S had a fun birthday on the 28th! It was great to hang out with her and N&M. We went to the mall and S got a full-on manicure and pedicure, complete with massage chair!

We also did a bunch of back-to-school shopping that week - now they're all in school. S is really liking her new 4th grade teacher, and N&M have started at Whatcom MS and are liking it OK too - though they're not too crazy about the homework, and both have told me that math is their least favorite class....

We're going to the Puyallup Fair this weekend and will be meeting my sister and her two sons there. We've never been to this fair, which is pretty big, so it should be fun.

N continues to play his violin and sounds really quite good - he can get a nice tone out of it. S is in a hip-hop and ballet dance class this year. Still looking for something for M to take.

I went hiking and camping with some friends to Yellow Aster Butte last weekend. It is so beautiful up there! We went up an old, unmaintained trail called "Keep Your Cool" - rough going at some spots, but almost no other people around (with the exception of some bow hunters looking for deer, and surprisingly, a lot of bear hunters!). Found a huge patch of huckleberries on the way as well. YAB is dotted with water filled tarns, covered in soft grasses and moss, and is very quite. It was warm enough that I could walk around barefoot, and we had an almost full (harvest) moon - bright enough that we went on a short walkabout in the moonlight. I really, really want to take NMS up there soon!