my kitchen is jellified

Annika and I made jelly! Our back-door neighbors grow grapes (in addition to being 70-year-old superhero bike racers), and were kind enough to share.
Annika got tired of all the boiling so after a while she watched a movie.

I only started the kitchen on fire one time. Not too shabby!!





Who's hungry for some toast?

Captain Hammer

This is why my husband is a perfect high school teacher.

























This week is homecoming week; today was "dress like a superhero day".

CJ chose to dress like Captain Hammer from Dr Horrible's Singalong Blog.

Jumping Into a New Era!

Well, I did it. I sent my babies off to school. I was a puddle most of last night and half of this morning.










































My verse, which I recited all day and asked my family to pray for me:
Philippians 4:4-7
Rejoice in the Lord always; I will say it again: Rejoice! (yes I did clap-clap)
Let your gentleness be evident to all; the Lord is near. To not be anxious about anything, but in everything through prayer and petition, and with thankfulness, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.

I rearranged Eric's room while he was gone. A new room for the new era. His bed is lofted now. It's pretty cool. I found some precious things to weep over while cleaning out under his bed. It was an appropriately cathartic project to tackle. He loves his new room! He loves his new class! God is Good! All the time!!

How old is he??

You might think this post is going to be about Eric and the milestone he is soon to cross.

But it's not.

It's about the fact that Cj and I just went for a 23 mile bike ride with our back-yard neighbor, who is 70 years old and has several vertebrae of his spine fused.

I am drenched with sweat after struggling to keep up with the men for two hours. INSANE!!

It was a gorgeous day for biking or just being outside in general. Everyone and their neighbor (in our case, literally!!) was out. But I spent most of my time gritting my teeth and looking at my front tire as I dug deep to pedal faster. woo! That man is a machine.

The kids were absolutely hilarious in the back of the burley; I truly didn't mind being way way WAY behind the guys because I think it was more enjoyable to listen in on the shenanigans than try to engage in boy talk.

The leaves are changing color already. This is the best weather I've seen all summer. And the best, best, BEST part? Cj is picking up Outback To Go. Dinner is on its way!!