Those who’ve been with me awhile likely remember one of our favorite family traditions: bringing apple cider scones to the kids’ teachers on the first day of fall (or thereabouts). It’s a tradition that dates from June’s first year of life, when I made and packaged pairs of buttery, cinnamon-flecked treats for her daycare teachers. As the kids and I tallied up our list of teachers to bake for this week, I realized that I’ll likely be tripling my recipe this year: there are three kids in the mix now, of course, and June loves to deliver this treat to each of her past elementary school teachers in addition to her current one. I’m not mad about it. Our teachers deserve to be celebrated, and so does the first day of fall :) Over the years, many of you have joined me in this tradition. I’ve always pointed those who wanted in on the fun to Jenny Steffen Hobick’s website, where I first found the recipe many years ago. Since it no longer seems to be active on her site, I thought I’d share it here for those who are curious. Whether you make it for your teachers or yourself, enjoy! And happy (early) fall. Apple Cider Scones 1 cup of apple cider 2 cups plus 1/4 cup all-purpose flour1/4 cup sugar1 tablespoon baking powder1/2 teaspoon sea salt12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter2 eggs, lightly beaten1/4 cup cold heavy cream1/4 cup of apple cider reduction1 teaspoon of vanilla1 teaspoon of cinnamon1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg 1/4 cup of apple cider reduction2 tablespoons of butter1 cup confectioners’ sugar Reduce the apple cider in advance so it can cool. Pour the cider in a saucepan and simmer on medium until it reduces by half, to an almost maple-syrup consistency. It should take about

Last fall, when June started kindergarten, we joined the ranks of many, many families before us and set aside Fridays for family movie night. This is not an original idea, but it has become a beloved tradition. The kids look forward to it all week and, to be fair – since we paired it with the takeout tradition we started early last year (after a mini emotional meltdown over the passing of time, no big deal) – so do we. Fridays have never been better over here. A mostly-unrelated photo because I don’t have any of movie night… I’ve been practicing my French braiding! Today, I thought it might be fun to share the movies we watched in the 2021-2022 school year along with a few mini reviews! But first, a little background: June was 5 and 6 and Shep was 3 when we watched the movies below. Annie was under one and did not participate in family movie night. On movie night, we aim to eat dinner no later than 6:30, then do quick baths and pajamas and be watching the movie by 7:30/8. Since most kid movies are about 90 minutes, this still gets our kids in bed by 9:30ish, which works for our us. (June had no problem staying up, though Shep would occasionally fall asleep or even ask to go to bed halfway through the movie, ha! Know thyself, buddy.) We eat dessert during the movie. Historically, this was a cookie from the bakery we can walk to from preschool, but since it recently closed (sob!), we’ve been improvising. Something I feel passionately about: this is family movie night, not kid movie night. I want my children to see me enjoying leisure time, not scrolling on my phone or cleaning up the kitchen while they enjoy

June has wrapped up her first year of elementary school, which means we’ve been in transition-to-summer mode! Just as we marked the beginning of kindergarten, we wanted to mark its end as a family, too. She had a wonderful year with the best teacher and sweetest class – more than we prayed for by every measure – and so celebrating was easy. Here’s what we did: 1. June got to choose our meal. She chose spaghetti, which in our house means Rao’s sauce and frozen meatballs – easy easy. I added cheesy garlic bread (again, frozen), her dessert choice of chocolate lava cakes with vanilla ice cream and raspberries, and “special drink” (sparkling cider, which is the preferred beverage for every special occasion around here). 2. We set a fancy table. That pink gingham tablecloth has been my go-to for years. We added place cards by June, popsicle plates, taper candles, and flowers from our yard (!). Always love setting a table with my girl. 3. We read good words over her. We’ve started the tradition of asking her teachers to write a note each year in a picture book, and at dinner, we read their beautifully-encouraging words. She beamed the whole way through. (We chose this book for the tradition. I looked at lots of options, and though I wouldn’t say this book is the absolute best story, it’s sweet, the illustrations are lovely, and the pages have enough negative space for notes. For message, my first choice would have been this book, but alas, there’s not enough space for notes on the pages.) 4. We brainstormed summer fun. Also at dinner, we went around the table and took turns adding adventures to our summer fun list. I’ll take the ideas and form them into a list we can