The Spearpeople had a great summer! Lots of time with family and friends in fun, beautiful places. We spent a week in Ashe County, NC, at Jim's parents' cabin around the 4th of July, then hit the beach with Jess and Elliot. In August we gathered with the rest of the Cook clan in Snowmass, CO, after passing through Denver to see old friends there. Summer rounded out with the annual Spearman/ Chambers gathering at Lake Gaston on the VA-NC border, and a visit from Nana for Labor Day weekend. Highlights were Sylvan's first ride on a gondola (which he was sort of obsessed about), growing cucumbers (see "Pickles" entry to follow), and getting a big boy bed (which he loves and will sleep in all night - huzzah!). And the excitement continues! Sylvan started a new school on Tuesday, SEEC - Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center. We've been on the lottery wait list since he was a baby, so we are super psyched to finally be there. The program is run by the Smithsonian, so they use the museums to supplement classroom topics and have an outing pretty much every day. And to top it off, Sylvan got glasses this week. He needs a little help with close-up vision, just like mom and dad, so we are all four-eyes now.