A new school year

The beginning of the school year is always filled with so much hope and excitement. The kids are excited to meet their new teachers, new friends in class, be back in a routine, and learn. Yes learn. They are itching to get back to school by the end of summer.

Jenna has Mrs. Dominy as her teacher for fourth grade. Mrs. Dominy goes to our church and we've known her for years. I requested her as a teacher for Jenna even though I wasn't sure they would honor that request. Well it turns out they did! Jenna is beyond excited to have Mrs. Dominy who is fun and dances during class :). Sarah has a new teacher to the school named Mrs. Moore. She is sweet and has named their class "Awesome Town." They even have a secret handshake for their class. Sarah really loves first grade. Matthew has moved into an integrated class for preschool. This class has peer role models as well as kids with IEPs (Matthew has an IEP). His two teachers are Mrs. Brady and Mrs. Norris. Mrs. Norris remembered Matthew from last year and gave him a big hug the first day - he had no problem going to school after that!

Swinging in the backyard

 Even though school has ushered in the end of summer, we still have a lot of fun ahead of us. The kids have been playing a lot and Jenna has been reading a lot. She has found a new series called Fablehaven by Brandon Mull. She is in book 3 and I just finished book 1. Mrs. Dominy recommended the book for Jenna and apparently she knows what Jenna likes since Jenna has refused playdates so she could read! The apple doesn't fall far from the tree....

Ever since my trip to Sacramento a few years ago I've visited some bubble tea shops near the Columbus Asian Market (CAM) and discovered that we all love bubble tea. At one tea shop I saw this interesting postcard. Based on the postcard I am now Asian since I tried the snacks they listed.

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The Warrior Dash posted pictures from the weekend and Erik and I made an appearance! We are muddy and yucky and having fun. Erik runs 2 miles every day and you can tell. Look at his amazing leg muscles in this picture!

In other news:

1. I am very sad that Wheel of Time did not win a Hugo award. I was really hoping!! Sometimes the books that win these awards are not actually the fan favorites, or the best books (ie the Windup Girl)
2. Our book club finished  City of Fiends by Michael Jecks. It was a medieval mystery and a different genre from what we normally read. I enjoyed the book and it provided good discussion. We kept wondering "who did it?". I guessed wrong.
3. As I said before I just finished Fablehaven book 1. I recommend this book to anyone who likes Harry Potter and Percy Jackson. It was a fun read. I'm sure I'll like the rest of the books but I have to pry them out of Jenna's hands first.
4. I'm also reading Brent Weeks' book The Black Prism. This book has a lot of action and is a great read. I read a review about the book that said "if you like action and epic fantasy you will like this". Check.
5. I finished 7 and Interrupted by Jen Hatmaker. They were books to get you moving and doing and I'm making changes. I'm hoping to see the world through different eyes. I have some big plans this year for service. Let's just hope I can do it all!

82 on Quiddler today. They also let me play iOS. That was pretty cool.