Wonder if anyone has ever tested them?

As wonderful and exciting as it is for the boys to head back to school, it brings with it shorter days for playing and of course the stress of homework and being a bit diligent about practicing reading, writing and arithmetic. So one day we coerced Papa into taking a break from all his work cheerfully headed off to an advertised Elders Quorum ice cream social for a much needed change from our new back to school pace. However once we arrived nobody else (including the organizers) were there.

So we decided to head to a local ice cream parlor because now that we were all in the car, we all were convinced that a change of pace was a great idea. When we arrived at Caspers I fell in love with their Customer Only Parking Sign all over again!



Just in case you can't read that they claim that non-customers parking in their lot will be. . . .


I think I want to try it one day!

The Tiny Tyrant was carefully guarding both the banana flavored with mini M&M's coated ice cream bar and the little paper box it was given to him in. He was displaying some concern that someone was going to take all this yummy, sticky, drippy goodness away from him with no warning (and I admit that I did sneak a bite or two!)

The engineer used a delicate bite with surgical precision to carefully (and neatly) consume every last bite. (He even licked the box and yet not a speck got on his face or his white school shirt.)

And the Comedian, well he was determined to enjoy the unexpected treat with every one of his senses. (That's what spot wash and wet wipes are for after all....right?)

All in all it was a great time relaxing and having a little family time.

Back to School

Well my engineer and comedian have headed back to school. Here they are as they head out the door on the first day. My engineer was pretty stoked and thought it was more awesome and cool that he was in second grade this year. The comedian was a little bit nervous and really glad that mom got to go with him for the first day!


The second day brought its own trauma when it came to light that the comedian hadn't understood that mom didn't get to go to class with him everyday. It is a good thing that he has such a great teacher and a good sense of humor. He got to tell his teacher a joke and then most things seemed right with the world, although there were still tear tracks down his cheeks as he walked away.


Some of the playtime of summer and spending all day long, everyday of the week with mom seems to have affected the engineer's recollection of the names of the days of the week. Check out his answer to problem #3 on the homework assignment below.


I'm afraid that I made him quite self-conscious when I started laughing and grabbed the camera while I was looking over his homework. But later after he had fixed it he told me "Mom, it is just because I missed you so much when I was at school!" Talk about turning my heart into mush!

My boys are growing up, but they still love and need me. What more could a mom ask for?