our new normal

having the kids back in school has been amazing

i love having so much time to spend with my little boys

 jude likes to bring all his special things with him for naps

 things i found in the garden, a big bowl of raspberries, a chirp egg and an enormous cucumber

 i made a freeform raspberry tart

 a delicious dinner

 and zucchini muffins

so i pretty much baked all day

 and then the missionaries stood us up

but we didn't mind having an extra fancy dinner to ourselves

 yum

 while i was out chasing chickens one morning, these two were trying to make their own eggs

such a wild, fun boy

first day of school!

all ready for 7th grade

 first grade for eleanor

 5th grade for hazel

 3rd grade for olive

 and a fun back to school brunch for me and my friends

 it finally cooled down enough to wear a sweater!

noah was starving after school and cross country so i let him eat a big slice of pie after school

goodbye summer

lots of time spent renovating our master bathroom

 looking so big!

 we convinced noah to try cross country 

he wasn't a huge fan at first but it's growing on him

 hazel mowed the backyard all by herself

 jude's happy place

 homemade apple pie

 a trip to the discovery center

 meet and greet at the elementary

olive looks like a teenager here!

 bribing with suckers so he'll stay still for a diaper change

 feeling proud i made it through summer

 olive throwing a fit and not coming when we're trying to leave the house

not too old to be thrown over your dad's shoulder

 noah won a summer reading program prize

summer was amazing and exhausting and i loved it and i was ready for it to end to get my sanity back

the most beautiful girls in the world

 how completely darling are the girls in these gorgeous dresses that finally went on sale from H&M?

we wanted to save them for a special occasion but couldn't wait

we were all too excited

i love that they are so close to each other and i hope they always will be