The Lights Fest

Coop and I headed to the middle of Missouri one weekend for The Lights Fest, where everyone releases a paper later in to the sky.  But first, we stayed at this fabulous AirBnb with alpacas!

At the event:

Decorating his latern:

Getting ready to release the latern:

fall misc

Doing homework:

Hugs in the kitchen:

At a charity event for Alexandra's House:

Dress for Success Wednesday:

Our October car companion, who we've named Nana Beverly:

Coop was reading some old notes from 3rd grade:

Lyons

Cooper and I went to Lyons with a BIG secret:

We were involved in the planning of (and lying about!) a surprise birthday party for Grandma Joan's 70th birthday:

The moment of surprise:

And the zwieback that were at the heart of our deception (and were also very, very tasty!):

While we were home, Coop drove the gator:

Exhausted after all the festivities:

September

Coop and I saw a concert at Starlight Theatre in Kansas City:

And he pitched the moon!

Working together:

Holding Jenny and taking a selfie for a lesson in language arts about selfies:

And it finally happened one day... Jenny bit him.  It was a bit traumatic at the time, though everyone is fine and happy again:

Back to school

Coop is starting 7th grade in a new school.  We attended the open house to get a feel for the place.  I made Coop take a photo with his principal Dr. Jones:

We spent some time decorating his locker---he opted for a plant theme:

And we found the auditorium:

Ready for the first day!

The school is just across the street, so Coop will walk every day:

Staring out the window waiting for him to come home in the afternoon!

Comedy

Cooper participated in a week-long camp at Theatre Lawrence, where the kids put on a production of Star Farce, a farcical version of one of the Star Wars movies (I forget which one....).  Coop was a silver version of C3P0, called T14 (I think?):

Celebrating with Orange Leaf frozen yogurt afterward:

Coop and I went to a comedy improv show in Kansas City:

And celebrated afterward with fabulous donuts!

Wrapping up summer...

Cooper has been doing a great job of interacting more with his pets.  Jenny is growing and thriving:

Klinger is still cute and (comparatively) little:

And then we watched Apollo 13, while eating astronaut ice cream: