Wednesday, August 30, 2017

The end of August

I wanted to post the last few pictures of August, and then we have a fresh start for September and FALL!  

The week before school started, Eli went with some friends to the Arboretum and had a blast...


We also met some friends at Splash Kingdom for a day.  We had the park basically to ourselves!  Eli and Victoria have been friends since being in the same primer class at PCCS, and we still get together every summer at their request.  They fall right back into sync the minute they see each other and beg to get together again soon.  I love that!  And I love catching up with Victoria's mom, who is such a sweet friend.



We had CJ over to spend the night for one last "bash" before school started, but I forgot to take a picture!

And the next day we had Jenny and her kiddos over to swim with us.  I love Hunter's cute smile in this picture. :)


Hank turned THREE and got giant bone as his present.  


And just like that the summer was over and Eli started FOURTH GRADE!  I can't believe that he is this big, this grown up, this old...  it seems like just yesterday that I was walking him up to his first day of primer!

Eli is an absolute delight- funny, compliant, good-natured, so much fun, smart, a wonderful friend, and so tender-hearted. We are so proud of him and excited for all the great things God has in store for him this year.  We are thankful for his great school and teacher and friends at PCCS.  I love knowing that he is loved and cared for and so happy there, even as my heart aches a little at the end of summer and the start of another school year.



We're excited for the long weekend coming up and have a couple fun things planned, but mostly we're just going to enjoy some extra time to rest after a busy first couple weeks of school.  After Labor Day we'll start back up with Awana, and he's already full-swing in his karate program.  We're looking forward to a great fall semester.  

Happy September!  :)

Monday, August 14, 2017

The Rest of Summer 2017

These are out of order, but I want to get them posted before summer is over!  After our trip in early June, we enjoyed a few weeks of "normal" summer- slower pace, lots of swimming...  all the good stuff!

CJ and Eli:


We bought a basketball hoop for the pool this summer, and it was been a HIT with the boys!


Eli made his closet into a "reading closet."  Very cute.  :)

The outside:

The inside (complete with fan, light, and about 75 stuffed animals on the floor):


In action:


My friend Elizabeth took Eli and CJ to Urban Air one day.  They had a blast!



Timothy's 9th birthday donuts!  We were happy to celebrate with the whole family (Heather and kids included)!


These are out of order, but here are a few from July 4th:

Watermelon eating, of course!



More basketball:


Wrestling on a giant turtle, naturally:


Sparklers!



I take this picture every year- I love it so much.  Summer is the best!!


We spent a day at the wave pool with Elizabeth and CJ.


Eli went to Sidekicks (indoor) soccer camp with CJ and Ethan.



ALL the cousins!  We had such a wonderful week being all together.



Back to soccer camp (sorry these are all mixed up!).


Back to cousins...



At the beginning of August, Eli and I went with my parents to visit my grandparents for a week in Maine.  We had a wonderful time!

At the beach... (and missing Daddy! :) )








This is a place called Lower Falls, a really fun river/rocks/waterfalls place that people come to play.





We went to the wild animal park and so enjoyed it!


A moose!


Eli and my dad and I took a long hike up Pleasant Mountain.


At the first lookout we had a great view.


And at the second we couldn't see a thing because of all the fog!  :)  


I LOVE THIS KID!


We went to Boothbay Harbor one day to catch a boat out to Cabbage Island for a clambake!



On the boat...




Uncovering the lobsters!


Eating the lobsters!  :)


We explored the rocky shore of the island, looking for shells and crabs.


This picture is so dark, but I love it still.  :)


Back in Boothbay and WORN OUT!  :) 


On our last day in Maine we went to a nearby lake to swim for the day.



Saying goodbye is always sad.  :(  We treasured our week together!  


This trip was a super fun way to close out our summer.  We've had such a great mixture of trips and activities and time to just rest and relax...  I hate to see summer go!  We have a couple fun things planned this week, and then next Monday it's back to school.  Thanks for reading!  :)