Are your kids bummed about the end of summer? These back-to-school ideas will get them exxcited to go back.

1. Create a back-to-school survival kit

2. Go on a back-to-school shopping trip

3. Bake up a batch of treats

4. Pick up these picture books

5. Prepare yummy school lunches

6. Carve out a kid cave

7. DIY a portable homework station

8. Decorate back-to-school essentials

9. Make a back-to-school craft

10. Sign up for school activities and organizations

11. Let them bling out their gear

12. Plan something memorable for the first day of school

1. Rinse your eyelids with water a few times a day to help break up the pollen in your eyes.
2. Use a dehumidfier to dry out the air in your house, making it a less attractive environment for allergens.
3. Do not leave your windows open if you have allergies. Pollen and other outdoor allergens can easily get inside your home through your windows and aggravate your symptoms. 
4. Take a warm shower after you come in your house from the outdoors. Doing so will rinse pollen and other allergens off your skin and can also clear up your nasal passages, making it a lot easier to breathe.
5. Avoid certain foods. If you are allergic to grass pollen, do not eat figs, oranges, melons or tomatoes. The body confuses the plant proteins in these foods for pollen, causing an allergic reaction. 
6. Check pollen levels. If the pollen count is particularly high, you should try to avoid going outdoors as much as possible that day.
7. Do not forget to take short-acting allergy medications at night. If you use allergy medication that treats symptoms for only six to eight hours, you should remember to take it before you go to bed. Otherwise, you can wake up with watery eyes, a runny nose and other unpleasant symptoms in the morning.

JULY MARKET TREND

We are seeing more price reductions in the last 30 days making this an ideal time to purchase! If you have any questions or would want to learn more about what these market patterns represent and what they mean for a home buyer/seller, please text or contact us at 208-684-0000. We'd love to talk!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 c. freshly grated parmesan, plus more for serving
• 3 large egg yolks
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Kosher salt
• 1lb. spaghetti or bucatini 
• 6 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk pumpkin, parmesan and egg yolks together. Add a few cranks of black pepper.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente according to package directions. Reserve about 1 1/2 cups of pasta water, then drain.
3. Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, cook bacon until crispy. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Reserve bacon grease in skillet.
4. Add drained pasta to skillet with bacon grease, tossing to coat. Return skillet over low heat to warm grease, if needed, then remove from heat before adding pumpkin mixture. Add 3/4 cup of pasta water to pumpkin mixture to thin it out, then add to pasta and toss to coat. Add additional pasta water, 1 tablespoon at a time, as needed to create a creamy sauce. Add bacon and toss. 
5. Top with more parmesan and black pepper to serve.