Summer Recap

I've had some challenges keeping up with this blog lately, partially because

• I've taken on a lot more, personally
• The kids are older, and not hitting those milestones as frequently
• The 'Blogger' website is getting pretty outdated and unreliable
• Out of sight, out of mind
• It's hard to keep going when you know you've missed months at a time

Nevertheless, I can look at these photos I uploaded to recap our summer and remember long, hot days filled with silliness, adventures taken, and memories made.

There were pool days, play dates, golf lessons, and bike rides. A quick trip to Chincoteague for Daddy's birthday, one on one times, and mandatory reading periods. Lots of card games, playing on the swing set, and snuggling up in piles. I had a work trip to NY that we turned into a family vacation - Daddy took the kids to Great Wolf Lodge on their way to pick me up in Rochester, then we drove up to Canada to explore Niagara Falls for a couple of days. On the way home we stopped in Pittsburg to check out a big kid's museum, spent the night, then returned home. They were road warriors, and fell in love with the idea of passing the time on a long trip with books on CD!

All summer, they loved having slow mornings and semi-flexible bedtimes. There were freckles galore, a visit from Grandmom, plenty of sibling spats about he said/she said, and as many excuses for ice cream and pool days as we could find.

As usual, about halfway through the summer they started getting eager for school to start again. Then when we went to buy school supplies, they were giddy! The weeks always seem to pass slowly, until you look back on them. Now, months later, these summer memories seem long past.

I hate the idea that I might ever wish for a different phase of my life than the one I'm in, but I guess for a lot of parents that's the norm. I expected that when Hope and Grant were the ages they are now, I'd wish for the baby and toddler days again, but I don't. I like them even more now than I did then! So here's hoping that when they're teenagers, and when they're grown, I'm not looking back on these 'white bread days' and wishing to go back. Again, I can't imagine life being better than having all this energy and sweetness around, and being needed and wanted so much. But either way, I'm grateful for every summer we spend together, when the hours move slowly!