It's still summertime!

Sometime back in May, I vaguely remember thinking about summer and all of the extra time I would have to keep up with my blogging. HAHAHA! As I sit here now after almost 6 weeks have passed since my last post, I realize things have been, well, a little hectic. Besides celebrating Nathan's 1st birthday we have spent time at Vacation Bible School, Nathan had minor eye surgery, spent time swimming (and the girls got 2nd degree sunburns to show for it), Avery got her cast removed, Mackenzie got an ear infection, spent time at the library, spent almost a week in St. Louis, and went trout fishing. And that was only June! July has seen it's fair share of activity starting with hosting a huge July 4th party, celebrating Marty's birthday, a quick trip to a local zoo, reading and watching lots of Harry Potter, spending 4 days with my best friend, and hosting a wedding shower for 60+ people. No wonder I haven't had much time for blogging! And as crazy as it sounds, we are already starting to feel the upcoming school year encroaching on our summer. School supplies are out and I'm feeling the urge for some back to school shopping. We are officially 3 weeks away from school and 2 weeks away from the start of a new soccer season. Sheesh, where does the time go? But I can honestly say in the midst of all of the activities, we have had some fantastic family moments and made a ton of memories. A few of the highlights:

Some time at a local state park brought us fun in the lake and Nathan's first time in a pool. He loved it and the girls said they had more fun than Disney World. (Go figure. It would be the free local park that tops Disney!)






Our trip to St. Louis was a whirlwind of activity. We went to the zoo (where I forgot my camera, so,no pics. The girls were thrilled), a Cardinals game, the arch, and the Magic House children's museum. In between all of that activity, we had a great time hanging out with my parents, swimming and relaxing.










On the way home from STL, we made an impromptu stop at a trout fishing farm. This is one of Marty's favorite memories from his childhood and I was thrilled he finally got to "fish" with his little boy. The first of many fishing experiences for Nathan!





The best moments of summer, in my opinion, are always those unplanned moments: the lazy summer nights, the off schedule dinners, the tent hastily put up in the backyard, time at the pool, the joy found in a $10 sprinkler, the book that you just can't stop reading. These have all been parts of our summer. It has been so much fun to be home with my kids this year. Only once or twice have I wished for an 8 hour day where they could be shuffled to school to leave me with some peace. Mostly it's just been a whole lot of fun. Before taking on 3rd grade and kindergarten, we're going to see how much fun we can cram into 3 weeks. It's still summer around here!