The First Day of Fifth Grade and a Weekend to Remember!

Little Lewie's first day of fifth grade was the last Monday of August.  We weren't so prepared for the back to school routine; in fact, we didn't do any back-to-school shopping at all!  Lewie left the house with his same backpack from last year and same clothes.  Fortunately, we had enough unused pencils, notebooks, highlighters, and pens that we didn't need to purchase those either--whew!

According to Lewie, this is his "signature pose."  Fifth grade is a big deal this year because
he will be switching classes and learning how to play the trumpet!

Part of me wants to make a big deal about the first day back, but there's another part of me that hates to see the summer go...  Back-to-school means back to rushing, routines, deadlines, and of course, colder weather on the horizon.  As is our annual tradition, we took Friday the 30th off (i.e. played hooky), so we could have a long four-day weekend of fun and festivities.  This definitely helped ease the transition...

On our "Hooky" Friday, we stopped by Burr Pond to try paddle boarding.  It was fun!!

Our next stop was our annual visit to Lake Quassy Amusement Park. 
Since most kids were back to school, we had the amusement park to ourselves.

Notice how Lewie is the only one on the Pirate Swing.  He must have rode this 20+ times.

No trip to Lake Quassy is complete without the train ride!

On the Sunday before Labor Day, we went to the Goshen Agricultural Fair. 
We hadn't been to this fair since Lewie was a toddler!

Pretending to milk Bessy.

"Beep beep, I'm a sheep", I said, "Beep beep, I'm a sheep!"

Every good fair must have rides...

By the end of our four-day weekend, we felt ready to embrace school again.  In fact, on Labor Day, I found a "good luck charm" to carry us through...

I picked the clover by our pool and put it in a bowl of water.  I never saw a four-leaf clover in real life before.  It's just perfect.  Honestly, just perfect!