The End of Summer

1. In Fresno, CA, where I grew up, summer lasted well into October. We would swim and get sunburned and sweat for weeks after school started. Here in NJ, not so much. We had our last beach day on Long Beach Island on Saturday and while the water was still warm, the air was not hot and I didn't have to reapply sunscreen quite so fanatically. The waves were so calm that both kids spent most of the afternoon on their boogie boards, in the water:

It was a very pleasant day, though, and I'm glad we went one last time.

2. Here are a few vacation pictures:

This is the birds on vacation, with the addition of the Helmet Pig, which was a gift from Mimi for the plane ride.

Here's Miranda helping me pack the birds and pigs in a vacuum-packed bag so they would fit in the suitcase.

Here's the only good picture I took of them at the San Diego Zoo. My aunt and I took them for a quick tour on the bus and then we saw some of the birds and the pandas.

3. I enjoyed the break from stitching that our California trip provided so I've been working hard since we returned. Here's the progress pic:

I'm almost finished with this section and then I can move on into clean, fresh space. This is the part that I hate, the last little bit of cleanup with five stitches on a color here and two more there and then change colors. It's annoying, but stitching section by section seems to be the best way to move forward.

4. Marshall and I saw Premium Rush on Monday before leaving San Diego and it was as fun as advertised. JGL continues to shine; he was one of the best parts of Dark Knight Rises.

5. Alex starts school on Thursday and Miranda on Friday. I think we all have mixed feelings about it. It will mean, for me, getting up to an alarm again and getting our morning routine readjusted and ready for showtime (Miranda's bus officially arrives at 7:48 and Alex's at 8:45 but these times are liable to be adjusted as the weeks go on). Alex only finished summer school on August 15 so he's not ready to go back to the slog but I think once he gets settled in a new mainstream third grade class (with his aide and then he will be in his anchor class from right before lunch through the rest of the day) he will be a happy boy. Miranda will be with a new teacher in a new building so she's a little apprehensive, even though we've met her teacher and seen her classroom and one of her preschool friends will be going with her. But she makes friends easily. The big thing for her will be adjusting to going to school all day long.

6. A few more beach pictures for you:

7. Still trying to see The Bourne Legacy with my husband and my father. May have to see it once with one of them and another time with the other. Also, there's a great interview with Joss Whedon here that mentions premiering Much Ado About Nothing at a film festival soon, so it must be finished. Hoping I can see it soon, too.

Here's Jen.