When it comes to September, I have so many feels. I could write an entire book on September. It’s probably the craziest month of my year. Seriously. September is always a whirlwind. If you couldn’t tell from my lack of posting, I’ve been a bit busy… Ready to jump into the jumble with me? Here we go!
The first week of September was back to school! While we kept up on our studies over the summer, it was back to doing all our subjects, every day. It was back to keeping kids focused and lots of reading aloud. I was certainly tired as I rebuilt my “full day of school” muscles. We made it through the week and kicked off Labor Day weekend by taking our boys to their first ever Seattle Mariners game. We had friends gift us with tickets and it was a very sweet experience! We got to the ballpark as soon as the doors opened. The boys loved the pizza and souvenir sodas they got for dinner. Graham got a churro for a special treat and Owen got popcorn. They collected baseball cards from multiple event staff members. The highlight was they each came away from watching batting practice with official MLB baseballs. These treasured balls are now on display in places of honor in their rooms. The Mariners didn’t win the game, but the boys had a great time despite the loss. We got to sit on the Terrace Club level (which is much nicer than the nose bleed seats we usually sit in). The boys were spoiled by such a great first game!
The next day (Friday), we had our first pickleball league practice. We decided to join a six week league for September into October. Our friends are participating and the timeframe and price were right. We’ve usually done homeschool soccer in the fall, but this year I’m trying to avoid morning commitments that conflict with our prime school hours. Pickleball is in the afternoon so it works perfectly! We’re giving it go for these six weeks. We’ll see if the boys want to continue after that… The courts are covered so we could keep playing into the fall, even once the rain arrives. It’s been fun to try something new for our fall sports season.
After pickleball, we took off for the beach… We did a quick overnight. We enjoyed the beautiful sunset and marionberry pie with my parents. Owen was thrilled to see Sooty Shearwaters swarming the coastline. He’s been waiting to check that bird off his birding list for a while. On Saturday, Jeremy, my dad, and eventually Owen, worked on a few projects around the beach house. I enjoyed finishing a book and taking a walk with my mom. My parents had purchased cinnamon rolls from a local bakery, so we gave our taste testing critique. I thought they were great, but Graham didn’t like the orange flavor. So sad… More for me! We tried a new pizza place in Ocean Park before heading out to run errands and head home.
Over Labor Day weekend, we completed watching the Harry Potter movie series. We skipped a few parts of Deathly Hallows Part One, but we felt comfortable with the kids watching all of Part Two. The boys didn’t love that we skipped certain scenes throughout the series, but it gives them something to look forward to watching when they are older. They can now say they’ve seen all the movies and they are happy about that. We also spent the Monday of Labor Day weekend shopping for my cookie class (more on that in a minute) and doing another lesson in our cooking curriculum (Sloppy Joes).
Last week was Cookie Week! I agreed to teach a Christmas cookie decorating class for our church’s women’s conference. I had to prepare four cookies and decorating supplies for 25 ladies. I also made extra cookies in case the ladies wanted more practice and needed to fill time. Overall, I made 14 dozen cookies. No big deal. Monday (Labor Day) was our shopping day. Tuesday and Wednesday were baking days. Thursday, I decorated example cookies. Friday, I filled piping bags and gathered all my supplies into totes. Saturday, I taught the class! It was a lot of work, but also a lot of fun. The ladies seemed to enjoy themselves and the attitude of the room was festive. Even though it made for a crazy week, I would be up for doing it again next year.
Women’s Conference lead right into our annual church staff retreat. Sunday, we went to dinner with the team. Monday and Tuesday were full days of meeting, planning, and praying. We took an assessment from The 6 Types of Working Genius by Patrick Lencioni. I love assessments! It’s always fascinating to see how people are wired. It’s also helpful to know not only your own strengths and weaknesses, but also of those you rub shoulders with often. Even though the days were big and I often left with a dull headache from thinking so much, it was nice to be included in the conversation alongside Jeremy. I am very excited for the direction of our church and the cool things that are about to happen. It’s a great team and it was an honor to sit among them for a few days. Also, shout out to both sets of grandparents for hanging with our kids so I could participate!
Now for the quieter half of the month!!! Jeremy has some time off for hunting season this next week. I’m no longer juggling my own full calendar. I’ll be able to settle back into routine and wish my hubby well as he heads out into the woods. I’ll be the chill Mom who holds down the fort while Dad is away. The rest of the month should have a totally different vibe than the start. Praise the Lord! I’m glad I don’t have to keep this whirlwind pace up any longer. It’s been good, but it’s been a lot!
Amy Scott's Thoughts 