September snapshot

September....oh how I love and loathe you at the same time.  Love this month because it is the start of fall, routine, activities starting and two birthdays in this house, etc.  Loathe you for pretty much the same reasons.  

Oh but September is great.  My parents came to visit last weekend.  My kids love grandparent time and the ratio of 4 adults to 3 kids is pretty awesome.....especially when papa or nana take all 3 at once:

Isaac is wrapping up his fall soccer season.  He loves it this year....what a difference from last year when he would stay out of the fray a bit...not this year!!  This kid has really started to "come into his own" the past few weeks.  I don't even know if I have words yet to describe it yet.  I have just seen a big (good) change in him.

Caleb -  Don't let the sitting in the chair fool you.  He probably spent this one second in the chair the whole game.  Most of the game I was chasing him on an empty field.

Papa and Andie's "selfie".  Pretty suprised that they both knew what that meant!!

So I am huge non-hiker in the summer time.  I think that surprises people because I like to be outdoors so much.  I love, love, love to hike in fall, winter and spring....but summer....I can do without the bugs, the overgrown trails, the heat, etc.  Give me a beach in the summer.   So September is back on the trails for us and I am always so excited to get out and explore again.  This is our 2nd fall here and we are still in the process of discovering new trails...which is probably one of my favorite things about the area....the abundance of trail systems!   We took my parents out to try a new (to us) county park.  Suspension bridge, hiking, creek.  It was a nice little place to explore.

We found this rickety rope swing and of course Craig had a go or two at it.

And so did I.  Our kids said a few times:  "don't do it mom, don't do it dad."  It is sad when your 3 year old is the voice of reason but there was no falling in the muddy creek below.

Next stop was a place we discovered this summer.  Off a local river there is a little ravine and water fall.  Frequented mostly by kayakers and canoers....we are not there yet, we like to drive in and play.  Leaves are just starting to turn.  There is a little creek to play in and make damns.

And a visit from Craig's parents this past weekend....which of course meant more exploring since we have not taken them to our favorite spots yet.  Local state park for a hay rack ride and hike.  

I love September..I love the excitement, the busyness, the visiting, the cake, the presents, the soccer games, the start of school.  Both of our sets of parents are eager to explore new places and hike with our family.   But I do look forward to October and the extra blank spaces I see the calendar.