Summer Memories

Like every summer, this one went way too fast! We were on the go a lot, but we enjoyed a much more relaxed schedule too. We took the girls to Orchardly Park one evening. The kids loved digging in the sand and the water play area. Madison spent quite a bit of time gearing up for her upcoming soccer season. Duane is assistant coaching. There was a family bowling night for the team and their families. The kids enjoyed bowling. Mallory took her first crack at bowling this year. The girls and I visited Carillon Park and toured the historical village. Madison went there on a field trip last year. I promised her she could give us a tour. She really remembered a lot. Our favorite part was getting to ring the trolley bell. Later that day we went on a paddle boat at Old River Park near NCR. It was a little stressful for me at first since Mallory was sitting behind me. Madison and I had to be the paddlers. It was a little farther than I thought. What a work out! When every one started to get antsy, we sang 5 green and speckled frogs the rest of the way. I had that song in my head for a long time! No one jumped in and we all had a great time. We also took our annual trip to Wegerzyn Gardens. It's such a beautiful place! The weather was perfect that day. The girls went to school with me and "helped" set up my classroom. They love being in there. It's getting easier to take them in there. We went to the Bubble Extravaganza at Activity Center Park. The kids loved playing in the field of bubbles that the fire department provided. Mallory really got into it this year. She sat down in it and said, "I'm taking a bubble bath"! We made lots of zuccini bread with home grown zuccini. We tried to squeeze in some school work when we could. Molly learned how to tue her shoes just in time for Kindergarten. Duane had been training for his first marathon. He goes for a long run with a group from the local running store, Up and Running, on Sat. mornings. I started running with the group on Tues. evenings. I have been grateful for some extra time to exercise a little more often this summer. I'm half way to my weight goal. Still struggling with the dieting. Duane and I went to a get together with several old friends from high school. It was great to see everyone and catch up. We have spent a lot of time at Pleasant Hill pool. I enjoyed being able to sit in a chair and relax finally. It's amazing the difference a year can make. Mallory's swimming abilities have really progressed! We made it to the movies a few times. We saw Up and Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. Both were great movies. We ended the summer with a trip to Krispy Creme to see how the doughnuts are made the day before school started. The girls love going there! We began regular trips to the orthodontists for Madison. She now has a pallet expander that we crank every night. She has been a trooper about. Right before school started we moved Madison into Mallory's room. Mallory now bunks with Molly. I was having a hard time changing Mallory's flower room around. So luckily I was able to convince Madison to hold off on painting the room until she had time to really make up her mind. She ended up deciding to keep it the way it is for awhile. I was happy with her decision. She loves having her own room and Mallory and Molly are great roommates. Molly is happy to have graduated up to the top bunk and Mallory loves her big girl bed. We have really made the most of this summer and are sad to see it end. But everyone is excited to meet their teachers and start the school year.

Meteor Shower

Last night we took the kids to Caesar's Creek to watch a meteor shower. It was a breath taking experience! I had never seen any thing like it before. We piled everyone in the car around 9:45 and stopped a Dairy Queen on the way, then we made our way to the lake. We wanted to get as far away from the city lights as possible. Mallory fell asleep on the way. When we got there we layed out our sleeping bags and blankets and got ready for the show. A minute after we layed down we saw a huge streak across the sky. The kids were in awe! I layed on that blanket cuddled up next to my family looking up at the star filled sky and had one of those moment where I felt so close to God. Life is so busy for us, that we just don't take enough time to slow down a little and truly appreciate this beautiful world that we live in and all that we have. I was surrounded by the most important things in my life, my wonderful husband and my three beautiful daughters. And no matter how life is going, I have that. I'm so blessed. If more people stopped and looked at the stars no and then, maybe the world would be a happier place. How can you look up at a sky like that and not know that there is a God? It certainly affirms it for me! We showed the girls the Milky Way and the Big Dipper. Molly informed us that it was called the Milky Way because it looked like some one spilled a big glass of milk all over the sky. They spent a lot of time making shapes by connecting the stars. Madison said she felt like a baby laying in a crib looking up at a huge mobile of stars. I thought that was pretty poetic:) We were lucky to see several meteors pass. There were a few really bright ones. Eventually Molly fell asleep cuddled up with Mallory. I knew there was a pretty good chance that we all could have fallen asleep there so we packed up for home. It was an awesome night!