First day

We took our third annual brother-and-sister-first-day-of-school photos this a.m.

There are remarkably similar to the ones we took two years ago on the first day of kindergarten.

Except for the addition of action figures.

And Luke is no longer a blondie. Here he is on the school yard this morning on the way to walking Halina to reunite with old friends and get in line for class.

We had a great drop off. Halina's new teacher, Nick, is so nice and knelt down and spoke to her softly, encouraging her to ask for anything she might need. After Halina and the other big kids went to their rooms, Luke and I played on the playground and then he rang the bell for the younger kids to line up. I saw a lot of kindergarten parents wiping away tears. I remember that first first day, too.

End of summer

Our summer officially ends tonight, with the start of 2cd grade tomorrow. I didn't chronicle our summer very diligently. There are a lot of wonderful moments and photos to share, but it's late and that seems like a lot to face right now, on a sort of sad/transition-y day, so I will just include a photo that I love, that Halina took of me and Luke yesterday while we were waiting in line for the cable cars on our last summer outing -- a spontaneous, touristy trip to SF, just the three of us. Halina brought her camera. There's love in this portrait that you just can't get from a selfie.

Togetherness

Even on days when we step on each other's toes a lot, there are these kind of entangled moments, too. Good to remember.

Typing an email to Papa on Luke's  cardboard laptop.

Etch-a-sketch pals.

At grandma Mary's.

Back home, summer

Halina and Luke had nothing to do all day at home while I unpacked, so it was a perfect day for them to launch into epic pretend play. It's what they do in the summer or whenever there's a break from friends and school. Today they watched a Dragon Tales episode about visiting a carnival fun house and they decided to build their own in the living room. It went on forever and I wasn't allowed to go in there. I was consulted on some spelling for signage and persuaded to plug in a fan while using a hand as blinders to shield my eyes from the spectacle of transformation underway in the living room. It went on for so long that I was sure the house was being torn apart while I was doggedly unpacking and tidying and reorganizing in the bedroom, and so I was starting to grouse. Everything they got out had to be put back, I called repeatedly, all sour grapes-ish. And, no, they certainly could not use push pins on the wall to hang up whatever big piece of paper that was --that I wasn't supposed to see. When, at 2:00, I couldn't put off eating my lunch any longer, I was told to go outside, walk around the house, and enter the kitchen through the back door to avoid seeing their work. A bit of a power struggle ensued. Soon after, I got to experience the fun house, which consisted of a low banner you had to scoot under but which fell down right away because of the lack of push pins ("Welome to the Fun House!" it read), followed by a short sensory walk over couch pillows arranged on the floor, followed by a fan blowing on you from the side that was supposed to be mysterious.

That's it. They were so proud. The fun house was also supposed to have a mirror and slide, but they didn't have these things so, oh well. I quickly rigged up a slidey ramp using the ottoman and put a step stool under the entry way mirror. They were ecstatic. What a heel I'd been for badgering and doubting them, especially when they were being such a creative and diligent team. But luckily they were quick to forgive.

Luke in his morning costume. 

Halina in her afternoon costume.

P.S. Here is a Luke quote from bedtime last night to quickly slip in. He said "I have something that's kind of nice and kind of not nice to say to you." Uh oh, I thought. I encouraged him to tell me, thinking maybe he"d say something about my breath being bad or his not wanting to snuggle so much now that he's four. Instead he said "You are my big, best friend." He said "best friend" in a breathy way. After I gave him an appreciative hug, Halina and I shared a quick grin. "You should write that down so you'll remember it," she said. So I am.

Luke today...

After a long period of silence while eating breakfast at a cafe this morning (Morning Glory in Ashland - yum!): "Is there more than one dog pound in our country?"

Later, after a post-dinner stroll and some sidewalk sprinting, he wanted to sit on the big front porch of our rental house in the warm twilight and have "a family talk." We all got into chairs, some a bit reluctantly. "What do you want to talk about, Luke?" Chris prompted.

Topic #1: Who loves candy?

Topic #2: Who loves grape leaves?

The fading sky was a washed gray-blue with dollops of pink-tinged clouds colored from nearby forest fires. No mosquitos. A chorus of crickets. Body temperature air. Popsicles. All of us together shootin the breeze. Yes, I'm in.