Summer is Over.

Dang.
School starts Monday.
It has been a summer full of adventure and fun and everything that a summer should be.
I'm so glad.
It wasn't until this week that the kids started bickering and I had the thought, "Gee...when does school start again?" 
Pretty good timing. 

We've done the "Back to School" nights and the kids are ready. Sam is nervous.  He says just a little, though - and he isn't one to feign bravery - so I think he's really okay.  He teacher has 40 years of experience and I'm sure she will not hesitate to kick his butt into gear.  When we went in his classroom, she was very nice and brought Sam to his desk, telling him that she realizes it's sometimes hard to be a "new kid" and she put his desk right next to hers to make the transition a little easier. 
I think that made him feel better. 
He should do fine. 

Caroline is psyched to be back.  She is looking forward to being able to show Sam her school and help him. She is going to start playing the flute.  We'll see how that goes. 
We very purposefully try to keep activities limited to maximize our family time and we've already told her (repeatedly) that flute is another part of her daily homework now.  AND that we will NOT be reminding her to practice.  It is somethng she will need to do on her own. 
We'll see how that goes.
TBall will start for the older boys in a few weeks.  After being seriously underwhelmed by the quality of coaching and the price we had to pay for it with GVAA, we have switched back to the County League.  I'll be coaching again and both Sam and Nate will be on the same team.
Should be interesting.

In our "Farewell to Summer" Tour, yesterday we went back to the Big Slide and played at Loy's Station Covered Bridge up in Rocky Ridge. 
We're still recovering in the laundry department.
What wasn't saw-dusty from the slide was muddy from the creek.
A small price to pay.  We've only done 18 loads of laundry this week.
But I'm not counting. 

Toeing the Line

In planning any activity with four children under the age of ten, we very often toe the line between brave and stupid.
There are some days we are so over the Stupid Line that Sanity is no longer in sight.
Some days it goes better than expected, though.
Today was one of those days.

Before all the kids went back to school, I wanted to take a trip with them down to  The National Basilica.  
Understanding that on a good day this trip may be just one toe shy of the Stupid Line, I picked a rainy & humid day, planned on 99 cent Happy Meals for dinner and prepped the kids to have their game faces on.  I also put extra Advil in the glove compartment - just in case. 
The kids were understandably leery about any place that requiring silence AND acting like a good human for an extended period of time.
So was I.
But, embracing the "summer is almost over and we haven't done everything we wanted to do yet!" sentiment, off we went...

The kids did great.  After about 3 hours (including a Mass), it was clear we were all getting toasty and headed home.
I can't lie.  Nate spent most of Mass lying on the floor examining the underside of the pew and there were more than a couple of moments where I considered punting (a kid, not the trip).
But overall, it was an excellent experience.
They've already asked to go back.
Nate said he wants to sit somewhere that he can see what's happening during Mass.  Apparently there aren't screens on the bottom of the pews.  ;)

The kids were astounded by the immensity of the Basilica.  They were all trying to find their names on the facade. Nate was mad because his name wasn't up there. 

Because no picture in front of the Basilica would be complete without Nate giving bunny ears...

This chapel was decidedly Benjamin's favorite. 

Brotherly love. 

Pre-gaming for the Papal Visit in 3 weeks!!!

Peace.

I needed some peace. 
It's the end of summer and it's taking a few (Okay. More than a few.) days to recover from our trip to New Hampshire and gear up for school. 
So, after weeding out the kid's rooms, changing all the beds, putting away vacation clothes, vacuuming, getting the kitchen ready for the week, washing and putting away 5 loads of laundry, taking Nate back to the doctor and then spending almost an hour at Wegmans waiting for yet another prescription for a stubborn, painful ear infection...I. Am. Toast.
So, while the kids were busily playing legos, I figured I could sit alone with my Fireball while blogging and watch a documentary on Saint JohnPaul II. 
WRONG.
The kids are fascinated.  They quickly pointed out that we have two kids named after him (Hmmm...I never thought of that) and are utterly entranced. 
A fail for Mommy Alone Time, but a total WIN in every other respect!

Happy 5th Birthday to the Nate. 
You keep our life full of excitement!
We love you, Nater-Tot!
You have come a long way in 5 years.

Okay, Okay.

Enough with the lack of blogging. 
It saddens me so much that this summer is (sniff, sniff) almost over.
I was lamenting how quickly it all went,  until I looked at the scrap books that Sam and Caroline have kept. 
We covered a crap ton of ground in the past 8 weeks!
There were day trips to The Udvar-Hazy, Harpers Ferry and the Big Slide Park.  CJ, Sam and Nate each got to spend a separate week up in NY with Nina & Pops.  We spent a week in Rochester while Jim was traveling.  There was Vacation Bible School, Christian Formation, daily Mass and Family Rosary.  I got to take an overnight trip to DC to the Basilica and see "Book of Mormon" at the Kennedy Center.  There was the Boilermaker and surrounding adventures.  We just got home from a grand tour of New England (aka - "All the places that Mommy and Daddy used to live before we moved to Maryland") that culminated in (not enough) time at Bow Lake.  Put that on top of time with friends and just time to BE and ...yep...this summer was just wonderful. 
I'm planning a couple more Little Adventures for this week...

Good news is that the kids are very much looking forward to going back to school.  Even Sam, who is more nervous than he cares to admit about going to a new school. 

Bad news is with all the Adventures and all the journaling the kids did as their summer homework, I was toast when I got any time that could be devoted to blogging.  Sometimes journaling with small children is akin to one of Dante's circles of hell. 
I'm sitting here with a chocolate martini in hand.  If that's what it takes to bring me back to blogging, I'm willing to sacrifice for the Greater Good.   
But, as the summer comes to an end...
...We're back. 

Most importantly, Happy Birthday to Ben-Ben.
Hard to believe that he has been around for 3 whole years. 
Sometimes it's difficult being the littlest, especially among hooligans like us.

But he does a great job and is learning to stand his ground.
As he said today, "I'm not your Baby Ben-Ben anymore.  I'm big."
Sigh.
We love you so much Benji-bot, Benji-pooh, Ben-jammin, Binyamin, Ben-Ben, Bubba, Bubba-doo, Turkey-Lurkey or Benjamin Elias (as he had made it known he prefers).