Labor Day weekend

While David was in Portland, I kept the kids busy, and one of the things we did was attend a Thursday night children's program at the library with Avonlea Jane's friends Taran and Finn. You can see Will standing all the way to the left, and Avonea Jane is on the mid-right, taking to Taran.

They were so glad when David came home a day early.

A'Jane or Nanny, as Will calls her, showing off

David's arrival home from Portland also accompanied our transition from a family of four to one of five, as Michaela officially moved in the same weekend. The little ones could not be more excited to have a big sister, and it's been a never-ending bid for her attention, whether it be from Avonlea Jane wanting to sit right next to her on the couch or Will running around yelling, "Kaya! Kaya!"

Balancing the scheduling for five people (especially two who are starting school very soon) has taken some work, but the transition has been easier than we expected. The kids certainly aren't the only ones who like having Michaela around. David and I love that she enjoys playing board games with us, and we love seeing how she interacts with the little ones. Even though she's the youngest in her family, she's a natural at being a big sister and seems to have an unending patience with the kids and a great instinct for anticipating their needs. It also doesn't hurt that she also likes to watch cartoons.

It's been fun to be reminded of what being a teenager is like, especially when we've also had Michaela's best friend, Brenna, around. As school hasn't started yet, it's been like we're actually a family of six. Thankfully, Brenna is just as enjoyable as Michaela and also a natural around the kids or around a board game. 

We're sure our parents, or anyone who's had a teen in the house, might say that it has its challenges, but we really look forward to the experiences we'll have as a family together and then being able to share those on the blog. Prior to Michaela moving in, when we told people our family news, we heard a lot of responses similar to "that's really nice of you to invite her to live with you," or comments that focused on what we could bring to her life. Even after one week, it's obvious that we greatly underestimated how much she could bring to us. We're learning that every time you invite a new person to care about into your life it's truly a gift to yourself. 

We'd been so busy getting ready for our household transition that we hadn't done a lot of fun things in August, so we made sure to hit a couple of new 1000 Places before the end of the month. The first stop was Brooksby Farm in Peabody. This isn't exactly the season for farm visits in this area, and the only thing we could do was look at their few animals. 

Will's yelling "Emu! Emu!" trying to get one to come over.

Once one actually came over, the kids were frightened. 

We left Brooksby and went to Glen Magna Farms and Endicott Park in Danvers. Glen Magna was originally a North Shore summer estate. Avonlea Jane noticed that it looks like the White House.

Willie wanted Michaela to chase him.

Outside the children's barn

Looking at a rabbit

On Friday night, David took the little kids to see an outdoor showing of Finding Nemo at our local playground, and I took the big kids to a strategy game night with me. We got another chance to show off our expanded family at our friends Brett and Tom's Saturday potluck. After eating several cherries, Avonlea Jane also got to show off her new vampire look.

Will decided Molly needed mummies.

Michaela found a new friend on Saturday. Once this butterfly landed on her, it stuck around for quite some time.

After staying on her as she made her way around the house, Michaela finally gave it a new home in Brett's garden.

We spent more time eating outdoors on Sunday when we enjoyed a holiday weekend barbecue with our neighbors at Kate and Chad's house. Everyone was glad to officially meet Michaela and to welcome back Janet and Doug who recently sold their house.

"Go! Go!" Willie said.