summer winds down

That is, the summer vacation is coming to an end. The weather, on the other hand, says that summer is still in full swing. It is odd that the kids are going back to school when the highs are in the 90's every day: this is when they should be splashing and then retreating indoors for a break from the heat. So it is in Georgia, though, and school starts August 11. Iain's preschool program (toddler play, really, for a few hours two days a week) begins at the end of August. We'll have some time to play by ourselves before he goes back to 'school'.

Soon, I will have the latest photos linked; my computer has crashed, and I am waiting on the new one to arrive. For now, I am separated from my hard drive and from facebook, both of which I need in order to post those photos! What won't show up in the photos: Iain's rapidly expanding vocabulary, Anna's enthusiasm about the start of school, and Thomas's obsession with all things related to Peter Pan. Lately, that's been their favorite movie--that, and Cars. Iain has learned much younger than his siblings how to follow the plot of a movie, or at least to learn the names of the characters and grasp the smaller chunks: his favorite scene in the Cars movie is the tractor tipping scene. This has inspired his interest in combine harvesters. Yes, he says, 'combine harvester,' though you probably wouldn't catch it if you didn't know in advance that was what he was trying to say.

Our lives have all been touched recently by the loss of a neighbor. His sudden and unexpected passing has left us a little bit unsettled: not to see him out gardening or tending his pool is odd after all the years we have lived here. Several of the houses near us have turned over once or twice since we moved here in 2001, and he and his wife were among the original crowd. We will miss him.

There will be photos soon. Really. Maybe even some of the first day of school, if I don't have a new computer before then!!