I love fall.

Summer was great. We kept busy enough, but not stressful, and had some routine but not too much, and got to the pool a lot. The last week of summer break we had a lot of smoke form forest fires, and the air quality was usually red, which meant no soccer practice for Reese, but it also meant we were inside pretty much all the time. And my throat was sore, all the time, but worse if we went out for long. That week i was ready for the kids to go back to school.... being in the same 1400 sq.ft. as the kids all day long for all week meant a lot of chances for practicing forgiveness and long-suffering. for all of us. and practice does not make perfect.
so when the week of school came along, I was ready for the earlier mornings, daily expectations and schoolwork and making sure we have food for lunches, and the paper crisis every day, backpacks all over, etc., in return for an hour or so of quiet time between Aubree's naptime and Reese coming home.
Quiet.
Oh, it is glorious.
Reese is coming home earlier this year, which shortens my quiet time, but I usually prefer it. The kids come home chatty, and I can never listen to all of them at the same time, or even in time to engage them in what they want to say before they get bored waiting for a turn and move onto snacks. This way I can talk to Reese, and he's done by the time the other kids get home, and he doesn't overpower them, so I can listen to them.
And I have my little buddy back. Bree and I, we are a pair all day. She missed the kids at first, but settled well into having attention all to herself. She loves to go places, and she actually has somewhere to go everyday this year. It is a new thing for me to have someplace to be a couple times everyday, which I never thought I'd like, but it's been good.
And best of all, the weather has turned, and almost everyday, we have some of this going on:

I love the fall!