Last weekend of summer...

We had another busy but really nice weekend. It was our last before school starts tomorrow. We went to another Scioto Miles concert, which we love!!

They are free and the kids get to run around in the fountains when they don't want to listen to the music. It's really nice for families. 

Tomorrow, or soon, there will be back to school pictures, but for now I'm going to pretend that we still have a lot of summer left!

I don't know why it's so hard to get these two to smile at the same time...

I think the morning will be rather traumatic again, as I see another one off to middle school...
It's 10:55pm and I can hear Silas upstairs singing or talking to himself.  Ugh...

OBX 2014

Another year, another summer vacation in the Outer Banks!  We ended up back in Nags Head again this year after the traffic getting north of the bridge (and into the Duck/Corella area) was such a nightmare!
Glad we did - it's so  much less crowded and easier to get to the store, etc.

The OHYoungers split up our drive this year by leaving on Friday afternoon and staying the night with Don and Maria in Greensboro, NC.  It is always fabulous to spent some time with them and catch up (and drink some wine) with them!

We were able to make the less than 5 hour drive on Saturday and got to enjoy some great beach time that afternoon!  We had some fantastic skies while there.  A few storms, beautiful blue skies, some overcast days - the variety was nice and made for some great picture taking.

Ella and Silas are both at the age now that they can get out and around in the waves very well on their own.  They spent a tremendous amount of time in the water!

Tyler, Mason, Ella, Silas and Justin wave jumping. 

We managed to make it over the our favorite ice cream shop (Scrammels) most days.  Better Batter Brownie was amazing!!

No pool at the house this year :(  but we were right on the beach, which was quite wonderful.
My view was this most days...

And this...

And with Mom working out at the Y all the time now, she is feeling like a champ and could get up and down the steps and out walking on the beach!

One of of the days after too much sun, we ended up at the aquarium - an annual visit.

 Ella even learned how to give a turtle enema - what a fun vacation!

 

I managed to catch a sunset over the sound.

And a couple sunrises when it wasn't too overcast.

(PS...I LOVE the iPhone panoramic setting!)

And with much of the usual grousing, I was able to get a very nice family photo (and it only took TWO takes!).

Sad that I most likely won't see a beach for another year... :(

Memorial Day Weekend

What a BUSY and FUN long weekend - it was a great mix of fun, productive, family and friends!

Friday was Silas' last day of preschool - as you can guess, it was very emotional for me!  They had a clapout at school and it was so sweet.  He is ready and excited for Kindergarten...he wanted to start this week!

Wednesday night will be the "official graduation".

Saturday night Justin and I went to a concert (The Avett Brothers) with Sarah, Brian, Donna and Lee. It was a PERFECT evening for an outdoor concert...warm & breezy. Justin even got to to take a little mini-nap in the middle of the concert.

Sunday the garden finally got planted and we got the flowers in the front beds and baskets.  Just in time for the 90 degree heat!!

Ella is very much like her mom.  She told Justin that "she wished everyday could be like today".  When he asked why she said because she "got to lay in the hammock and read and eat watermelon" :)  My little summer girl!

Sunday afternoon we went to a family cookout and then got to spend the evening with the lovey neighbors at another cookout. Delicious food and great company at both!

Today was blazing hot and the kids got their bathing suits and sprinkler out. Si decided to try out Ella's grass skirt :)  They ran around and got the squirt guns out and had a good old time, which was much better than the morning when they were fighting like cats and dogs!

A couple weeks ago we got Si a new bike.  He was way too big for his other one and we decided to go up to an 18 inch.  Problem is, they don't have training wheels on that size, so now we are trying to teach him to ride it without them.  We went to the school and after a few wobbly minutes, he was actually getting the hang of it, except for the sharp turns he'd decide to randomly take.  I think if we practice a few times a week, he'll have it in a couple weeks!

It was a great weekend with a lot of cherished time just being together.  Perfect. But what I didn't get much of this weekend was REST...I need to go get that now!

First Day of Summer Break!

Yesterday was the last day of school - wow this year went fast!

Ella had a fantastic year in kindergarten. I've forgotten how much they learn so quickly at that age. She also made a lot of friends this year and was invited to umpteen birthday parties for girls in her class. She is VERY excited about being a First grader!


They had a Clap Out for the 8th graders - the 7th graders, teachers and parents lined the hallways as the 8th graders toured the building one last time and we all clapped them out of the building (and they promptly locked the doors behind them). I can't even say "clap out" with out tearing up and getting mushy. They do it at our elementary school too for the 5th graders moving on to the 6th grade building. Seems like yesterday that we were clapping him out there...and now I have a HIGH SCHOOLER!

Lots of summer fun planned...the beach in June, zoo outings, camping...can't wait!!

Bye Bye Summer...

I am definitely feeling Autumn in the Air.
What awesome sleeping weather!

I feel like we had a very good summer - we got to go to the Yankees game in NYC (actually that was in the Spring but still, I'm counting it!), we swam a ton this summer, planted our garden, caught lightening bugs, had a visit from mam-moo and Trent, Aunt Amanda and Grandpa, rode bikes, did sidewalk chalk, went to the zoo, went to the new Zoombezi Bay...

Looks like we also climbed trees, ate ice cream, slid down slides and broke an arm

Planted flowers, picked flowers, sat in our blue chairs on the porch and read Summer Legs over and over, grew a sunflower and strawberries, and saw some very pretty sunsets.

And swam and swan - A LOT!

What I enjoyed the most this summer was our beach trip - a wonderful, fun, relaxing vacation that was well documented with hundreds of photos!!!

The Weekend Marathon

We have survived the weekend marathon - unpacking (kind of), the 4 Saturday parties, more unpacking and the Clippers game this evening. Justin and I are beyond exhausted, the kids are wiped out and will hopefully get back on schedule this week. School starts on Tuesday for Mason and Wednesday (I think) for Ella.

A weekend overview:

Saturday morning Silas decided he was still on vacation and took his oatmeal and juice out on the deck to eat (in his pj's of course).

This is how the sunflower looked upon our return. We did miss the peak bloom but it's still cool looking.
Today Justin and I both went into the garden and picked. We ended up with 6 HUGE cucumbers and 2 massive salad bowls full of Cherry tomatoes. YUM!
Ella and Jaden at their cousin Aliyah's 2nd birthday party (party #1 of the day) - they are the best of friends!

We then rushed over to party #2 - Kelly's 6th birthday party. Great fun!

Party #3 was a pool party for Abbi and Alli - they have a January birthday and decided it's be fun to celebrate it (as well as going back to school) with an end of summer pool party. (Thanks Beth for the picture!)
Birthday party #4 was great fun - we helped Sam celebrate his 1st birthday!! As you can tell, he had a great time!

We ended the weekend with a Sunday evening Clipper's baseball game. We lost but it was a great game with loads of stadium junk food (hot dogs, cotton candy, ice cream...yum!)And now I am going to bed early, before I turn into a pumpkin. Looking around at the house and at the week ahead, I've got that stressed out feeling that only a good night's sleep can repair!

Diego meets Duct Tape

"Duct tape is like the force: It has a dark side and a light side and it holds the universe together." - Carl Zwanzig

As usual, when I come home after leaving Justin in the house alone with the kids, there is typically something that has been broken, fixed and/or jimmy rigged. It has bugged him that the Go Diego Go Rescue pack that Si has does not have any straps on it. When I got home from book group Sunday night, it had straps. I didn't ask how long it took for him to construct these strap (none of the kids were bathed at 8:45pm so I figure it must have taken him quite awhile).

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A few more pictures from our swimming weekend at Beth and Greg's. If you can't tell from all the pictures, we go over there and swim a lot. That's why we aren't allowed to call the James family or go within 200 yards of their property from around Labor Day until December 1st. They are SICK of us :)

oh, how I love toddler toes!