September was filled with adventure and routine. We kicked things off with our Labor Day trip to Groton! We loved our time with Gram and Grandpa and a day at the beach.
We came back to get into the routine of school and activities. The older kids continue to do swimming and piano; the boys are playing tennis and Summer is doing gymnastics. So far, piano lessons are still going well...we'll see how long it lasts!
The kids are finding their place in their new classes and back to school night was a hit.
The little girls are so lucky to have these three as their older siblings. They can always get at least one of them to do exactly what they want.
It's fun to watch them grow and develop and to see different parts of their personalities surface. Boyd has been nurturing his "class clown" side during family discussions. Not so funny. But sometimes it's really hard not to laugh. (This picture is of Elias explaining to they boys why they need to brush their hair every morning. You can tell it's really sinking in.)
Joy and Rose continue to keep me busy at home. The drama is 220 volt with these two! They both have strong personalities and often team up against me. Joy continues to love to cook while Rose continues to love to climb. And of course, they are both still obsessed with Elias. (We literally have to hide him away from Rose when he works from home.)
And I have to document this one night because it was such a fail, it was comical...
One night I made pad thai and used WAY too much fish sauce. The smell sealed the deal before Elias arrived home from work. I love this picture because even though two of the five kids were already in tears over the idea of eating it, Elias gave them the "your mom is the best" talk and committed everyone to eating it. I asked him to try a bite before making anyone sign anything and this is the moment he ate his words. I love how committed he looks, you can see his strong will encouraging him to swallow, but his fist just gets tighter as he attempts the impossible. He loves me so much! (The bite ended up in the trash and we all had chicken nuggets for dinner.)
We are trying to soak up our warm beach days and spent one Saturday at Robert Moses Beach on Long Island. It was a total win!
The only downside was that at lunch, a seagull swiped a sandwich right out of Summer's mouth. It was terrifying and she got a scrape along her face. Boyd immediately jumped up to defend her and chased that seagull right off the beach.
This month brought the long-awaited Spartan weekend in Vermont. We drove up on Friday and it was one challenge after another. There were so many little details to figure out and items to purchase before Saturday morning so Friday turned into a long and grueling day. Add five kids to the mix and Elias and I were vowing never to make such a foolish mistake again. Our hotel was 30 minutes from the race and Elias had to leave at 4:45am. The kids' race was at 10. We assumed there would be a taxi/uber/shuttle he could catch, but there were no options in such a small town so I resorted to approaching people in the lobby to ask them if my husband could catch a ride the next morning so I didn't have to wake our five children up. We were a total hot mess. A kind man named Brian took pity on us and agreed to give Elias a lift. (When I introduced him to Elias, he said "When your wife first approached me I thought it was some kind of scam, but then it looked like she was going to cry..." I could have.) So by 9pm the kids were all asleep in the hotel room, we had picked up everything Elias needed for his race, gotten registered, found him a ride, and bought a cheep baby carrier to replace the one we forgot so I would survive the next day. We were going to live through this. And so this picture of Elias packing his bin in the bathroom on Friday night was the moment things turned around and I accepted we are just crazy and we will undoubtedly sign up for another foolish adventure just like this before the year is even over.
The day was awesome. The kids and I slept in, had breakfast, headed up to the mountain for their race. They all did their very best. We rode back down, had lunch, went to a farmer's market, enjoyed an awesome children's museum, went swimming, grabbed dinner and made it back to the finish line to be there for Elias. Even though we were right there, I'm so disappointed we missed him. It was so dark! But he saw us right after he crossed the line and I am so proud of him. He was amazing; 12 hours, 35 miles, 60 obstacles, and he still had a smile on his face. He's a total warrior. I know it sounds silly, but seeing him that night gave me more peace about his long commute into the city each day. I know that if destruction hit and he needed to get to me, he could. No matter what it took.
We all love you Elias. I love the example you set for our kids; the example you set for me. That in the midst of the grind of career and parenthood, you still find the grit to dig deeper and push yourself harder.
We had the pleasure of a quick visit from my parents. They are always so helpful and fun.
The kids enjoyed a day off school for Rosh Hashanah so we decided to throw an apple party!
The Saturday before we had fun buying all the apples and getting things ready.
I told the kids they would be in charge and they totally owned it. Summer created the invitation and they all delivered them. Boyd hosted "apple donuts on a string", Smith hosted bobbing for apples and Summer hosted "pin the worm on the apple" and an apple tasting contest. Joy was focused on apple juice and made sure everyone got one. We pulled out the cornhole and bounce house and we were open for business. The party was a hit! We had over 60 people from the neighbor come.
Brittany et al.
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