Finishing up August

After such a busy first half of August, the rest of it seems more like a blur. I had a hard time remembering some of the things we did. So here's just a few things. 

After we got back from our vacation, Ross had one day off before he had to report back to work for the new school year. This is always a bittersweet time of the year (mostly bitter). As nice as it is to be back on a more regular schedule, who really wants summer vacation to be over?

On one evening, Ross went to the county fair with his friend so I took the kids out for dinner at Del Taco and then to get some shaved ice (one of me and Leah's favorite summer treats). When we got to the shaved ice shack, we ran into our neighbors, the Browns. So Leah and Parker had a blast enjoying their shaved ice together.

Another big event that occurred in August was our Putnam Family Reunion. This is something that just doesn't occur enough, if you ask me. Our family is so big now that it is virtually impossible to get everyone together. But it is still worth a try, right? We decided to go camping at a little camp ground only about a half hour from us. It was a fairly central location that we had been to before about 10-15 years ago, but it seemed a lot different than I remember it being. 

My aunt, Kris, reserved a big campsite for Friday and Saturday nights and then people were welcome to come and stay for however long worked for their family. We got there Friday evening, however so did a big storm that brought in a lot of rain. We had planned to stay in my parents tent. But when they didn't get there until after the rain and it was getting dark, Ross and I started thinking that going back to our house for the night was sounding like a good idea. Luckily, my cousin, Kim, really wanted us to be able to stay, so she offered to let us sleep in her nice big trailer. So we took her up on the offer and didn't have to leave all the fun. 

The weather on Saturday was much better. It was a little chilly and overcast most of the day, but it never rained more than a little sprinkle. A lot more people joined us for Saturday, including my cousin, Britta, who took all of these pictures I have from the reunion. (She took a lot more, but these are the only ones I downloaded). I had my camera with me, but did not take any pictures while I was there. I don't know why I didn't take any pictures of my own, so thank you so much, Britta!

Someone brought a bunch of marshmallow guns that the kids (big and little) had a blast playing with.

 Here are my filthy children. They had so much fun playing with cousins.

And here's my wonderful Grandpa and Grandma Putnam. It was so great that they could be there with us. Even with the cold, rainy weather they were still willing to spend the night in my aunt and uncle's trailer. Their posterity is currently at over 150 family members...and still growing!!!

At the end of August, Leah had her back to school night for preschool. She has been so excited to start preschool. It seems like it took forever for this time to come. She's taking preschool from a woman who has a little preschool in her basement. For the event, she got to go checkout the room, get her picture taken, get her face painted, and enjoy playing with the other kids on the little playground. And the parents could mingle, get some back to school info, and ask the teacher any questions. It was a fun little evening. Here's a picture of Leah after she got her face painted. To no one's surprise, she wanted to look like Elsa. So the painter gave her an ice queen design. 

The rest of these are just pictures of Corbin making a mess with his food. This kid totally has a sweet tooth and was loving these chocolate covered cookies. Boy, he was a mess!

 This is when he had shells and cheese for lunch one day. He had it everywhere.

So there's the rest of August in the life of the Leslies.