The rest of our summer

Art Camp

I let the big kids choose one summer camp they wanted to attend this year.  This was new for us.  I wanted to give it a try.  Whit chose art camp.  (No surprise there.)

Miss Jamie, her teacher

She LOVED having time to express her creativity every day.  They did fun projects.  She made some friends.  She is already making plans to attend next summer.

Basketball Camp

We figured B would want to do some sort of sports camp.  He decided on basketball.    He also had a great time and told his coach he'd be back next summer.

I, on the other hand, am not sure if I'm a fan of summer camps.  I like having my kids to myself during the summer.  And I wasn't able to carpool for either of these, so I ended up spending A LOT of time in the car running them around town.  I'm just not sure if it's worth it for me.  Both kids would argue that, YES, it was.

Piano Lessons/Homeschool

Both Brandon and Whitney did piano lessons this summer.  It is so fun to see them progressing.  And all three kids did homeschooling with me during the weeks we were home.  The big kids studied the American Revolution, the Constitution, and math.  Brandon also read a biography on Shaun White and Whit studied puppies.

Cousin sleepover

We had a blast with Avery, who came to stay with us for a few days before we left on the road trip.

Whit and Avery get along SO well.  And Avery is a great helper around the house, too.  They stayed up late every night having "girl talk."  We'd love to make this an annual tradition.

Jessica and Tyler's Reception

Andrew's cousin, Jessica, got married this summer and one of her receptions was in Kentucky, just a short seven hour drive up the road.  :)  I convinced him that we needed to go and, thankfully, he was up for the adventure.

 We had a great time in Louisville, sharing in the joy of Jessica and Tyler's wedding.  We are so happy for them!  Thanks to Jonathan babysitting, Andrew and I had a great evening at a dinner theater with the rest of the family.

So great to be with family!

Gymnastics

While we were in town, Caroline continued her gymnastics class.  She still loves it and would be happy to keep going.  I'm having a hard time finding a time slot that works with her new preschool schedule, so we'll see what happens.

Air Show

A friend offered free tickets to a local air show.  We had never been.  Andrew had a previous commitment, so the kids and I gave it a try.  As with most of my crazy schemes, I had to convince them to go.  They said they would rather just stay home and play.  Crazies.  But once we were there, they loved it.  (They always do!  When are they going to learn that their mom loves to do fun things???)

We saw lots of planes (of course),

some awesome automobiles (didn't expect that),

and ate some yummy treats.

(the kids' favorite part?)

MY favorite part was watching the Golden Knights,

the army parachute team.

It was like nothing I'd ever seen before.

It made my stomach sink just a bit.

And also made me wonder if I could jump out of an airplane.

Just playin'

Brandon and Whit have some friends who live right in our cul de sac and are only here during the summer.  They played together every day that we were in town.  It is SO fun to have them around.  Brandon played a lot of Magic the Gathering.  Whit and Caroline made up dance routines, played restaurant, had fashion shows, and did "military camp."

To me, THIS is exactly what a neighborhood 

should look like on a lazy summer afternoon. 

What a fitting way to end our summer of fun.