September 2018

It's September! We had a nice Labor Day and final two days of summer vacation after landing from California--had a bbq with neighbors up the street, including many kids in the kiddie pool we rescued from the trash last year; enjoyed the last of our homemade popsicles; and played outdoors day and evening.

Then it was back to school--fifth grade and Ms. Fong AWC for Marcus, first grade and Ms. Seeto for Samantha. Both the teachers are excellent, and both kids are enjoying their new classes and their orchestras (Sibelius again with Ms. Apple, for Samantha, and Vivaldi with Ms. H. and the middle school kids for Marcus). Helen started at the center on campus with me, and she adores it as well. She is a "Watermelon" (when they break out into small groups, the groups have fruit names) and she takes her identity quite seriously, narrating who's who to me: "Isaac watermelon, 'Tilda watermelon, HELEN WATERMELON!"

The second weekend in September, with Robert away at cousin Brian's wedding in Wisconsin (he drove up in a giant RV with Dave, Candy, Matt, and Michelle, and he made sure to have cheese curds at every non-wedding meal--sounds like a pretty successful Wisconsin experience to me!), the big kids took a creampuff class at the Boston Public Market. First they made the choux pastry and then they filled and topped their creampuffs, and of course, got to bring them home proudly and eat them!

We celebrated the end of summer with pastimes indoors and out, from chess (always easier when the baby helps) to fried seafood near the airport to bike rides.

On Tuesdays I stay home with Helen, to give her a day with me and me a day off-campus, and we've been doing a parent-child art class at the Eliot School. We turned her fly-swatter painting into wrapping paper--because what else is one supposed to do with it? It's lovely wrapping paper, though!

The weekend after that, it was off to Western Mass for the Big E! We stayed at our now-traditional hotel and went to the fair all day on Saturday and then on Sunday morning. Helen and Evie alternated between carriers and the wagon, and both adored the animals and the singing and dancing milk. We had fried cheese curds (of course), a cone full of cookie dough (intense, but appealing), a grilled sandwich stuffed with macaroni and cheese (really compelling), donut ice cream sundaes, and all sorts of other delights. The big kids rode rides and did some games, and we all watched the sheep shearing, a goat-milking, and the somewhat freakish "kids who are dressed in outfits that came from their animals and are now parading the animals around with them while a monotonous man reads aloud a statement the kid theoretically wrote her/himself" competition.

The following weekend, Samantha did a Daisy (Girl Scout) project to help beautify a public outdoor space, in this case, part of the Southwest Corridor off West Newton Street. She and her fellow Daisy learned about the habitats that exist under a log, as well as native and invasive species. They weeded out some invasive species, dug a hole for a log, moved it in to create more habitats for worms, etc., and also transplanted some hostas. They had a great time and were genuinely productive!

Other September events include Robert's softball team's devastating loss in the finals and the consolatory Chinatown lantern festival immediately afterward.

We also went to JP Open Studios at the Eliot School with Sarah, Sean, and Evie.

And of course there was some shoulder-season Cub Scout camping for Robert and Marcus, and then theBoston Pops free concert in Franklin Park that Marcus walked over to with Sarah, Sean, and Evie a couple hours after coming back from camping.

 

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Created: 10/06/18. Last Modified: 10/06/18.