The Twilight of Summer

We are soaking up the last of the warmth and the green, here!

Finally, finally our morning glorys have decided to bless our porch in profusion.

I like how they curl up for the night

My morning commute is getting darker and darker. Walking in sunrise conditions is still breathtaking, though.

Grendel's had his one more summer fling, too. Our 9 year old indoor cat got out for the better part of 2 days last week. And then when I was giving up hope of seeing him again, there he was, yowling prodigal yowls at the window.

Welcome home, buddy. 

The kids continue to run wild with the neighbors whenever possible.

Last weekend, we attended 2 birthday parties and one baptism reception. It was a merry weekend! The kids next door invited Miles & Adele to their birthday party, verbally, through the fence, the day before. As the party was happening in their backyard, I was only too happy to let them RSVP a yes back through the fence.

Later, we went to a house party to celebrate one of my co-workers. There was a passel of kids and a huge trunk of dressup gear, so our kids pretty much didn't want to leave ever.

Miles keeps kidnapping my phone and taking selfies. I'm trying to be convincingly disapproving about this. 

The temperature dropped sharply on Sunday, reminding us that Fall is really imminent. So obviously, we had a fire.

I've been unpacking the cold-weather stuff, bit by bit.

Sunset at 7:30 these days. 

We counter the darkness. What a jolly fire we had!

There were s'mores. We invited the neighbor kids. Pirate house heaven.

Meanwhile, Miles continues to work hard in first grade. He does his daily homework and regularly brings home math quizzes with full marks.

And this week he achieved the ellusive "Role Model" ranking! None of us knows how he did it, but he was beaming!

Adele looks forward to preschool every day. She is beginning to throw around some Spanish words, and talks fondly of her music time and her playground friends. 

Fall has us in its momentum, now. There is talk of Halloween costumes. I've decided on a paper topic for Contemporary Theory, and I'm gaining confidence that I will probably survive the class. Jon continues his job quest, and has been working weekends at the VT reference desk. 

It's so much easier to stay in the now when the now is the mountains in early fall, is it not?