Summer Update

We love summer!! So thankful for the time to relax, recharge, be lazy, play games, be unscheduled, go to the beach, the pool, and just live without the schedule that will come soon enough. 

Lily handed out programs at the 2017 graduation for her high school.

 John was out of town for Father's Day, but we celebrated with my dad at his house for a tasty brunch.

We took a leisurely walk on the boardwalk after dinner one night.

Fynley has kept us entertained with lots of time snuggling and playing with her.

Lily worked as a counselor for the same summer camp this year and enjoyed her time working for them. 

Shelly volunteered at a local farm for the past few weeks. She did a great job helping with the campers and the various animals---goats, chickens, horses, and bunnies. She even assisted in the goat yoga activities.  

John bought a jet ski and we have had a great time with it. Lily completed her boating certificate and is now feeling confident enough to drive the jet ski and enjoys the wind through her hair out on the water. 

Shelly went to NC to have her braces taken off. We are all super excited for her. She had her braces on for almost exactly two years (July 23, 2015--July 20, 2017) and has been the perfect patient. Shelly has handled it so well and made numerous trips back and forth to Greensboro over the last year. 

Lily and Shelly put their Enos up in the front yard and have enjoyed hanging out in them in the evenings. 

Shelly and I visited the Norfolk zoo and loved it. So many great animals and super clean and inviting. 

We went to a Tides baseball game and had a fun time on an unseasonably comfortable evening. 

We visited the new Waterside and walked around to check out the restaurants. The girls also stopped at the Fudgery for a little dessert. We took a stroll over to the new hotel and checked out the Grain located at the top of the hotel. Great views and fun setting. 


Lily and I took a road trip to James Madison University for a tour of the school. We were both very impressed and loved the school. We stayed the night at Charlottesville and stopped in Richmond on our way home. 

We've spent plenty of days (and nights) at my dad's pool. The perfect place to hang out on the warm summer days. 

Lily's friend, Claudia, came for a 10 day visit. She was the perfect guest and Lily loved having her here. 

The girls, Claudia, Krissy, and I all went to Busch Gardens for the day and had a terrific time on the roller coasters. 

Lily had her first official senior event. She had her portrait taken for the yearbook. Wow, this is all just about to begin. 

We took a super fun cruise to the Bahamas and I'll post more about that later. 

Hoping to pack the remaining summer weeks with plenty of thrills and excitement. 

S U M M E R fun list

Yep, we're back at it again! Another summer fun list has been created. We've been whipping up these lists since 2008 and it has been a fun way to motivate us or figure out what to do next when people in the house are a little bored. We don't complete everything on the list and sometimes it's as interesting to see what we don't do as it is to see what we do accomplish. 

In a new town, our list is a bit different. So that's a twist to the list! Oh, and the college road trip has been nixed for the summer. We'll postpone that trip to the early spring of Lily's junior year. Anyway, here's the list:

Eight Days

I haven't blogged too much of late. We've been either at a doctor's appointment or the dentist's office for most of the past couple of weeks. And my head is jam packed with all of the upcoming activities. School starts in 8 days. Enough said. 

Missing this!

Finals Days of Summer

Only two weeks left of the summer of 2014. Hard to believe. The days and weeks have truly flown by this summer. It has been filled with plans and very little down time. Here and there we have savored the days that held no plans, but overall this summer has been busy. Sometimes too busy. 

I remember the lazy days of summer when the girls were little. They played with their American Girl dolls, they made videos of each other, they crafted for hours, and they loved to dress up like brides. There was a ton of free time and no real plans. And I'm sure during that period of our life, I wished for more of a schedule and less down time. Irony. 

So the summer is coming to an end and I am preparing to be a mother of a high school student and a 5th grader in her last year of elementary school. I know that they are ready for these big changes and I am hoping to be ready right alongside them. 

I'm trying to worry a little less and embrace the unknown a little more. For most people this might not seem like a huge feat but for the extreme planner in me, it's a monumental accomplishment. With that in mind, I will try not to overthink every aspect of their upcoming school year and as Elsa said, I will try to just , "Let it Go"!  Wish me luck. 

Summer Tunes

I love the songs of the summer. Here are three new ones the girls and I are enjoying:

Sunshine Fun Time

Fun floats

We love to spend our time out at the pool in the summer. Always a good time!!!

Snack time

Posing

Blowing kisses

Summer List and More

We created the 2014 Summer Fun List. Here is this year's version:

We are eager to knock off some more items from our list. It keeps us motivated to fill our days.


It's always fun to sort through the notebooks, folders, binders, and various school supplies that the girls bring home at the end of the school year.

Lily is passing on her locker shelf and mirror to Shelly. The kids don't really use their lockers at the high school. So, she will no longer have use for the shelf. Shelly will save it for her middle school years (she still has another year in elementary).




Love when the backpack hooks are empty! Now they just house the girls' purses for their shopping adventures.

And it's a sure sign of summer when you find pool towels all over the house!