with one another.   We watched movies through the afternoon and at 5 we headed out to football.

Friday was kids day at the AA County Fair.  This is usually one of our favorite field trips of the year, but it was very hot and there was little shade.  We met up with friends, watched the pig races, rode a few rides and beat it to the van in the air conditioning an hour earlier than planned.  Thank goodness for entertainment systems in the car to keep the granddaughters occupied!  At 1:00 we were at KinderFarm Park to take Dakota to his homeschool class turtle field trip.  Dr. Brady Barr and his wife Mei Len ran this one and the kids got to hike to a pond and catch turtles.  They learned so much about them!  Dakota always enjoys his time at Eco.  The girls and I stayed up at the playground and again, it was so hot.  We ended that way early too and enjoyed watching a movie in the van until Dakota was done.  We made it home and got to spend the rest of the night at home.  What a pleasure!

Saturday morning we got up and out by 10:30 to watch my oldest granddaughter play soccer.  "Play" is a loose term when you are talking about a 4 year old with ADHD and sensory issues, but she did get out there some and run around after the ball.  We cheered wildly and I treated Dakota, the two

oldest granddaughters and a friend's four kids to Slurpees.  Another hot one.  We came back for a few hours and then headed back out to KinderFarm Park for Dakota's football game.  He was playing against one of his good buddies and his best friend Tyler and the entire Weber family came to watch.  The game did not go in our favor, but my oldest daughter and my granddaughters and I did get a great seat on the hill in the shade so the heat finally wasn't an issue.  "They" say the end of the heat is here.  I sure hope so!  It's getting to be late September!  After the game we got to do one of the things we like best, go to dinner with the Weber family.  We got split up at football this year, but this was like old times and we all enjoyed it.  Kris and her Brian and the granddaughters were there which led to a bit of a circus atmosphere, but I enjoy having those I care about close by.

Sunday was my 24th wedding anniversary, but as usually happens on anniversaries my husband and I got into a terrible fight and spent the day at odds.  Oh well.  Sunday was enjoyable for the simple fact that we went no where and had nothing pressing to do.  I love being home.  The day went way too fast and before you knew it the work week was upon us.