Goodbye Summer/Hello Fall

Looks like I took most of July and all of August off from checking in here. The summer can be like that. Here's a little catch up: the garden grew and now is dying back, we cheered as we watched a WOMAN become a nominee for president, spent a lazy week at the beach in the best little beachfront house, said a happy goodbye to the elimination diet (!!!), read good books, did many Lego projects, canned lots of applesauce, turned our front yard into something beautiful (with Vincent's help - he built retaining walls and I planted perennials), turned 40, enjoyed the hummingbirds sipping nectar from our Scarlet Runner Beans, discovered that Scarlet Runner Beans are poisonous if eaten raw (so much barf, so much laundry), Dean discovered how to write his name, celebrated the start of First Grade and the lost of her second tooth, made a skirt for the first day of school, had a wet yet great camping trip at the beach, and so much more.
PS We turned on the heat for the first time today. I was trying to hold out longer, but when Vincent came home and found me wearing a wool sweater and wrapped in a blanket he declared that he was turning on the heat, plus "It's officially fall now."