Labor Day weekend

We survived the first week of school and now we're trying to survive the first long weekend!

Rocket Boy and I felt very spoiled this past week. Each day we got the twins up, fed them, brushed their teeth and hair, walked them to school... and then we got to go home alone! For six and a half hours! Without having to pay anyone! Oh my, what a wonder that was. The wonder was slightly tarnished for me by the fact that we took my computer to the repair shop on Wednesday, so I couldn't play/work on the computer Thursday and Friday. Instead, I did laundry, dishes, and baking. (And of course reading.) But how amazing to do those things with no children around.

It was wonderful to have the boos come home each day too, though. I couldn't stop looking at them as we walked the few blocks home, these children of mine who are now public school students. Official kindergarteners. So incredible.

And then when we got home each day we flopped down in front of the TV and watched 2 hours of PBS children's programs that I'd recorded while they were at school. I suppose that's not good, probably should have been doing an enrichment activity. But I could sense that they needed to zone out for a while, decompress from their amazing days. And each day after we turned the TV off, they ran to their room and played with toys and told me more about their day.

It is such a trip to be the mother of two kindergarten students.

But then the week ended and the long weekend began. And even though I had all those "free" hours during the week, I was still really tired by the end of it. Not ready to be a fulltime mom again for three days straight! So Saturday was a trying day. But it ended well, with waffles for dinner.

I have a wonderful old waffle maker that I got for $5 at the Ridgecrest Salvation Army thrift store.

We had a little trouble with it when we first got it, but now it makes perfect waffles every time and the waffles make everyone happy.

Today, Sunday, we had planned a trip to the cabin. And although rain was dripping off the roof when we first got up this morning, we decided to go anyway. All summer we were so careful to choose fair-weather days for cabin visits, but now we don't have the luxury of all those days to choose from. Not a major problem, though. It was beautiful in South Park, including the clouds.

Fall is coming, despite the fact that it's only the first day of September. The aspen are just starting to change color.

Not too many wildflowers anymore, but I did spot some that I don't think I'd seen before. They must be fall wildflowers, just barely getting in their blooming before the snow flies.

 

These yellow ones look like snapdragons to me. (Maybe they are snapdragons? volunteers from someone's garden?)

We walked down to the creek (aka beaver ponds)...

 ...and saw a few more wildflowers, including these blue and purple stars. Don't know what they are, must look them up.

Also saw lots of mushrooms all over the property, but we didn't pick any this time. They all looked either inedible or downright dangerous.

The most fun part of this cabin trip was that Rocket Boy brought along some old old toys of his that he'd found in our attic (a scary place that I've never ventured up into). He brought old toys the last time we came up here too, and those were lots of fun too, but the toys he brought this time were amazing. Just look at this old metal gas station/repair shop/car park:

For the twins, it was love at first sight.

They played with it all afternoon. But there was more, too: an old metal castle!

Pretty soon, the cars from the first playset were driving around the castle...

...and eventually the twins set it up so that the cars would come down the ramp from the parking garage and shoot through the drawbridge into the castle grounds.

It rained heavily off and on, more so as the afternoon progressed. No one minded in the least. I sat in my favorite chair, happily reading the next book for my book group, and the twins played and played and played. It may have been the longest sustained playing together they've ever done in their lives. Seriously.

We had to drag them away to go home, and they were very upset when they learned that the new/old toys were going to be permanent cabin residents. "We'll come back to the cabin on Tuesday," Baby B told me firmly, and I had to remind him that on Tuesday he goes back to kindergarten. We agreed that we might come back next weekend (we'll see if they really want to).

On our way out, we stopped in Fairplay for a quick cozy dinner at the Brown Burro. The Burro has maps on its walls where you can indicate your hometown with a pin. Baby A was being very hyper in the restaurant (see the blur?) and kept jumping up to look at the map of the USA close to us (they also have a world map).

Just for fun, I checked to see if anyone had put a pin in Ridgecrest... and no one had! No one from Ridgecrest has ever eaten at the Brown Burro in Fairplay?

Well, it's not home anymore, but it was for four long years. So we added a pin.

 I'm glad it's not home anymore, though.

And now we have one more day to get through before the kindergarten adventure resumes.