Summer Fun 2013

Well, summer is over and school is back in full swing around these parts. I really hate to say good-bye to summer! I love the lazy, laid-back days of just doing much of nothing :).

Of course, I do enjoy the fall. The nice mild-weather days. The structure and habit of daily routines. Well... we eventually get there!

I've been looking back through my pictures from our summer travels and I thought I'd share some of our highlights.

Vacation to Orlando

It's been a while since we've been to Orlando, Florida, so that's where we spent a week at the end of May. It rained and stormed our first day there, but only for a little while. We were able to get out and explore the resort late in the afternoon. What a lovely place!

view from our balcony on a rainy afternoon

 

Random Summer Stuff

 I couldn't help but share this picture. It's our little diva after her first trip to the groomer's this summer. :)

 

 

 

Also, this summer a certain someone (who shall remain nameless) celebrated her 43rd birthday.

Six Flags and a Braves Game

A couple other fun trips this summer ~

We chaperoned our church youth group on two different trips -- one to Six Flags, and the other to an Atlanta Braves baseball game.

 

I'm not one for riding all the rides at amusement parks, but I'm always game for tagging along and watching everyone else have fun :).

July 4th

We travelled home to spend a few days with and to celebrate Independence Day with our family. We grilled -- the menu consisted of smoked Boston butt, grilled hamburgers, hotdogs and chicken, layered salad, potato salad, pasta salad, coleslaw, baked beans, deviled eggs, hash brown casserole, macaroni and cheese, and rolls. For dessert there were brownies, cookies, cakes and homemade ice cream... There were alot of us.

Summer Vacation - Part 3 - Washington D.C.

This is the third and final post in this series of our vacation to the great state of Virginia and Washington, DC. If you missed the first two, and are interested, you can go here for part 1, and here for part 2.

We only allotted ourselves two days for touring DC, knowing full well that we'd never be able to see everything in such a short time. It was two hours, one way, from our resort to DC. So our plan was to leave early and stay late, and try to squeeze in as much as we possibly could. Walking, walking, and more walking. Wow, that makes for a loonnngg, tiring day! It was worth it to me, but to the rest of my family... let's just say that although they thoroughly enjoyed the sight-seeing, each of them is not quite the history enthusiast that I am.

Summer Vacation - Part 2 - Thomas Jefferson's Monticello

This is the second of a three-part series about our vacation to the great state of Virginia, and Washington, DC. If you missed the first post, and are interested in catching up, you can go here.

Since our resort was not too far from Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, we paid a visit there one afternoon. Undoubtedly, not everyone gets such a thrill as I did from visiting this plantation. How can I explain it? To walk in a room where someone from our American heritage walked, to touch the very walls he touched, to see the chair in which he at one time sat.... yes, I know... there's no help for me. Now if we had been able to visit George Washington's Mount Vernon, too... well, that would have sent me right over the edge :).

Summer Vacation- Part 1 - Shenandoah Crossing Wilderness Resort

Wow! Our summer was so busy. We were on the go, much more than usual! I can't believe I haven't taken the time to post much! I guess now that we're back in school and settled back into a routine, it's time to play catch up again :).

We'll start with our trip to Virginia and Washington DC, right after school was out for summer vacation. Let me just start by saying this was my dream vacation! I have wanted to visit DC for quite some time now, considering I am such a history buff!

For the Birds...

It's that time of year again. All the little birdies have migrated back and I have been delighting in watching them at our feeders, especially the hummingbirds.

I looked out the window one morning to see this.

Closing Out Summer

Wow! Where did the summer go? I know it is actually still summer, but for us, summer vacation has come to an end :(

Here's a recap of our summer in pictures ~ in no particular order :)

This and That and Mother's Day

If you recall, I found out recently that I have a heart murmur. And just to be on the safe side my doctor wanted me to see a cardiologist and have some further testing. So I had an appointment last week and had an echo-cardiogram performed. Next week I have an appointment with the cardiologist to discuss the results.

So my oldest son is out of college for the summer, and is working as a summer intern at the power plant where my husband works. He just finished his first week of work. Not really work, per se, training this week. I overheard my youngest son asking him if he was glad to be out on summer break. His reply made me smile. It might be summer but it's not a break for me! I think he'll feel pleasantly compensated for the loss of his "summer break" when he receives his first paycheck.

The Last Days of Summer

Although it is still HOT down here in south Georgia, our summer break has officially come to an end. I thought I'd share what we've been up to these last couple of weeks of our summer...

My dh's sister and her two daughters came to visit and stayed with us for a few days the last week in July. We absolutely LOVE them and we had so much fun!

Here they are with 2 of my kiddos in the pool

Kate & Will, with their Aunt Debbie

on our evening walk down our dirt road... the doggies

always join us!

We made one last day trip to the islands off the coast of Georgia. I say "last" but I really hope we can make a trip back in the fall, when the weather cools off... maybe to bike ride around the island. I have some friends who spent a few days there recently and they really enjoyed biking there.

on the beach at St. Simons Island

supper at Spanky's Seafood Restaurant after a day of touring the islands

I feel like the older I get, the faster these seasons of life seem to whirl by. It seems as if we hardly had a summer break at all :) But we made lots of memories, and that's so important. Especially now that we are going in different directions this fall (one off to college, one off to school, and one still at home with me).

...Thanking God for these days with my family.

Summer Is Slipping Away

As I was updating my books list on the sidebar of my blog ('cause we've finished some of them, but not all), I realized how far short I have fallen AGAIN this summer. I had every intention of reading more as a family THIS summer! But alas... the summer is quickly slipping away. We have been so busy heading in different directions it seems, and I just have not made the time. One more regret to tuck away in my mind... sigh.

It's not that we haven't been together as a family or not that we haven't done things together. We have swam in our pool, played horseshoes in the backyard, played frisbee in the backyard, gone on several outings together. We've just been plum busy! It's been fun, but busy.

I'm almost ready for school to start back so we can settle into a routine again. I said ALMOST. I'm not quite ready to give up my summer. And I know my kids are not! My dd has been at cheerleading camp from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm everyday this week... one more day to go. She's not quite ready for school to start either, but she is excited. She's entering 9th grade this year and she is going to attend the local Christian academy. That means I will only have one at home this year :( and I KNOW he is not ready to start back!

My oldest will be moving out AGAIN the first week of August. Now I have to go through that again... all those emotions. But I think it will be easier this time (I think). He is transferring from the small Christian college he attended last year to a larger university. He will have the same roommate, his best friend from high school. They have found an apartment off campus to live in. Of course he is excited! He says he feels like this is "for real this time." Really moving out. Not just into a college dorm. Taking all his bedroom furniture kind of moving out. His dad making his bedroom a work-out/exercise room kind of moving out. No more coming home every weekend. He'll have a job that will keep him there. Rooming with his brother when he does come home for visits.  At least he's not moving across the state... only a little over an hour and a half drive away. We'll see how it goes in about a week, won't we?

I don't know if I'll get to do any reading with everyone, but I might go ahead and start with my youngest. That will probably help ease him into the back to school transition. He is the one that struggles the most with the whole going back to school mindset. That's probably my fault. I probably give my kids too much freedom from routines during the summer. But my other children don't seem to have any trouble "switching gears." Thank goodness I DO get excited about the new school year... poring over the books I've chosen for the year. I guess that does help to keep him from "dragging his feet" too much when the time to start back rolls around.

Trying to enjoy these last couple of weeks...

What We've Been Up To...

I am fairly certain that there is no time that is not too busy in our family. I really thought that after all-star softball season was over, there'd be a leisurely summer ahead. But who am I kidding? Things have been crazy around my house! Let's see... softball, vacation bible school, visiting family, the steady stream of kids' friends and spend-the-night-company, basketball camp, cheerleading practice, upcoming cheer camp... well, you get the picture.

However, there HAVE been a few lazy days tucked in here and there. Days where we don't have to go anywhere, lazy afternoons spent playing in the pool, evenings spent outside playing horseshoes with the kids. These are the days that I enjoy the most. And they are the ones that are most fleeting. Only three and a half weeks left for us until the new school year starts. See what I mean about fleeting?

But I am determined to make the most of the time that's left. I keep saying I'm going to put up a hammock in my backyard and spend some lazy summer afternoons out there with a good book... but, it's just too hot for that in south Georgia!  I hope your summer is turning out to be all that you hoped it would!

Here are some pictures depicting our summer thus far...

VBS 2010 ~ Saddle Ridge Ranch

fun games at VBS

As you can see, the youth helpers had as much fun as the kids.

Basketball Camp ~ Kate #11

point guard

foul shots

Kid's Club Summer Bowling

Yes! A strike!

We have a new rabbit! He is a Lion Head Rabbit, so called because the hair all around his face resembles a lion's mane.

The kids decided to call him Mo because he looks like he has a mohawk!

Marshmallow looks like a giant compared to Mo and Thumper, the flop-earred rabbit.

Our two youngest children spent a week in Alabama with their Aunt Debbie (my husband's sister) and their Granddaddy (who lives with Debbie).

at the water park, one of the many fun things she did with them

July 4th ~ waiting for the fireworks show to begin

We were not disappointed.

our annual church family picnic at Lake Mayer

Mike and Kate on the jet ski

Will, obviously not happy with Mom for taking this photo

not sure if it's safe for this many teens to be in one boat...

Enjoy the rest of your summer. I intend to!

Vacation

We were on vacation from May 21st until May 28th... we went to Panama City Beach, Florida. It was just beautiful! There are no other beaches, imo, that can compare with those in the Gulf of Mexico! And I'm so thankful that there was no oil from the BP catastrophe there. The beach and the water were just perfect! We went with some friends. This was a first for us; we usually either go alone or sometimes with family.

Ryan (on the right) with his friends, Christina and Truss

Kate with her friend Lauren

Will and his friend Bennie

We enjoyed playing miniature golf. We went to the movies together. Some of us saw Shrek 4, and others saw How To Train Your Dragon. I saw Shrek, and I thought it was a really good movie. It had a really good moral to teach.

We tried a few new restaurants while there, one of them being Five Guys Burgers and Fries. We don't have one of those near where I live, and I thought the food was pretty good. They have an outdoor mall with lots of stores, restaurants, and even a small amusement park type place at Panama City Beach, called Pier Park. That's where we ate at Five Guys. Kate climbed the Rock Climbing Wall and Will jumped on the Super Bungee there.

Mike and Kate decided to try parasailing while we were there. Another first! They enjoyed it, but Mike said it wasn't worth the price they charged!

Mike and Kate way up there!

view from our balcony

me and my sweet hubby

We saw so much more sea life than we have ever seen before!

From our balcony, we watched these dolphins jumping and playing.

It was so cool!

sting rays

Ryan found more than just sea shells while snorkeling.

a rainbow at Pier Park

We spent one afternoon at St. Andrews State Park. Mike wanted to take the kids snorkeling on the jetties there. We saw lots of different types of fish there. We even saw some jellyfish. And I was able to get some great shots of my kids on those rocks.

seahorse we found

We had fun on vacation, but on Sunday night, the family we were on vacation with received heartbreaking news. My friend's sister's daughter was killed in a car accident. She was only 16. She and another friend were on their way home from a high school graduation when an oncoming car swerved into their lane and hit them head-on. So our friends left early Monday morning. The next few days for us were blue. It was hard (and still is) to believe this actually happened. We know the family very well; they were members of our church for years. Our kids have grown up together. They moved away a few years ago, so we haven't seen them much except for the occasional visit when they are back in town to see their family.  I know these next weeks and months are going to be very difficult for them, so I ask you to join me in lifting them up to our heavenly Father.

"My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Cor. 12:9

This is what I am praying for them.