Pre-Halloween Preparation

 Mom practiced putting on Grace's fawn makeup this evening.  I think she did a pretty good job.

 Then Grace put on my fireman's hat to become a firefighting fawn.

 She experimented with various personas.  This is grumpy firefighting fawn.

Later, Grace tasted some early Halloween candy to prepare for the deluge coming on Saturday. 

These days, Grace has fewer teeth for the sugar to attack, so does that mean she should get less candy?

Happy Birthday to Me. (I'm "free.")

Today, my truck crew and I met at a neighborhood park to celebrate me.

 We all piled onto the tire swing for some crazy spinning.

Even Grace jumped on.

It was a "no shoes" kind of party.

 Later, Egan and I were in sync ... 

 ... and on the move.

 After some pizza, we waited patiently for everyone to gather 'round for the singing of "Happy Birthday."

 Then it was time to eat cake!  

Toothless

 Grace wiggled her first tooth out today.  She'd been turning it and tugging at it for days.

 She's got quite a gap now.

And what do we do when we lose a tooth?  Eat Skittles, of course.

24 Hour Popsicle Party People

 One of these fine young ladies turned six years old today.  No hints.

Of course, there was a party, and the theme was jumping and popsicles.  Grace and this old guy took a turn in the bounce house. 

 I took several turns.

I just can't get enough of the bounce house. 

And neither can Horton.

 We hired a pair of clowns as entertainment.  Don't worry; they were pretty cheap.

 On a day when the temperature hit ninety degrees, even the birthday girl had to take a few breaks from celebrating.

Fancy Footwork

 Grace started her second season of AYSO soccer this morning.  She takes her soccer very seriously.

 Very, very seriously.

 Her team is called the Purple Rainbow Cobras.  For now.  

I pretended to be the assistant coach.

But I kept getting carried off the field.

Back-to-School Day

 Summer is over: Grace started a new school year today -- with a little assistance from me.

It seemed like a regular day to me, though.  After Horton and I dropped Grace off at her school, I headed over to mine for the usual rigorous academic schedule. 

 Hopefully, Grace brought along her full backpack of dance moves.  It would be a shame if she wasted them all on her small home audience.

See you around campus!

On a Summer's Day

 The last day on Nantucket meant a trip back to Mr. Rogers's Beach.  We did a lot of our favorite things, like squirt each other with our water guns.

 Grace rode her Boogie board some more.

 We chilled at water's edge.

 We rounded up as many hermit crabs as we could find.

 Our friend Annika snuck up on us, too.

 We were totally oblivious of her plan, but it was OK 'cause we were already wet.

 Then we all caught a surprise ride on a paddle board.

And nobody fell off!