The Lawson Chronicles: A light at the end of the tunnel

It's almost over at work! I'm relieved to report that the worst is over & things can only get better from here. Whew! Made it through another season of move-outs and move-ins ... my ninth one, to be exact. What is wrong with me? Why do I endure this every year? Oh yeah, that's right -- I like food.

Z's first week of 1st grade went smashingly. It's been rough transitioning back into routine and early bedtimes after a summer of fun, but he's holding up pretty well. We got a nice surprise at the end of last week, actually. His teacher emailed me to let me know they have a program in her classroom called "Shining Star of the Week", and she picked Zachary to be her first one for this school year. Way to go, Z! By earning the prestigious honor of "Star of the Week", that means you have a bulletin board dedicated solely to you for a whole week, and the class interviews you, like you're a celebrity. Ha! You can only earn the rank of "Star of the Week" by showing "exemplary behavior" in the classroom, helping out the teacher, helping fellow students, and turning in all of your homework on time. I'm so proud of him! He's ecstatic about being chosen first!

The letter sent home from Miss Crowley,

asking us for some of his "favorites", as well as

explaining "Star of the Week" in great detail.

The note sent home to all the parents Monday.

I will let you know how he felt, being treated like he's famous, after the week is over. I have a sneaky suspicion he will love every freakin' second.

As I've mentioned before, I rather enjoy browsing Awkward Family Photos. It's the website gift that keeps on giving. I recently came across another boatload of gem photos, a lot of them wedding related. Take a look:

So wrong.

Um ...

The bride looks like she would rather die than

be a part of this weird picture.

A big thank you to my parents, for never embarrassing me like this.

I cringe at this one.

Huh??

Did he pick her up on the corner before boarding the ship?

This has "Dungeons & Dragons" written all over it.

They all look so cavalier about the fact that he's

holding a giant projector.

Awww, motherly love.

It's like sunflower field, with floating heads.

Holy crap! No!

Notice their pet snake, wrapped around all their necks.

(Collective "eewwwww")

Ma & Dawd, wanna take a picture like this on our cruise?

Can Aaron & I hold your elbows, too?

Looks like he's thinking happy thoughts of himself.

Did she fall asleep mid-shoot?

Oh wait, that's supposed to be sultry. I get it.

Will people just do ANYTHING a photographer tells them to?

Poor, exiled Granny.

This was under the "engagement photo" guise.

Wtf?

Way to out yourself.

That guy at the bottom, holding two babies,

looks like Jim Bakker to me.

Do you see it?

Ahh, good times. I will never tire of this site. It's gold, Jerry! Gold!

Lastly, one of my favorite seasons is lurking riiiiiiiiiight around the corner ... yes, it's Halloween I'm speaking about. We are big Halloween fans in this house. I have started getting catalogs with costume ideas in the mail, and Z has been asking to go through them lately. While I was thumbing through one or two last night, I came across some of the cutest stinkin' costumes for toddler boys that I've ever seen.

And my personal favorite ...

Adorable! Where were these when Zach was that small? He hasn't quite made his big decision for this year's get-up, but I'll keep you posted. I think he's leaning toward this Wolverine from the cartoon X-Men. (Not the movie, he's never seen that.)