He's In!

Matthew found out yesterday that he was accepted into the Master's in Management program at Harvard's Extension School. I'm so happy for him and thought I'd share the joy! To get in he had to take three classes -- accounting, finance and economics -- and get at least a B+ average, plus send in his resume, an essay, letters of recommendation etc. Because he has those three classes under his belt he's technically a 1/4 of the way through the degree already. He's taking two classes this semester as well. While I'm not always the most supportive of his studies (help me put the kids to bed and then you can finish your assignment) I am really proud of him and excited for him to be a master of management. I told him he'll have to use his new-found skills managing our kids. I'll let you know how that goes.

Here's a recent picture of Matthew, Thomas, Joey and Anna on top of Mount Major. The lake behind him and the kids is Lake Winnipesaukee.  We went on a hike there at the beginning of September. I'm sure it's even prettier now, now that the leaves are starting to turn.

  












Here's one of all of us on top of the mountain. It was so beautiful up there. It was a fun hike, though a little strenuous for me, which is why my cheeks are fuchsia. 

Finally, here's Isaac running a practice race for his 3K. He's run cross country for the last three years and has had some great coaches at his school. Isaac came in a respectable 23rd out of 93 kids, running a 8:05 mile. I think it's amazing that he's my kid and he can run at all!

End of Summer Fun

We did manage to cram a lot of fun into the last few days of summer. We all really enjoyed a ward camping trip to Camp Joseph in Sharon, Vermont. It is so beautiful there. It is really a great spot for camping. I stayed in a tiny little cabin with the four kids the first night. Matthew didn't come up until Friday, and I think it was really brave of me to go camping with the four kids alone. Needless to say, I took it easy. We had hot dogs for dinner, cold cereal for breakfast and pb&j for lunch. After Matthew arrived on Friday we went out for pizza and brought it back to our campsite. My type of camping ;)
The kids had so much fun. They fished, tubed down a river, climbed trees, made fires and ran all over the place. Matthew and I had fun too. It was a great couple of days. And the weather was perfect. Pleasant and warm during the day, but not too hot. Cool at night, just enough that you needed a sweater, but not freezing. And very few bugs.
The facilities at Camp Joseph are great. Showers, bathrooms, a lodge, tiny cabins, a wide manicured lawn, and great views. Really beautiful.

We also had a fun day in Boston with our friends the Blanchettes. We went last year as well. It has become a birthday tradition for me. We went to Boston Common where we ate pizza and listened to some music, then the Boston Public Garden where we rode the swan boats. Then Jenn and I sent the men and children home so we could go shopping. Perfect!

Then it was time to send the kids back to school. Isaac is in 5th grade this year, Joey is in 1st grade and Thomas is in kindergarten. Anna is in a little preschool \that a friend of mine volunteered to do for some of the two year olds around here. Anna loves it. 

Joey getting on the bus for the first time:

The look on Anna's face as her brothers left was priceless. She was so sad!

Thomas on his first day of kindergarten. 

I started school too. So far, so good. Although I did have a student fall asleep in class today. Full on asleep. Oh well, I'm not taking it personally!