Fall Life

Other than Monday, when it was "oh my gosh we are going to die why is it in the mid-80s and so incredibly humid" weather, fall has started in Minnesota. The air is crisp, the leaves are starting to change, Halloween costumes are ordered, we are dreaming of pumpkin bread ... we really love fall here!

I survived (but am still replenishing my sleep bank) Emerson Exchange last week. Mike and Fiona are touch and go whether they will survive this year's fall allergies. The congestion is no joke! It's also currently touch and go whether we will all survive Dec adjusting to life as a kindergartner. The dude is tired - and therefore, a bit of a beast. It's our third time through this particular adjustment phase. We knew it was coming. It doesn't make the constant meltdowns more pleasant. On the bright side, he fell asleep in his bed before 7:30 tonight - so there is that.

Fiona was thrilled yesterday when I picked her up. She was excited because she had applied to be a "Junior Leader" in the after care program and was chosen. You have to be in 3rd grade or higher to be eligible, so it's also something that is just hers (this year. You better believe Q has her eye on this opportunity). To be a Junior Leader, you have to fill out an application form with several questions, like "why do you want to be a leader?" and "who is your hero?" Curious parents that we are, we asked what her answers were.

She wants to be a junior leader because she wants to help people. Her hero is Helen Keller. Because Helen Keller was blind and deaf, but she didn't let her differences stop her from doing the things she wanted to do. She was amazing and she didn't let it matter that she was different. [Paraphrased, but very close to what she said] You guys, Mike and I had a parenting moment like few others. How amazing is this child!?!?

Today was a big day at school. Both girls ran the mile in gym class. Fiona was plotting how she could fake sick to get out of it. Q was annoyed that she had to wait until late morning to run. Then to further ruin Fiona's day, I scheduled our flu shots for this afternoon. Other than Dec freaking the crap out (Mike claims the entire flu clinic was staring at us) and five out of five Vannestes having tender arms tonight, we all survived both the shots and the mile.

Last Saturday was a momentous milestone for physical activity. We took advantage of the perfect weather day and embarked on a family bike ride to Dairy Queen for lunch - with everyone riding their own bike and no one using training wheels. It was so much fun! We had food and ice cream (of course) and then biked to a park to help burn off all that sugar. Then took the trail home. I'm not going to lie - the bookends were pretty burned out by the time we were done. But everyone agreed that it was good fun and we look forward to many more family rides together.

Best of all, the fall fun is just beginning!