We came home from our Rocky Mountains road trip on a Friday and then promptly started school on Monday. While it worked for us, I don’t necessarily recommend such an abrupt end to summer. Jeremy came home and went from 0 to 110 mph at work. The boys went from care-free, adventure mode to all the responsibilities of school and home life. There was a bit of whiplash, as you might imagine. The good news is each year we homeschool, the beginning of the school year gets easier. It’s like muscle memory. We find our groove and pick up where we left off.
We have fully embraced the back-to-school lifestyle and the change of seasons. I know fall technically doesn’t begin until September 23rd, but we came home to fall in more than one way. The weather has already shifted and the vine maples outside my front window grow a deeper shade of red everyday. Our calendar has quieted down some with the focus on our new routine. We had one last prep meeting for co-op last week and we are set to start our new co-op year tomorrow. The boys are excited and so am I! At the start of September, I transitioned the front door to our fall décor. Hints of orange and maybe even a few pumpkins have found their way indoors as well.
It’s a joy to get back to baking. I’ve made cornbread to go with chili on a cool, cloudy day. Since we missed the fair while on vacation, I came home craving fair scones. I made a batch and paired them with seedless raspberry jam. I made brownies for a dinner that got canceled, so we ended up working on the large pan for about a week. It was no hardship to make those disappear. This weekend I made my first loaf of pumpkin spice bread. Now before you marvel too much about my baking skills, I used mixes for all the baking I’ve mentioned. It’s been a treat to indulge in some semi-homemade goodies. The house gets that delicious smell of something baking in the oven and the treats themselves have felt right with the change of season.
This month I introduced Owen to The Chronicles of Narnia, which are a personal favorite of mine. I remember my mom reading these books to my sister and me as children. It’s a joy to pass these stories on to the next generation. Thankfully, Owen is loving them as much as I do and he is flying through them. As he finishes a book, we’ve allowed him to watch the movie version. So far we’ve seen The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian. He is currently reading The Voyage of the Dawn Treader so another movie showing is right around the corner. Once he reads The Silver Chair, I’ll pick up the BBC version that I watched as a kid. We don’t often watch movies, so it’s been a fun treat to do something out of the norm. I also shared The Little Mermaid with the boys on Disney+ this week. Owen got into it. Graham not so much. I’m trying not to be too disappointed.
So, that’s the update! We’ve been munching on goodies, reading books, watching movies, working on school, and prepping for co-op. September is always a wild month for Jeremy. He is starting a new program at work that is taking up a large portion of his focus. When he isn’t working, it’s archery elk season, so he has great plans to be in the woods as often as possible for the next few weeks. I feel like I’m keeping the home fires burning as I send him out to wherever his busy September leads him.
It’s good to be home and to be in our autumn routine!
Amy Scott's Thoughts 