Squeezin' Out the Last Slice of Summer

So many things that I'd love to write about...but we are busy squeezing out the very last drops of summer.

Temps are cooling, but we are still hitting the beach with friends!

Laptops are arriving--the better to do virtual school with--but I am still tearing up the schoolroom and culling out all the preschool items I no longer need to keep, now that my youngest is reading well and entering second grade.

We are attending back-to-school fairs--meeting friends there (who are giving our virtual school a try this year) and visiting the Betty Brinn Children's Museum in Milwaukee with them.  It was our first time to visit this fun destination!

We are finishing up our summer reading lists, turning them in to the library, receiving our rewards--Culver's coupons for free scoops of frozen custard--and eating them! We have a brand-new Culver's in Kenosha, so we have to check it out.

We've had Grandpa Rooster here with us for a couple of visits, since the funeral. He is tired, but well. We've also enjoyed several other visitors in recent weeks.

Grandpa and Brother Rooster helped us celebrate Papa Rooster's birthday on Sunday. (He's now the same age as me, for a few months, then I beat him for the other 8 months of the year.  :)

PR is busy, busy with his new job. So much to learn in a short time!

While he was still on his July break between jobs, we started the huge project of culling our book collection. We have boxes and boxes of books to give away, if you're local and want to come by--and we're still sorting! Hoping to finish by Thanksgiving, at this rate....

Blondechick's summer ended already, to her dismay. We helped her move her stuff back into the dorm today. But she's excited for classes to start Wednesday, and she's eager to transfer her summer restaurant job to another location near her college.

Auditions for our fall musical--Narnia--are in two weeks! We need to get practicing! B13 and Chicklet are auditioning "for real," but B7 gets to do a practice audition...because for the winter show, he can audition "for real," since he'll turn 8 in February. How time flies!

I'm taking a break this fall from teaching drama. Wasn't sure how things would be with Grandma, or with Grandpa...and it will be different with four kids at home again.

This week we are trying out a voice teacher for B13 and Chicklet, and a new piano teacher for B13. I was so impressed that his old teacher suggested another teacher who could teach him more about improvising--a strength and passion of his. She's a fine teacher, and Chicklet will continue with her.

And we still have a vacation to look forward to! It's a wedding that Father Rooster is performing. It's far enough away to require the rental of a small cabin on a lake near the estate where the service and the reception will be held. Good friends of ours will be staying in the cabin next to ours. B17 and their daughter are playing guitar and singing harmonies to their original acoustic songs, outdoors, in between the wedding and reception. B13, B7 and Chicklet will be helping to pass out wedding cupcakes. It's going to be such a fun time!

Just a few...more...drops....