The BIGGEST news of the month is that all of the kids went back to school! Summer went by entirely too fast and the break from school did everyone good…until the last ten days and then YES, it was time for people to be back in a daily educational routine. I have it easier this year with four kids at two schools as opposed to last year when I had to figure out four kids at THREE schools. It was seriously rough all year long.

We traveled hard, played hard and then hit back-to-school hard. First the first time in recent memory, August around here wasn’t stiflingly hot – this is cause to celebrate! Bebe the pup has been behaving better (she is still a puppy so we have a ways to go), the older two have been training a ton with their high school cross country team (and GO Sophie for making varsity as a freshman!) to get ready for their season and the younger two have been competing against each other on Khan Academy (the greatest invention for improving math skills in the history of EVER). Without further ado, here is August Small Squares!

August brought many trips to various farmers markets for fresh produce and of course ALL of the flowers. The U-Pick flower field at Larry’s Produce blows my mind every single year. I love it so much. I never knew that a bunch of freshly picked flowers could bring me so much joy. And there is something about being the one picking them. Somehow I get even MORE joy when I pick them and then arrange them myself! All of the high fives for Larry’s and the flower fields. I wrote all about my love of Larry’s here.

We had the Clawsons over for dinner one night and after we ate these guys played with/worked on training with Bebe. Ultimately there was more playing than training but we’ll take it 🙂

We sent these kiddos back to school! Simon in 10th, Sophie in 9th and Sadie and Sebastian in 4th. I wrote a post all about it here.

I know, I know. MORE flowers! But you guys, when it is cold and rainy and moody/gloomy outside I will look back on these bright and happy flower photos and feel SO good inside! Got to capture the summer goodness while you can, right?!

Simon ran varsity for both Cross Country and Track as a freshman and was awarded “Rookie of the Year” in both sports last year as a freshman. We promised him at the beginning of his freshman year that if he lettered in both sports we would buy him a letterman jacket after his freshman year. He delivered and so we delivered! We are super proud of him and his accomplishments; the future is bright for this kid!

I freshened up Sophie’s room right before school started. You can read all about her room redo here!

I also freshened up Simon’s room in advance of school starting. We have one more project to do in this space before I do a full reveal but it looks loads better than it did before! Kid room makeovers are probably my favorite 🙂

Bebe had a little more puppy training. We still need MORE…but dang she is so cute!

Simon and I made a quick trip down to Long Beach for continued allergy immunotherapy for his peanut allergy. We have made such tremendous progress over the last two years; thank goodness for bright doctors and scientists and programs like the one at TPIRC. We are forever grateful for the ongoing miracle that is allergy immunotherapy. Once we are done with the program I will do a complete post about our entire journey. So stay tuned; it will be a good (and long) one.

We hosted a pancake breakfast for the XC team after a long Saturday workout. We loved having this crew over! Also, teenagers who have just gone on a long run eat A LOT of food. Like…way more than you can imagine.

I worked on a laundry room Moroccan tile counter makeover with Annie Sloan Chalkpaint and the results were EPIC! Also, so much work but totally worth it. You can check out my full post and tutorial here. I’m happy with how the results turned out!

I did a little work with a eyewear company called Caddis. Aren’t these frames funky? I also love this photo that Simon took of me. He’s hired!

Sam treated himself to a replica of his very first skateboard back when he was a young teen! He loves it and I loved seeing how excited he was about it. No, he will not be riding it. Yes, it will be mounted on a wall somewhere in our house for all to admire 🙂

I bought this backpack while we were in Utah to be used as my personal item when flying. I tested it out for the first time on my trip to Long Beach and it is a keeper. I’ve been collecting travel related enamel pins for awhile and put them all on the front pocket of the backpack. So far I’m really happy with how it handles. Here is my exact model. I chose this over the Fjallraven and I’m glad that I did. The Fjallraven felt a little flimsier and I didn’t want to have to pay extra for the lightly padded backpack straps.

That’s it for August! Peace out and bring on SEPTEMBER!