'Twas the night before school...

...and not a child was stirring, not a girl or even a boy. They all laid out their clothes
and made their little lunches; they said their prayers and climbed into bed. The excitement was high but they fell asleep fast, with dreams of new friends and new teachers dancing in their heads. They each arose in the morning with butterflies in their tummies; not a one ate breakfast because the butterflies were too much. Except for the littlest one because he never misses.
And off to school they went, holding hands to be brave. Soon they were in their new classes with grins on their faces, all except one who cried only a little. And mom and dad went home, wondering, what do we do now?
But they all came home, as happy as can be. No more tears and no more butterflies. Even mom and dad found a way to be happy too.

Final Bash of the Summer

Each year, during the final weekend of summer, we have one last big activity. This year we decided to take the kids on the ferry across the bay and get some ice cream at the ferry landing.

Cam is so funny when it comes to the things he is apprehensive about. The rail that Logan is leaning against is right up to the edge of the dock. Logan was so excited by the boats, especially as he watched the ferry coming in. He went right up to the rail, no hesitation, anticipating the arrival of the ferry. Cam was a bit nervous. He took one look down and saw the dirty water several feet below and would go no where near the rail!

On the other side of the bay, we couldn't but help posing for a family picture! I can't believe just how tall Briley is getting. She hit another big growth spurt a couple of weeks back. She comes just below my collar bones when standing in front of me. She complains regularly about her knees hurting. And that brings back memories for me. I grew so fast as a kid, hitting 5 foot 3 inches by fifth grade. My knees always hurt too. Hopefully she will stop (or at least slow down!) soon or she is going to out grow me in only a few short years!

Oh so many choices!
We had a little bit of time before we had to get back on the ferry. So we let them burn off some of the sugar they just ate!
Any guesses as to what is going through Logan's mind at this moment? He jumped right on top of the pile! The girls weren't so impressed by that, but we thought it was hilarious. As did he! Check out his grin!


It was such a fun night!

The highlight of his day

Today we went to the beach. It was a great day playing with friends. While there, our friend who is a police officer came down to the beach in the department's new toy.

Cam loved it. He has put his firefighter dream on a shelf for now and wants to be a police officer. So this was a big moment. But the highlight of his day was not going to the beach or seeing our policeman friend in uniform in the rhino.

The highlight of Cam's day was watching his daddy play softball. He was so excited and it was all he could talk about when he found out we were going. He sat and watched the game much longer than his attentions span usually lasts. Then after the game he drilled Andy on every play, good or bad. All the way home it was question after question concerning this at bat or that fielding play. He is (im)patiently counting down until he turns five so he can play too. I think he likes baseball. Do you?

The saga of the little hunter...

...continues. This little guy is always on the hunt. Sometimes fish, sometimes lizards, sometimes flies? Today he wanted to catch a fly. There was one buzzing around the house and he determined he would catch it.
After several minutes of intense concentration...

...he actually caught it! He captured it against the glass and I helped him keep the fly in the bottle while pulling it away from the glass. He then got the lid on it. He was so excited!

Cousins came to visit

Earlier this summer, many of the little cousins came to visit. It was fun to be able to play with them! One of the nights they were here, we had a picnic at one of our favorite places. And these are some of my favorite pictures from that evening.

Our summer at the beach

We spend so much time at the beach. During the summer it was at least twice a week. I guess I can understand the kids in Hawaii a little bit better. When we went to Hawaii for my dad's wedding, the kids just wanted to hang out at our resort swimming pool. When my brother and his family came, my nephews wanted to go to the beach. My kids were trying to talk their cousins into going to the swimming pool because we spend so much time at the beach! We love the beach. The fresh, salty air; the friends and cousins; the sand between my toes; the joy on my kids' faces; the bright colors; life is a beach!