Labor Day Hike

 The weather was in the low 80s (cooler int he shade) and we had no other plans, so we decided to head out for a hike around Ragged Mountain Reservoir. We chose the reservoir because it was close (and Abby would not be joining us -- she had some last minute stuff she wanted to settle for school), although the hike was 7 miles long and took us two and a half hours, so it may have been a wash on time:

We stopped at this pretty inlet for a quick lunch.The sun made the picture washed out, but it was very vibrant in person.

Benji spotted a teeny tiny brown hopping frog. While we were searching for it, we spotted this larger toad hiding out under a log

More nature. Still trying to figure out what this giant slug needs that tiny snail shell for

Pretty views

From the floating bridge

Benji, conquering a cool rock formation

First Day of School 2020

 Since Abby's school day does not start until 12:30p (she will have morning office hours, but they did not start today), we decided to do first day pictures at lunch time. Benji's day is 8:30-3:30 so much more regular, but both kids have an hour for lunch mid-day:

First day of 7th and 11th at Buford and CHS

Also marking the start of Kevin's 20th year teaching

Since fall learning is all virtual, we also decided to do first day pictures at the kids' desks (Abby in her room and Benji in the playroom):

Abby's 10th Grade Art Portfolio

 She was finally able to pick it up when we got her computer and textbooks for the coming school year and we eagerly looked through it together:

Portfolio cover

Cover to a neat little book she made for ArtQuest (rest of the pages to follow)

This one was featured in the art show we did not get to see

A "quick" picture

Absurdist art. If you look closely, you'll see one of the tents is a piece of pie, along with other fun elements

Pinata Smash

 It seems a shame to make it so pretty just to smash it, but it was fun to whack away at the pinata (we strung it up in the playroom and filled it with candy):

New Shabbat Candlesticks

 My mom gave these to me for my birthday and we tried them out right away on the next Friday (which gave us an excuse to buy challah and treats from Great Harvest):

Calligraphy

 We've had this old calligraphy kit sitting around for a while (waiting for a rainy day), so Abby and I broke it out last week and practiced for a while (until we ran out of ink):

Paper Mache Fun

 Our last bucket list item for August was to smash a pinata last night. In order to have a pinata ready, we spent a few nights doing paper mache work: