Class awards...

Colter's Kindergarten teacher gives out these little stuffed animals for good behavior.  When you earn a stuffed animal you get to bring it home for the day and bring it back to class the next day so someone else can have a turn.  

Colter earned all five animals quickly.  He is a good guy.

Busy Bee goes home with you if you help clean up without being asked.

Friendly Fox comes home when you've been a good friend.

Helpful Horse comes home if you have been particularly helpful during the day.

Dependable Dog comes home when you do what you are asked the first time.  Mrs. Erickson can depend on you doing what's right.

And Listening Ladybug comes home when you've listened and followed instructions correctly. 

Colter was happy and proud every time he earned a stuffed animal.  He is excited to earn one again.

Sin City...

Will has a work conference in Las Vegas every other year or so.  I've managed to tag along three times now.  We have so much fun just being together.  We eat a lot of yummy food (gaining 20 pounds or so over a few days) and see a couple of shows.  It is relaxing and fun.  The conference has lined up with my birthday for the last two years so it has been a fun birthday for me.

With no kids, we take a lot of pictures of ourselves. 

We saw the show La Reve.  It was really good!  It was an acrobatic show like Cirque du Sole but it was in a pool with moving stage parts.  It was very entertaining.

Will has to work for a lot of this trip.  He works for most of the day time and I just wander Las Vegas and do what I want.  We get to meet up for dinner and a show in the evening when Will is done with work. 

I love having the time to myself and deciding what I want to do.  As a mom, I spend most of my time doing stuff for other people.  It is hard to stop the requests for help and just do what I want.  When I am kid free, I get to call the shots.  It is a lovely birthday present to myself. 

I also do a lot of walking in Vegas.  It is easy to get around if you stay on the strip and there is plenty to see.  I walked, and walked, and walked.  It helped offset some of the 50 thousand calories I ate every day.

Fairyland...

As part of their Nursery Rhyme Unit, the Kindergarten kids take a field trip to Fairyland in Oakland.  It is a little amusement park with slides and little activities based on nursery rhymes and fairy tales.  I've never been.  This year I got to go with Colter as a chaperone.  There were so many parents who signed up to help I ended up only chaperoning Colter for the day.  We had a blast.  

Additionally, Clare and Adell are back at making fairy houses around our yard.  They got a cool piece of bark from Grandma Claudia and have been making houses and play areas for the fairies all summer long.  Their latest creation has been under the trampoline...that should be safe.

Back at the best camping place ever...

It was time for a return to our glorious campsite up north in the redwoods.  It was 110 degrees...even in the redwoods.  It was crazy.  We all sat around and tried not to sweat on each other.  We also went camping over Labor day weekend, which made traffic terrible and the campsite pretty crowded.  

It was still a lot of fun...although I don't think Labor day weekend will become a tradition. 

The swing and sport field were a hit.  The talent show was a success.

Colter explored all over the place with his friends.  We lots him and Harry on Sunday morning...nothing serious...just two boys playing in the woods, ignoring the calls of their parents.

Lorien brought Isabel (who is moving to Alaska in a matter of days) and spent every second with her.  It hurt Wyatt's feelings that she wouldn't hang out with him or anyone else. 

With all the rain we got in the winter the creek/river was fuller.  Temperatures were over a hundred degrees so everyone got in the water.

We only stayed one night, Isabel needed to be home to get packed up.  We were ok with leaving, camping in the heat is as much fun as camping in the cold.  We lost Wyatt for about an hour right as we were trying to leave.  Again, nothing serious, just a couple of boys off exploring in the woods.

It was a fun trip.  We like camping and this is one of the easiest camping trips out there...it is just really far away.