Visit from Josh and Hannah

At the end of August, Josh and Hannah came down for a visit.  This was going to be the culmination of our summer.  On the first day they were here, Emma and I met them in Ashland to see "The Count of Monte Cristo" at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.  It was pretty awesome, although obviously not as geared to kids as "Into the Woods" was last year.

The next day we all went rafting on the Rogue River which was a blast.  A little cooler than I would have liked, but still pretty perfect.  Since it had rained the night before most folks had cancelled their reservations so we had the river to ourselves it seemed like even though the day turned out mostly clear and in the 80s.

The evening following rafting we were supposed to go to Britt Festival, but we ran out of time.  Instead we just came home, had a relaxed dinner, and played Monopoly all night.  The next day we had a relaxing start to the day and Josh and Hannah left about mid-day.

And then a short week later, Emma started her first day in the Fourth Grade!  So far her class has been interesting, because while her teacher seems to be really good, she also seems a bit green.  Which was fine last year, but this year remains to be seen.  A perfect example is the teacher's position on homework.  She doesn't believe that there should be any.  But I think Emma and most kids could stand to be challenged.  Oh well.  We'll see how it all pans out.