We all made it through the first week of school, with its early wake-ups, piles of paperwork, meetings galore, and new classroom rules and expectations. The first week was really good, but it was really exhausting too. We all needed a weekend to recuperate.
First up, this smiling boy! Love his grin.
Henry has an eagle eye and spotted this cicada molting. We've seen live cicadas and dead cicadas and cicada shells, but we've never seen a cicada actually in the process of coming out of its skin. Henry noticed this cicada wriggling out of its skin on the walk into school Friday morning. Amazing!
Our weekend was perfect. We spent most of the time at home, playing, grilling, baking, and relaxing, but we also got out and about to enjoy some cooler-than-normal August weather. We had a rare cool front come in last week and it was downright pleasant all weekend long.
Saturday morning means a trip to the farmers market with Henry. The farmers all know Henry by name and he is happy to go talk to them about their products. Garden Dreams jam is one of our favorites.
Will spent a lot of time reading on the sofa.
And Gene spent a lot of time outside with his grill.
Saturday's dinner was chateaubriand with a red wine reduction,
plus roasted potatoes, roasted yellow squash, and a four-bean salad.
It was quite a delicious spread! Gene hasn't made chateaubriand in over five years, but we were celebrating the end of the first week of school and it was a delightful treat.
Henry thought so too!
Snuggles with my big boy.
We ended the evening at Miller Outdoor Theatre, where we listened to a concert by Mercury. They played a selection of pieces and concluded with Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworks,which was followed by a fireworks display. We sat on the hill on our picnic blankets, enjoyed a late night snack of cheese, crackers and grapes, and watched the full moon rise over us.
Ever since our trip to Disneyland, the boys have loved fireworks!
We spent Sunday at home, cooking and baking and playing. We all really love being in the kitchen, so the boys helped Gene make bread and helped me make homemade vanilla ice cream and a peach pie.
Gene baked two loaves of sandwich bread and a crusty sourdough loaf (plus fourteen English muffins on Saturday!). Grilling and baking breads are two of his favorite ways to relax.
Both boys tackled puzzles.
Sunday's dinner was grilled red snapper, crusty bread, roasted yellow squash and eggplant, green salad, and pureed butternut squash.
Plus peach pie a la mode for dessert.
Though the humidity is creeping back in this week, we had a delicious taste of fall over the weekend, and we are looking forward to spending many weekend afternoons in the backyard, eating fresh, homemade meals and enjoying family time together.
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