It’s been over a week since I last posted for one simple reason – we’re busy! The new school year is almost upon us and, for the first time, both Thomas and Samuel will be attending the same school. You’d think that would make our lives a little easier right? Nope. Thanks to some issues with after school care, we’ll be juggling car pools and alternative childcare. I’m also a little worried about how my brain is going to retain school information for two children. It’s a new world.

Sure, it hasn’t started yet, but we’re already neck deep in paperwork and school supply purchases and orientations. Oh, and did I mention that I don’t have childcare this week? That’s right. I managed to do some creative child-swapping to cover a couple of work days and took two days off. In short, I’m exhausted and it’s only Thursday.

But, enough of my whining. We’ve also been having some fun in the midst of the craziness. A few highlights from my iphone…

We rode our bikes to the farmers’ market on Saturday. Soon after we arrived, batman was spotted running across the quadrangle.

And climbing the play equipment.

Thomas shot a couple of hoops

A friend joined us yesterday for a trip to the Rose Garden playground.

Taking a break…

A little stop on N Mississippi on the way home included lunch, frozen yogurt and a browse through a couple of shops. More pleasant than you’d think with three kids in tow. It was fun looking at the quirky objects for sale in the stores. I also enjoyed having a girl around so we could marvel at frilly vintage dresses together.

On the way home we happened upon some filming taking place in the next street. Of course I had to go over and take a closer look. As suspected, they were filming a little TV show that I won’t name here as I may give away a plot point or two. Hint: Thomas said it wasn’t very nice of them to be making fun of Portland.

I had four kids today, including my own, so we took a trip to the zoo.

We saw Pygmy goats!

and Beavers! (points if you can spot the Beaver)

and Cheetahs!

and Lions eating Buffalo!

Apart from the fact that I almost lost one child to an eagle during the “Wild” show, it was a very successful adventure and a great way to enjoy the last days of Summer before the real work begins after Labor day.

You can view my iphone photo stream on my Tumblr account here: http://www.tumblr.com/blog/nicoleishida or follow me on instagram, username nicolei.