We had an absolutely lovely weekend celebrating at the wedding of our friends Mark and Rae in Asheville. The Rose family was in the spotlight for much of the wedding: Tommy did a stellar job officiating the ceremony, and Kaya and Laney were flower girls. I did a mediocre job keeping the flower girls quiet for the ceremony. And we all got to sit at Table 1 with Mark and Rae for the reception.  Aren’t they the cutest?

We went to a Maple View Farms birthday party for Laney’s BFF Molly and her brother Charlie. It was pretty fun – a bounce house, a bug class, farm tour/hay ride, and ice cream! Weather was perfect and the parents got ice cream too. Here’s a pic of Laney and Molly on the hay ride! And a picture of Laney 20 minutes later from all the fun.

Maggie is almost 7 months and I realized I never posted this photo (which was actually taken on time, I swear). Half a year already! She is growing and learning and in (mostly) good spirits! Happy 6 months Maggie!

I managed to get off my butt on Saturday morning and we ran a local 5K. It was nice just to have a morning of exercise while Baba took the older girls to gymnastics class. We even got medals!

Tommy and I celebrated our 10 year (!) anniversary on September 1. Turns out it is the aluminum anniversary – and Tommy bought be brand new aluminum camping chairs. The girls quickly claimed them as kid chairs, but in my heart I know they’re really mine. Happy 10 years babe!

Best part of kindergarten for me is the bus! It comes basically to our house, takes Kaya to school for 7 hours, and then drops her back off – it’s amazing. No fighting about carseat buckles, or spilling cheerios all over the car – and she loves it. AND I actually have started to get to work on time because the bus comes at 6:49 (they publicize 6:52 but show up at 6:49 just to keep you on your toes). God bless the bus! Here’s Kaya with Mr. Jared the bus driver.

Kaya took this picture of Laney, a few seconds after devouring a Rise chocolate donut. The smile tells it all. And Kaya is getting pretty good with the camera.

I can’t believe it, but Kaya is officially a Kindergartner! She had her first day yesterday and was super excited to tell us all about her day. There was not a hint of anxiety, although she definitely fell asleep quickly at bedtime. I am so proud of her. She is now officially a Carrboro Cub – here is a pic of her with another cub!

Happy Five Months Maggie! She is rolling over both ways, “talking” a ton, and sleeping worse than a newborn. What a ride.

We spent last weekend in Northern New Jersey at a “celebration of life” to remember Tommy’s grandmother Blanche and his Aunt Kate who recently passed away. I actually missed much of the actual services because the kids weren’t in a mood to stay quiet and listen to speeches, but the weekend was a nice way to remember “GG” (stands for great grandma) and Kate. A number of friends had suggested leaving the kids at home (you know, instead of making them spend 24 hours driving in the car like we did – that is not an exaggeration), but I was really glad to have them there. They represent joy and youthfulness and the future, and they are always so wonderful to travel with – inquisitive, energetic, and full of wonder, even at a funeral life celebration. We will miss you Blanche and Kate. And since no one really takes pictures at a funeral celebration of life, here’s one of Maggie sleeping on the floor of our hotel pre-services.