Since we've been home

1. Alex and I celebrated our 12th anniversary chasing Bonepony all the way to Hilton Head. In other words, we left the kids with my parents and spent the night at a resort on Hilton Head Island, SC. The beach was warm and the waves were huge (thanks to Hurricane Gustav). We ate my favorite dinner of crab legs and steak then caught one of our favorite bands, Bonepony, at Wild Wings Cafe. Has it already been 12 years? Seems like yesterday . . .

2. Pool parties. Labor Day was one of many days spent playing in the pool with friends and family. McKenzie and Justin have turned into little fish zooming from one end to the other. Of course, breaks are needed every now and then, so McKenzie has figured out how to "take a little rest" without having to get out of the pool. Our daily routine is get up, take Justin to school, pick up Justin from school, swim and repeat.

3. Though not his first public school experience, Justin started preschool at the Methodist-run Early Learning Program down the road. There are 11 kids in his class, including two twin boys whom he thinks are the coolest thing EVER - "they look exactly the same mama!" His teacher, Miss Kimberly, refers to Justin as her little angel and tells me often that he is the sweetest boy, that he's a great friend and well-liked by everyone, that he's always happy, and that he's so interested in discovering and learning new things. Well, of course! He's still learning to read and probably gets more of an academic education at home, but he really enjoys going to school as well. He helps me make his lunch every morning. The first day I put rolls of deli meat in the lunch box of my non-sandwiching-eating son (along with the usual cheese, grapes, chips) only to be told matter-of-factly that afternoon that the meat needs to go on bread for him to eat at school. Well, of course. Yeah!

4. McKenzie thinks she's pretty big stuff too. She's started Joy School with a couple of her friends from church - Isaac and Ashton. She has also started going to her own gym class at The Little Gym. Justin is always telling her what he did at JS and his gym class when he was two years old so she's excited to be following in big brother's footsteps. She even insists on packing a lunch every day, even if she only gets to eat it at the park or in the car.

5. Alex turned 35 and we celebrated his birthday with a pool party and BBQ, dinner at a spanish tapas restaurant and another concert. This time we saw the Indigo Girls at Chastain Park. Alex has been a long-time fan and I enjoy their harmonizing but I think I'm partial to Emily's songs. Happy birthday honey!

6. We're buying a house! We've decided to stay in Atlanta and have made an offer on a home about 20 minutes north of my parents' house. We chose the area for its school district, plus we're still close enough to friends and family to be able to spend some time with them, albeit we are in a different ward. The house has five bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms and a full basement (which is only partially finished) - so come visit anytime!

Besides getting ready to move, again, we're keeping busy with the gym, lunch bunch, book club, play groups, Tupperware parties, room mom responsibilities, family pictures . . . and blogging! We're back!