September 2011

 My favorite month of the year! September is always beautiful, the fall weather hasn't started and we still have warm weather and fun outdoor events. This month we even had a hot streak where temperatures reached the 100+ range for almost a week.

 We had fun at the Gold Rush Days over Labor Day. In Old Sacramento the town is rustic and during Gold Rush Days many volunteers dress up and reinact many of the activities and events of the old west. We took the kids to the train museum to see the old trains. They climbed all over everything and got their faces painted. Then we saw the Mormon Battalion re-inactors fire off the canon, the pony express do a demonstration ride with live horses on the dirt roads, we watched jugglers, gun fighters and saw a demonstration on how to mix gun powder. There were so many people dressed up that it felt like we were visiting an old western town and it was strange to see people with sunglasses and T-shirts.

The heat made for some good fun. We played out in the backyard a lot. Tanner and Parker got busy making relays with the hose, buckets, sprinklers and squirt guns. Many an afternoon has been spent getting wet.
 Tanner is doing well adjusting to Kindergarten. His teacher is wonderful and even gave him the "Good Citizen" award in class. It is a certificate and recognition given to one child each month for being a good helper with other students and respectful to the teacher. With the certificate came a gift certificate to Chili's restaurant. To celebrate his success, we went out to dinner. He was so proud and we had fun. He even got to order all the root beer he wanted...a rare and exciting treat. Tanner also got to participate in his school's annual fun'd run. It is a PTA fundraiser for all the kids and families of the school. The kids have a theme for their class and families donate money and time to the school as pledges. The kids then go out to the track with their class and for about 20-30 minutes run around the track while music is playing. After it's all over, the kids get otter pops. Tanner was a bit overwhelmed by the crowds for running, but he sure liked the otter pop idea.
 Parker, Alyssa and I are having fun attending Music Time together. While Tanner is in school we go to the church building and play musical games and learn all about music. Parker especially loves the books at the end. He is among some really cute kids. All age 3 or 4 and they have such a great time together. When we get a chance we try to follow up the morning with a trip to the library.
 Sadie and Megan often help and they are great readers for the kids. They are starting to lose a little bit of thunder in their home schooling work at my house, so we will see if our little program will last. These girls have not had a strong structure for schooling in the past, so I know it's a shock to their system to have demands put on them to work hard and achieve.
 Another great activity this month was a field trip up to the Space and Science center in Sacramento. It was a reward for the kids after all their hard work in school. We learned about space shuttles, and loved the animal section. Alyssa liked grabbing at stuff and standing in big shoes, while the boys climbed on everything. After the indoor part of the museum we went out to the pond area for a snack. We all enjoyed the beautiful weather and interesting exhibits.