September summary

September is over.  This post is written for the sake of my family, who want to know how we occupied our time over the month.

On Labor day weekend, Tim and Jonathan and I traveled with Tim's mom into Idaho, to spend the weekend at Tim's grandfather's cabin, because we hadn't been there all summer. We read books, spent a day at Yellowstone hiking around Old Faithful, and basically enjoyed a quiet weekend.  We found out that my parents, three brothers, and a sister and their families were spending the weekend at Yellowstone as well, but we didn't try very hard to meet up.  We did, however, come home and call my mom crying that they didn't love us enough to invite us to go to Yellowstone with them.  It is always a useful practice to instill guilt where possible.  But it didn't seem to work.

Another highlight of September was that Jonathan got his gums lasered.  Two of his top teeth fell out about two years ago, but the replacements never grew in. At first they didn't have space to grow in.  But over the spring and summer, his entire top palate was pried apart with metal, and they still weren't growing in.  So in September, the orthodontist ran a laser over his gums, and now the teeth have popped out.  It was apparently quite painful to the little boy, in spite of assurances that it would not be.  And the result was kind of disgusting, too:  two mean-looking burn marks on the gums.  But the teeth are now out.  Free at last.

I gave a talk at the university one hour north -- put them all to sleep -- then visited my mother and sister and her family for dinner.  We ate pie, and watched two-year-old Maddy stick pears upside down into Mom's outdoor swinging chair.  Dinner and entertainment.  It doesn't get much better than that.  Except it did.  My mother let me take home an extra pie, for my birthday.

I had a birthday.  I turned 35.

Tim's parents brought me a cake and a super-powered stand mixer.  These are the people who gave me 260 tulip bulbs for my birthday last year, and I spent the next month planting.  This year, I get the gift of making cookies.  Luckily, Tim likes to make cookies.  He doesn't like planting tulip bulbs, so this year's gift is way better.  Way better.  (I am, of course, being silly.  The tulips last spring were spectacular, and the neighbors can't get over them.  But they won't get over Tim's cookies very readily, either.)

I spent an hour on a Saturday teaching about 12 boys and girls, ages six to nine, some fancy geometry.  A few of my colleagues have kids the age of Jonathan, so we've decided to take turns running a Saturday math camp for them.  So far, the first two meetings have been successful.  I'm thinking I ought to compile a book of the activities that worked.  Then you can try them at home, too.  On your 6 to 9 year olds.

That's all I've got.  What did you do with your September?