Sweet Ridge Starts School

There are two sides to Ridge: Ridge the Rhino and Sweet Ridge. Even when he's misbehaving, he has a sweet demeanor about him that is so soft and gentle. 

The day after Halloween, our sweet Ridge got to start school. It's just one day a week, but he takes it so seriously. "I'm going to my own school and I'm going to get some new friends." He's been just a few times, but he absolutely loves it!

The teachers seem to pick up on his character too. They tell me how sweet he is, and even calls him "Sweet Ridge." His crafts that he brings home have that label. 

I'm so happy for him! The walk to school is a favorite part too! It's just enough slow to remind me that I have the time to linger and go at toddler speed. We chatter, run, walk, stop, look, point, and play. 

It also reminds me of the sweet times that I had with Burl and Fern when they started years ago. 

Tears, Wands, And High Energy

This year we went for a group theme: Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Hedwig (Harry's pet owl). Instead of the robes and hoods, the kids wanted the preppy version of their characters. Deb made school patches (SO IMPRESSIVE!) which we put on uniform shirts. Ridge and Lark did ties, while Fern refused the boyish look, going for a scarf instead. Lark HATED his owl costume. I wrestled to get it on while he cried 100 tears. Thankfully, sugar, sugar, and more sugar gave him enough comfort to function.

The big three had fun trick or treating for nearly three hours! Lark did good for about one hour, saying "trick or treat" and "thank you" to everyone. Fun uncle Joseph came with us as well, while John and I traded our time at home passing out candy to over 250 people! I absolutely love halloween vibes! Such perfect fun. 

Dinner & An Evening

Since our beach camping trip was cut short, we had some staycation time and extra money leftover. We decided to take the family out to dinner at a real restaurant with a server and everything. The whole night turned into a very fun evening and I have a few pictures to share. Of course, I'm still not great at taking pictures at night without a flash, but I'm learning. Please excuse the blur...



We went to a local pasta place near a walking bridge. Tony's Pasta was fun-free bread all night, kids meals that are big enough to split, and the spot where John and I had our very first official date. "Ew, yuck!" the kids said in response to that news, followed by explosions of laughter.

At the walking bridge, we let everyone run free, or in Burl's case, climb free. Lark is starting to transition from being in the stroller to being a big boy. Because he was so excited with his freedom, he yelled in celebration the whole time. I imagined him saying, "I am big-here me roar!"

On the bridge, there is always someone playing good music. All the children liked it, but Ridge was the only one who asked if I would dance with him. Dance we did because he is my twin when it comes to good times and easy fun. Followed by the guitar man, we saw someone practicing ballroom dancing. Fern was the most intrigued by this! She gets her people watching from my side of the family, a trait that runs strong. 

The night became An Evening and the kids forgot all about their camping trip troubles. They followed up by kindly asking if we could do this more often. Specifically, they asked if we could go to a restaurant once a month. Apparently $5 pizzas and drive-thru ChickFilA don't count-who knew!? We said yes (and it has to be a place that gives some food for free). Sometimes staycations can be better than vacations!