Catch and release

Sweater days have arrived, and with that, fishing season ends at this lake -- but not before we got to cast our rods there (yes)!


"I can't wait for a bite on my line!" quipped Meimei. She'd convinced her dad she was finally old enough to fish, a month plus after turning 3.

Of course she was a lot more eager to reel it in -- than you would expect a newly minted preschooler to be waiting, waiting patiently ;).


Her brothers were quite persistent, hoping to do more than a catch-and-release...

before the sun was setting already...


Although we eventually went home empty-handed, it was really nice to have caught a breather together like this :).


Such a welcome relief from the daily hustle and bustle -- *breathe in, breathe out* -- before another busy, busy week and the new season are here already!


(Fish Lake; phone pics)

Afterschool obedience potion (*grin*)

After school, after a day of shuttling kids...

It's that bewitching hour!

I give the children the ink-coloured potion AT THEIR REQUEST...

And they drink to OBEDIENCE...

Or so I hope! ;p

Truth is... There isn't an "obedience potion"; what happened was the eager kid got to the frozen pops before they could freeze completely. And the icky inky liquid is what you get when you mix orange, red, and green juices together -- of what had not contributed to the BIG *STICKY* MESS!!!

But it sure is one way of making light of the busyness and more craziness than this that like to take place during this let's-be-positive-and-call-it my BONDING time with the children! ;p

Another busy day, another reminder to pause for a *smile* break in-between all the running around...

Younger son after cross-country practice, stopped to flash me his new "boh-gei" (missing front teeth) smile, having just lost his second front tooth in school earlier that day! :D

Between home and school and preschool I drive back and forth for the dropoffs and pickups, and the thrice a week cross-country. That day I'd also come from a grocery trip, and taking two kids to the dentist -- and got us back in school just in time *pant, pant* for the oldest to be part of the same training as his brother. And we weren't done as there was a scouts meeting to head back out again *sweat*, and a back-to-school night that thankfully the hubby could go for it instead. Still, trying to do the mommy-multitasking thing with homework, dinnner prep and dinner in doublequick time after such full days of driving, I am pooped!

Can I use as many SMILES -- and lots and lots of COOPERATION?

You bet! ;)

(Post rolled out eventually with pictures, while still working, working on our routines. In my eagerness to multitask one crazybusy day, I tripped over the wire for our external drive and lost the ton of pictures, not these ones, I've downloaded there but not managed to make any backup for b4 that :(. One thing, one day at a time, yah).

See you later, alligator

First day of school went OK... better than our last night of the summer hols, trying to get ready for it!


Raring to go...
or not, we had to get going -- and the eldest's scout meetings resumed on the first schoolnight itself already!


Younger brother was happy to see a few familiar faces in his classroom...
He looked forward also to the tooth fairy visiting him; both his front teeth were loose!


It was also the first day of school for Meimei -- for the very first time!


Glad the hubby was there with me to assure our youngest she'd see us in a bit. Oh, she grabbed me, she did -- and begged, "I WANT you!"... but just for a little while. A quick hug and peck later, she let me go. Not a tear from her! Atta-girl!


So she is going for preschool for 2h on two days. Think, please DON'T, all the work/housework and errands especially I can get done in that time -- not much left, after the to-ing and fro-ing. And I'm back to the shuttling back and forth, driving almost every day; the boys have their afterschool activities also.


Getting back to basics with homework and lunchboxes as well. But just as important for us to work on is the earlier bedtime; younger two have not learned to sleep uninterrupted, and youngest needs to learn to sleep independently also. Will you check back with me this time next year if I have got round to our messes, haha?!    

Good morning, Zion National Park!

On the return leg of our roadtrip, all that cargo (camping gear) that the hubby had packed on top of the rental minivan finally came in handy, when we made an impromptu detour to this national park...

Good morning, Zion National Park!

The campout let us bask in nature's gifts... and also the "quiet sanctuary" this park got its name from. 

The Virgin River runs through the canyon of sandstone cliffs...
Oh so refreshing in the sizzling heat, after a dip in it!  That was also where we had our "virgin" river bath -- in our swimsuits! Guess some things are worth letting your hair down for... especially when it was the closest thing to a bath we could get there! ;p 

So goes our last leg of summer -- sometimes crazy, and more often than not spontaneous!

Feeling the exhaustion, but also really grateful for all we packed in! 

More later (an earlier on-the-road post didn't roll out); a quick update with these phone pictures first. Still more to wash and unpack, and have to pack the fridge again... and school supplies! 


School is starting already in less than three days, and my boys are groaning the loudest of us all! ;p