August started with a whole weekend of celebrating Olly’s birthday (which we talked more about in our July recap) // when you accidentally match the floor at the pizza place, you have to take a photo! // we spent a lot of time outside soaking up the last few weeks before Joey starts her first year of preschool later this week // we also celebrated my birthday … for an entire week, as we should! — the day started with Brewnuts, as it should // we had my birthday dinner at Lindy’s Lake House in the Flats, and Joey wore her new sparkly purple dress, which she asks to wear every day and most nights too // I got a haircut — bangs for fall! // Olly is ready for some Browns football! // Andy and I went to Cincinnati for the weekend to wrap up my birthday week, and we had such a good time // sadly, we ended the month by saying goodbye to our precious kitty Mocha 💔.

Mocha was 17 years old and succumbed to kidney failure, which is also what took our other kitty Trixie a couple years ago. We’ve known for a few months that we wouldn’t have a ton of time with Mocha, but up until about a week ago she was still running around like her normal self. She even caught a mouse back in July, which she very proudly presented to our cat sitters while we were at the cabin!!! (Funny for a notoriously bad mouser. My dad loved to tell the story of once finding a mouse hiding UNDER HER CHIN!) My parents adopted Mocha when she was three years old. After they passed away, Mocha came to live with me and Trixie and then Andy, about nine years ago. At just six pounds, Mocha was the sweetest little thing, who loved to cuddle and purr and say hi to everyone… unless you touched her paw and then she was known to bite quick and hard. Mocha slept every night on my pillow — on my entire pillow, and it feels very empty without her. We will miss her so much, but we’re very happy and grateful for the years we had together.

I think September is going to be a great month. First of all it’s the start of the best four months of the year as far as I’m concerned. Joey will be starting preschool later this week, and I’m looking forward to settling into a whole new routine, as well as all the fun activities that happen in the fall — pumpkins and apples and new fall shoes, football Sundays and trying to remember to set my fantasy football lineup, sweaters and pumpkin chai lattes and fresh sweet corn for every dinner. It’s been a great summer and I’m looking forward to an amazing fall!! What is your favorite part of fall?