Ahhh, Labor Day!

We had a FABULOUS Labor Day weekend....

The weekend started with a shopping spree at Half Price Books, where every item was an extra 20% off...WOW! It was really, really hard to stay focused and on budget! Saturday was a dismal, rainy day, (but we were so grateful for the rain...our grass is crispy from water rationing), so we 'cured' our boredom with errand running and were treated to a special surprise when all 5 Meissler kiddos and mom scored EXACTLY the Halloween costume they wanted for $5.99 each :-). On Sunday evening we were able to get together with friends for a BOAR-B-Q (fresh from the hunt, smoked and grilled) and Monday was a FULL DAY of family, at our FAV nature dive. Having time alone together was such a wonderful treat!

Craig is in full swing at church again, and this past week all Meissler's began a new school year...David in pre-K, Grace in grade 1, Natalie in grade 3 and Ella in grade 6. Claire and her friend Mia were in full throttle Toddler-dom. Case in point, on Day 1 of school C climbed onto the bathroom vanity to get the toothpaste while M unscrewed all the caps and together they 'painted' the hallway and door frames upstairs. I KNEW they were being too quiet! Day 2 of school Mia fell from our concrete step from the door to outside and broke her fall onto the concrete slab with her chin, leading to a trip to the urgent care clinic for skin glue (thankfully NOT stitches!). Day 3 was catch up, and Days 4 &5 were (blessedly) 'normal'. In any case, we were all very glad to have Monday to recoup!

While at the nature center, we scored the choicest picnic table next to our favorite wading spot, and were highly successful in finding water loving creatures. First, the fish, (of course), followed by a new little red-eared slider turtle (TOO CUTE!) and finally a bright red crawdad. The crawdad amazed us all by holding up Craig's pocket knife with one of his pincher claws for practically a full minute...AMAZING! We were also treated to a surprising variety of butterflies and a momma dear with her baby fawn. The day ended with an unfortunate lesson in being aware of our surroundings, as Natalie and Grace both had a run-in with poison ivy (YUK!), but we were able to get them home comfortably with a dipped cone providing a pleasant distraction!

All went amazingly well today, with no major meltdowns and a sense of 'ah, this might get easier!' re: outings with the large family :-). It really is all the little things that make our family so dynamic, and we are so thankful to God for our many Meissler blessings!

Here's hoping all is well with you and yours.....

Love Much,

The Meissler 7