We recovered from the nasty colds that we all managed to get a piece of. Seamus and Gilbert got off easiest, whereas Porter and Harlan both missed some school. Our friend Gayle was in town for a visit. We had a couple of nice fires in the fire pit to celebrate the coming of fall. Gilbert had a wonderful baseball game in the cooler weather, where he had fun pitching and had a couple of good hits. The Nats moving forward through the playoffs has been fun for him because he gets so into the positions, players, and pitchers.
4-H is gearing up, and the boys are really excited about photography, science and technology, outdoor adventure, and…rabbits. We are not getting rabbits, but I guess you can still participate in learning about rabbits, even if you don’t have any. I’m glad that they like animals and want to learn more about them, and it brings up our occasional sadness that we don’t have any pets, but then we know pets are a lot of work, so it would be hard.
Harlan and I have a standing playdate on Mondays with his friend and his mom. This week, we went out to Frying Pan Farm Park, looked at the animals, took a wagon ride around the farm, and had some snacks. It was a perfect morning for the boys.
Seamus had two soccer games last weekend. After his rough stint as goalie a few weeks ago, he had been feeling a little gun shy, but a scrimmage, and some kind words from Patrick boosted him up and he took the goal in a game against the undefeated team in the league. The other team won, but Seamus worked hard and lead a valiant defense, and most importantly, he didn’t feel defeated after the game was over. He felt like he’d done his best and had a pretty good time playing. And that, right there, is huge progress for him.
The cooler weather has us all a bit happier. I’m glad to get my sweaters out, enjoy a cooler walk, and have some time outdoors. We had a nice picnic with friends in the park yesterday afternoon. Nine kids, two parents, and lots of baseball, soccer, badminton, and playground time. And pizza, delivered to the park. I wasn’t sure it was going to arrive, so I was really happy when it did!
Academic Leigh Speaking 