LAST DAY OF AUGUST!

 Why are we the only people who are still Very Into the pool??

New! Dance! Season! Energy! Dorothy had 10 hours of choreography for jazz company over the weekend, and she had a blast, as usual.

Ben's parents came to town, nd we celenrated Minnie's birthday one! more! time!

DOrothy missed out on Sassy COw grilled cheese, so she ate Clvers in the car on the way to dance.

We all sat in the WAY BACK, with Ben and his dad in front and Minnie and her grandma in the second row.

Unlimited milk at this place.

Seriously the best grilled cheese.

Right now, we are in lovely Eau Claire moving Harry into his JUNIOR YEAR on-campus apartment. He did not want to live off campus or in the 12-month campus apartment lease options because he has previously adored his summer pool manager job and wanted to be able to come home without worrying about a sublet. But that left weird housing options, so he is going to see how this year is shaping up and be more proactive about meeting future housing deadlines. He is very excited to have his own bedroom after a dicey roomie sitch in suites last year, and he is excited to have a kitchen to flex his new Costco membership.

The kids and I start our school year THIS WEEK, and that wonderful new season energy is buoying us all.

Up next: trims for Minnie and Dorothy (rescheduled because Jack's move in changed, so our long-held appt had to move, meaning they have two different appointment times. Minnie's is actually right before bedtime, so maybe she can just wear a shower cap and have a fresh blowout for the first day of first grade), the beginning of Coop's new dive club life, and a slow ramp up to the busy season-- that will last until JUNE.

Ben and I have big plans to put together an easy dinner rotation plan so we can have a smoother meal planning experience for this school year. Cooper, Dorothy, and Minnie all still eat like kids, so it's weird to have just the two of us to want real food. I see lots of dinner bowl options.

SPEAKING OF BOWLS. We haven't been eating leafy greens because of the whole screaming diarrhea thing-- that is not getting better but is being reported on less frequently. NGS suggested using green beans instead in salad, and we have really leaned into that for salads, adding beets, too. It's been wild to have mostly cooked veggies all summer long, but I think we are settling into a rhythm, and grilled veggies/ roasted veggies eaten cold in bowls will actually be delicious. I hope to get into an easy veggie prep routine a couple days a week. 

SPEAKING OF ROUTINES. I am kind of dreading our 4-8pms, especially as the weather turns. I am tryin g not live at the precipice of a slippery slope fallacy, so we are taking each day as it comes, instead of thinking about the mid-week slog stretching out from September to June. Ugh, I shuddered after typing that sentence.