Dana Burland

Did you also find yourself hiding in some prickly bushes today, or was it not your youngest's first day of Kindergarten? Look, I had to. Just like I had to follow the bus 3 years ago when my oldest went off to Kindergarten. How could you NOT need to visually confirm a sweet boy with chubby cheeks and a backpack covering shoulders to back of knees arrives to his new unknown of elementary school safely? Today it was my youngest guy's turn--day 1 of Kindergarten. So, I drove the opposite way from Daddy and both boys (they're drop off AM kids now) and returned to my elementary school parking lot bush hiding location. Out of sight from my kids, but not aggressively so that parents/teachers/other kids were freaked out by the emotional woman in the brush.  I watched both boys hop out of Daddy's car. Older bro hyping up younger bro. Holding his hand. Taking him to the pool of other freaked out Kindergarteners. Sticking with him and giving him a parting ways hug. Cue the parenta...

Reporting to you one degree shy of sunburnt, a bit lake smelly, and still unsure what day it is. That's right, we're freshly back from vacation, and it was sooo gooood. We rented a cottage for a week in the Canadian Lakes area--annoyingly not near, nor having anything to do with, Canada. We split our time there with B's family joining for a few days, then mine. Except for one rainy (REALLY rainy) day, every day was a wonderfully sunny repeat of the one before. Our cottage came equipped with two kayaks and two paddle boards. We had a small clear beach before the water got real weedy, and schools of bluegill fish plus a day of sighting the "king and queen"--two pike. We may have increased the fish sighting with consistent Cherrios feedings. Most days we splashed around at our beach and tooled around on the kayaks/paddle boards. Good lord is it cute seeing A in his life jacket sit at the end of the board and hunt for (plentiful) seaweed. There was LOTS of kid snorkel...