late summer 2010

Okay, the photoshow says fall. That's because the sun was shining this morning but it was several degrees cooler, the boys have started school, they're selling local sweet corn from a truck on the corner, and you can smell chile roasting. But it's still mid August and Labor Day is a couple of weeks away. We still go swimmming at Cyndi's club.

It was back to school this past week, running around for school supplies and still some (skateboard) shoes and a backpack to get. Rylee got Jackson's kindergarten teacher in the classroom that was finished the year Jack was in kindergarten. This makes Cyndi very happy and feeling secure for Ry's sake. Jackson started Wednesday for a half-day and Rylee started Friday. Thursday, Jack's birthday, he wore the birthday cake hat to school and carried in cupcakes for his classmates. Friday, Ry's first full day in school, Cyndi was sad. It was a big day for her. Ry joins Jack and his two cousins, Lauren and Nicholas, in the same school.

And it was Jack's birthday. He wanted a special breakfast, which Cyndi prepared on the morning of his first full school day. I had teased him about the Wii during the last few days, and when he got it in the morning he was very happy. That evening it was family over for dinner and cake and ice cream. He opened the many cards and gifts he received that evening.

Ariel called last night as we were eating Chinese. She and Chris were rock climbing in the Catskills and had moved into their new place before leaving. I talked to Beth on her birthday, and she and Gary told me about their Maui trip, the not-fun plane trip out, and the onset of what sounds like a serious back pain issue. We also caught up on Ariel's generation, Sarah going to Louisville, Terra and Karl moving to Missouri, Emily's last year in college, Eric's first year in college, Jennifer and Jacques moving, I thought I heard, to Valdez, and Michael's safe return. We're expecting David around Labor Day, and Beth thought she'd like to come out to visit this fall.

Jack has the Wii all hooked up. There was a bit of a scene the first night with the cousins, which we are going to avoid in the future. It's already giving me headaches. We've talked a lot about how these games affect behavior and about being very selective about what games or channels are played in our home. The console also gives online access to the internet and to netflix, for movies. Bottom line is we're making some technology switches, including dropping cable, adding a Verizon mobile "mi-fi", subscribing to netflix, and relying on internet streaming for lots of the children's entertainment. It should cut some costs, too. A good time to make changes.

The swamp cooler is on the other end of the technology spectrum. Such a simple machine. I finally learned how to tweak it, though, so we have a better flow of cool air. The keys are the pad saturation and the adjustable motor pulley. And keeping the water pump clean.

It's been a hot summer. The monsoon rains have been sporadic. Fall's close, but summer's not over.