Summer went by so fast, and we had so much fun, that we really couldn't be bothered to actually write down what happened. So you get the condensed version of our summer events, including our 3 1/2 weeks away from home, with almost 3000 miles traveled, 4 states visited, and too many water activities to boast about. We loved every minute of it, well except some parts (you'll read about them later). Happy Summer and now here comes fall!
- When the kids got out of school, it was playtime all the time. There were parks and pools and playdates all the time. No laundry or dishes or cleaning of any sort was done as planned, just putting out fires when the most critical.
-Tiger celebrated his 8th birthday with just a family party, but was able to bring a friend to our outing to Sandcastle Waterpark.
-Toad celebrated his 1st birthday with noise making toys out the wazoo and loving cupcakes for the 4th time of his life. He got a walker, electronic books and anything else that lit up and made music.
- We flew over the great US of A all the way to Los Angeles, California than drove early in the morning to Oceanside to meet up with Grandma & Grandpa Thomas and family for the best family reunion ever! One whole week in a beachside town home with over 40 people jammed into any and every place imaginable. Daily play at the beach, drives to San Diego to see the temple and other sites, fireworks, bbqs, game nights, movie time, and whatever else we wanted to do. We loved to play with our cousins! After the week was over, we drove up to Salem, Utah to continue the vacation at G&G's house. More swimming, more parks, 4-wheelers and playtime. Denise (being away from a messy house and no responsibilities) loved reading at any moment, while poor Sam had to return to Pittsburgh and the books for school. And not to mention, replacing our broken water heater and cleaning up the aftermath of the flooding.
- After Salem, we drove even farther up north to Preston, Idaho to spend some quality time with Grandma & Grandpa Eskelson and more cousins. Yep, you guessed it. More swimming, more parks, more gamenights and even a grandma in crutches. Tiger had a super special event take place here. He was baptized by Sam and made a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We were so proud of this dude. After over a week in Preston, we flew back to Pittsburgh and home to recoup. But the summer was not over yet!
-Joining church and neighborhood friends, we once again played at numerous parks, swam in lakes and waterparks and did whatever we could to stay cool. Denise celebrated her birthday with a new NOOK (e-reader) and some cake with the family. With nothing getting done around the house other than making messes, we were all glad to have school on the horizon and a chance to get back into routines and schedules. Now comes the required bedtime, dress code, homework rituals and much more.
Awe summer! Good to have you and