Farewell, Summer

Curtis' favorite part of the Wheeler Farm

Paige enjoying nature

Never trust Tate with a stick of any kind

Summer. As it quickly as it came, it ended. I think Traci was more than a little overwhelmed by the thought of finding something to entertain three kids every day for three straight months. But she did it.

Paigey heads off to first grade tomorrow; Curtis will start his second year of preschool after Labor Day. And Tate will get lots of one-on-one time with Mom, once he gets rid of the other two. (Paige and Curtis have become super-good buddies over the summer. I think he's going to be pretty sad to be on his own for the next week. Tate, though good for a laugh or two, has not yet proven to be a good hang out buddy. Mostly because he spends all of his time smashing everything and pulling Curtis' hair.)

For how fast it flew by, we certainly managed to shove a lot of fun into the last three months: a couple of trips to the ranch (where Paige learned how to kayak by herself), a trip to St. George, two weeks of swimming lessons, a couple of Blaze games, a couple of Bees games, (no RSL games because they were sold out on Tuesday; I had to settle for a rain check), a handful of visits to Tracy Aviary, a sleepover at Grandma's (while Traci and I celebrated our 10-year anniversary), a day at Jungle Jim's, an afternoon bowling at Fat Cats, and on and on.

As I look back at the list, I'm starting to think my kids are a little spoiled. Or maybe we've gotten the most out of our Pass of All Passes. Or we just get a little stir crazy when we're trapped in our house all day.

But now it's time to go back to school.

What a drag.