August 2017

School days are here again
—Last day of summer: We were invited to a summer’s-end party at Anna & Ella’s, which went pretty well for Annika but involved a lot of crying from Lukas … [sigh]. And then we went home and I dyed the kids’ hair again — Lukas’s an allover bright red, and Annika’s just a few inches of bright turquoise at the bottom; both very cool looks that got a lot of fun attention the next morning.
—The first day of school: It was a good first day for both kids. Lukas liked his new classroom and teacher (Mrs. Goldman, formerly Miss Emmons), and there were 8 kids from his TK class there, so he had friends already. Annika went in with the confidence of knowing all there was to know about her class and teacher, so she was just excited to see her friends again. That afternoon, we went for ice cream in Willow Glen (and met up with the TK friends), skipping karate just this once. 

All-Around Annika
—Harry Potter event at Hicklebees: A local independent bookstore had a Harry Potter trivia contest for all ages, so I took the kids and they were on a team with a half-dozen other kids from Annika’s class — all in their House robes, with wands at the ready. The team did well but didn’t win any prizes (unless you count the books we bought at the end, lol).
—Hiking Quicksilver with Mr. Dinh and classmates: Early in the month, Mr. Dinh organized a hike for whoever was around, and so Annika and I joined them; Raina and her mom and sister were along for what turned out to be a 5.5-mile loop that we (mostly) got in before the worst of the day’s heat … whew!
—Girl Scouts Camporee: This was a kind of trial run for the camping weekend coming up in September. The troop went for an entire day, returning well after 10:00 p.m., and hiked, ate s’mores, etc. Annika really enjoyed it and is looking forward to the longer trip. 

Lukas Life
—Emmett’s birthday party: Emmett’s party was at one of the neighborhood pools, and was on a long hot afternoon. Lukas did great, even if I did have to yell at him a time or two for playing too rough.
—I’m back: A couple of weeks in, I started volunteering in Lukas's class on Wednesday mornings. I am one of two parents helping with the small groups, and it’s really good to get to know Lukas’s classmates and see how his teacher works. 

This & that
—Solar Eclipse 2017! We kept the kids home for the morning to view the eclipse — you don’t get 78% coverage every time this happens, so it was worth it. They were very good about abiding by the safety rules, and it really was just so cool!
—A visit from the Lendlers: Our friends came down from San Rafael on a little end-of-summer tour of their own, and spent the afternoon hanging out, swimming, grilling, etc. As before, the kids had fun left to their own devices, and we adults got to talk and catch up.
—Aunt Lesley visits: My sister came for a week, and mostly we just bombed around, ate at Mo’s a lot, and chilled — good times! She came with us to back-to-school night since we’d already arranged a babysitter, heh. 

Quotable
—“Take a picture - knock yourself out!” (Lukas, hilariously direct0
—“lime-onade” (what he called the beverage we made from the abundance of ripe limes dropped from the neighbors’ tree)
—“Doesn't Annika's hair look like she's queen of the world?” (Lukas making an admiring observation one morning — he was right, too!)