We’re trying to make the most of the warm weather while we still have it. I hate the end of summer because it means winter’s getting closer. I’m not ready for coats and hats and gloves and rushing in and out of the car to stay as warm as possible. I will hang on to summer and the early days of fall for as long as possible.

That said, Madison’s got the kids doing some great fall artwork as the leaves start to change colors.

This picture is so representative of the kids. From L to R, Steven, Sammy, Amaya.

Steven took great care to represent the diversity of colors in the fall leaves. Sammy moved through it as fast as possible, not concerned about the boundaries imposed by the lines. Amaya focused on precision in her art.

On Tuesday night we had an evening soccer game. It was a gorgeous night. Steven and Sammy seemed to find their niche goal tending, though it would be even better if they were focused on stopping the ball before it entered the net lol. Sammy did get into the game on and off and Amaya was right in there, chasing the ball every time she was on the field but never getting too close to the fray.

I was off on Wednesday for Yom Kippur and, with kids services scheduled for the afternoon, we took the morning to meet up with Megan and Taco for a trip to Three Cedars Farm. SSA have all been to the play area there but it was my first trip! It’s a really great space and I’m hoping we can get back one more time before it’s too cold – maybe even go on a hay ride.

Train rides! Steven said, “Amaya and I went on the train with Rosie when you were in New York with Sammy. We’ll show Sammy how it works.” He’s right! I think it was last fall that Rosie took Steven and Amaya to Three Cedars.

“Hi May May! Hi Taco!”

Made me smile. 🙂

Put $1 in the machine – get a Country Jamboree.

“Milking” a cow. When they pull on the udders, water comes out and fills a bucket.

We wrapped up the morning picking mini pumpkins.

Amaya got mail from our triplet friend Hadley! You can’t tell but the picture also says, “Amaya” on it. She was thrilled!

Steven decided to make a chart with his super hero & villain stickers He wanted to see how many he had of his favorites.

We worked together to write the numbers. Steven told me what came next and I dotted it for him to trace. That “Steven” is all his own!

Amaya wanted to do the same thing but by herself so Madison wrote out the numbers on a different piece of paper as a reference point. Not bad work! And a reminder that we spend a lot more time practicing writing letters than numbers.

On Thursday afternoon, Steven, Sammy, Amaya & Madison picked up Nana at the airport and Nana had a chance to watch the kids at dance class! She took a ton of pictures for us, and an almost equal number of videos. Steven had a bit of trouble focusing and staying with the class in tap but rallied well for jazz.

Heel walking.

Thursday night, Nana read their bedtime stories. Here, she’s reading poems in a book from Grandpa Homey.

As she always does when she flies in on Thursday, Nana took the kids to school on Friday and went to Shabbat with them. Sammy was quick to tell me that he spent the most time with Nana at Shabbat. 🙂

Quiet time. I’m so curious about what’s going through their minds while they “read.”

Friday afternoon the kids collected leaves for a new project.

Leaf monsters! Here’s Sammys, “Leafy the leaf monster.” Steven had “Witch the leaf monster” and Amaya’s was “Ghost the leaf monster.”

Wrapping up the day in the Cline Bros Salon.

Saturday morning was soccer picture day. We got there bright and early to shell out $$$ for photos of the kids in the first sports uniforms. The boys immediately cuddled up to Amaya (which wasn’t quite look the photographer was going for).

The Airtime Tweeters! (As a side note, their coach – Coach G – is great. He does an awesome job engaging all the kids and never, ever showing frustration.)

In addition to Nana, we had Grandma Sunshine and Aunt Annette at our game! The boys were eager to help. (Sammy took of running to his Grandma. <3 )

Me, standing by Steven, who was adamant he was cold and didn’t want to play and needed to wipe his nose on my shirt and, and, and, and… It was a tough one. Eventually I had to just leave him in the capable hands of his father and watch from the other side of the field. He legitimately seems uninterested in soccer but he’s also working the (mommy) system.

Post game snacks!

Jason got the new iPhone and the camera is fantastic. I’m jealous!

As always, we hit up the playground after the game.

In defense of my 4 year olds in the baby swings, the big swings sit up so high its hard for even me to get on them.

TV time with Daddy.

Saturday afternoon, Nana and I went with the kids to see Hansel & Gretel at the kids’ theater in Northville. It looks empty but that’s only because they block off the back part of the theater. I’d estimate about 100 people in the audience. Everyone was a fan! Steven came home and told Jason, “I loved the play!” When Jason asked his favorite part he said, “A witch turned a lady into a cookie and then she got turned back into a lady.”

Tooling around Northville before dinner. I love this dress. 🙂

Can’t go wrong with Garage! Sammy abandoned noodles in favor of calamari for dinner.

Last night Nana fulfilled SSA’s wish and slept in the princess guest room. (I think she actually set her alarm for 6am and then went into the princess guest room but the effect was the same for the kids.) Since she was there at wake-up time, I got to sleep in. To make it even better, Nana took them to Starbucks for breakfast. Win for everyone! Steven, Sammy and Amaya love going to Starbucks with Nana and Jason & I loved a quiet morning at home.

After breakfast we hit up Brickfest at Suburban Showplace. We saw an ad when we were at the State Fair and, after seeing the way Steven obsessed over the Lego city, we knew we had to check it out. It’s really convenient living so close.

Reviewing the rules…

For most of the time, Sammy was my buddy, Steven was Jason’s buddy and Amaya was Nana’s buddy. There were some pretty impressive constructions including a massive Rube Goldberg machine.

Steven could barely contain his excitement. This was right up his alley!

Sammy made this tower (with a base) and was excited to leave it on the table as an example for other people who came to build after him. Sweet boy.

Steven was in his element. You can spy Amaya in the background (and me! sitting next to Nana).

Lego robot cars!

I’m obsessed with Bubba in this red Lego bow tie.

Each of the kids got to pick out a treat at the event. Sammy and Steven picked Lego sets. Amaya picked a necklace with a pink yellow heart. We also got the kids a big set of bricks for more building. And I got myself a treat, too! The Women of NASA set! I had so much fun putting it together that I ordered myself a 2000+ piece Voltron to put together.

Aside from Sammy’s trip to Kroger for groceries and treats, the kids spent the rest of the day outside in the beautiful weather. I want to hang on to it as long as possible!

I’ll leave you for the week with Chocolate Face Sammy.

Have a great one!