Back to School

Derrick began school yesterday and Scott starts next week. Summer is over for us, even though it is still almost 100 degrees outside.

As I folded laundry yesterday, I thought that it will be a long time before I again fold a load of Derrick's clothes with six pairs of shorts and no dress shirts. It may be in the upper 90's outside, but Derrick is back to long pants.

The stores in Georgia are all having back to school sales. Who wants to buy plaid sweaters and corduroy pants in August? I'll just wait until the Labor Day sales...or perhaps the Columbus Day sales...or even the "end of season sales in late November when they are trying to clear the racks for spring clothes!

Or maybe I won't have to shop at all, if our hand-me-down clothes hold up. Sometimes by the time we get clothes, Scott and Andrew are the fourth and fifth boy to wear them. Jeans just don't last that long without getting holes in the knees!

Magical Summer

As I look back on this summer (and, yes, it IS already time to look back on the summer...School starts this week for Derrick and next week for Scott), I am overwhelmed at what a wonderful summer we have had. It has been a great summer on so many levels. We have had great adventures both far and wide and in our own backyard. I calculated...of the 63 nights of summer, we have spent 23 of them not in our own beds.

So here are some highlights of the summer:

Andrew's favorite parts of the summer: going to Washington DC and the beach; I loved flying my kite at the beach

Scott's favorite parts of the summer: going to Washington DC and my souvenirs - at the beach, a bunch of shark teeth and in DC, some rocks from the Natural History Museum

* Flying in the Air and Space museum. While Scott stuck to flying only airplanes that you could sit in, Andrew "flew" EVERY airplane he saw. His imagination soared through the museum.

*The museum of Natural History was a highlight for the entire family. We spent almost 6 hours in the museum. We loved the dinosaurs, the marine exhibit, the insect museum, the gems and minerals (esp. the Hope Diamond!) Mom, Andrew, Amanda and I loved the snack bar when we were cranky and tired, while Derrick and Scott plowed forward to a new area of the museum.

One of my absolute favorite paintings - Renoir's "Girl with a Hoop." She is dressed in blue and so was Amanda that day...they are my two favorite girls dressed in blue.

*Learning to play dominoes in Texas. It is a favorite game in Derrick's family and Andrew really enjoyed playing with the adults this summer. Uncle Kevin was "helping" Andrew select his next move; however, I really think that Andrew was "helping" Uncle Kevin get more points! Somehow the cards that Andrew played always seemed to help Kevin score.

*We have eaten LOTS of watermelon.


*We read many, many books. One highlight was that we listened to the first five Narnia books on CD while we were driving. It really made them come to life. The actors are wonderful and put so much more energy into the readings than I do!

Scott loved Eyewitness books this summer, especially "Cowboy" and "Rocks and Minerals."

Andrew loves story books...really anything with a good story, but especially superhero books.

Amanda loves picture books. She will read for hours on just about any lap she can find. She especially loves the big sticker books, but we have tried to keep the "sticker" part a secret.

Here are the boys at the library as they finished their summer reading card.

*We spent much time in our bathing suits. Whether at the beach, in Virginia on my Uncle's boat, at the Lake, or at the pool, the kids LOVE the water.

Bike Training

Scott learned how to ride his bike last summer, but this summer received his first lesson in bike maintenance. His tire was bulging. I have to admit that I had no idea what to do, but Derrick knew exactly that he needed a new tube. He and Scott went to the Walmart for the part and installed the new tube that afternoon.

Family Pictures

Our wonderful friend Cindy took pictures of us last week.

Beach 2010

We arrived home from a wonderful, relaxing beach vacation last night. I've spent today wishing I was still in the land of sun, sand, waves and few responsibilities, but here we are back at home. I'll have to make do by looking at the pictures.

My favorite picture from the entire trip:


Getting a family picture is always a chore for our family. I tried to capture a good shot on the 4th of July and this is the best I could get. My nephew, Charlie, decided he wanted to pose for the camera with us.


We got a better shot of Nana & Pop with the kids that evening.


Later in the week, we finally got one that was good enough for me.


And, of course, our traditional "feet in the sand" picture. I'm really sorry you can't see that Amanda and I have matching blue toenail polish on our feet. By the time we got the picture, most of her polish had rubbed off in the sand.


While Nana had some quality time with Amanda on the beach, the two boys ventured out in kayaks with us in the marsh. We saw tons of birds, a stingray and a small shark. It was beautiful.


Andrew has a fascination with "the other Andrew." Every time we are in a store or somewhere else with mirrors, he wants to know what the other Andrew is doing. We make up stories about the other Andrew to pass the time while shopping.

Well, the condo where we stayed was covered in mirrors. "The other Andrew" really enjoyed his trip to the beach. When we weren't looking, he had all kinds of adventures. But, since there were so many mirrors, there was plenty of time to look and act crazy with him.

(As a side note, you may notice in this picture that the table is glass. I learned on this trip to never buy a glass table. Aside from the obvious danger of bored children making music with their forks on the table and cracking it, there is a major problem with fingerprints that I never knew about. Not only is the top of the table is covered with smudges, but on a glass table, you also have to wipe underneath the table where little fingers grasp the table to get up and down. Now, I'm sure my wooden table at home as just as many smudges under the table, but I can assure I've never thought to wipe there until this week.)

Here I am trying to mimic Andrew's crazy pose for the camera. Perhaps he will be a Yoga instructor when he grows up!

Scott enjoying the water.


Amanda loves the water and playing in the sand.



Nana and Pop took the older kids to watch the sunrise.


Nana...once a science teacher, always a science teacher. In this picture, she was showing the kids a little crab she found on the beach. They were inspecting it and comparing it to others they saw.