Back to School

All too fast, the summer was gone, and September was upon us. As we got closer and closer to the start of the new school year, and as I ever so slowly put back on my "teacher hat," I was excited for the new class I would be getting and to see off my new "K-4'er."

 

Somebody was excited for his first day of school!

It was my first day of school too, so I had to hop in for a quick picture, and then let Daddy take Landon for his first day (they let the parents stay the first day...)

Look how tall!

(I guess standing on the step does fool you!)

 

Ethan has been going to my friend Amy's house again this year.

We are so blessed to have her taking care of our boy while we work! I can't believe this will be his last year with "Miss Amy" and that next September he will be starting in the Nursery 3 class that Landon was in last year. Where is the time going?!?!!!

Landon's September K-4 picture. Oh my heart! I love that face and smile!!!

 

End of Summer Fun

After returning from Kentucky, we were able to spend a few days with our good friends, Lori, Darren, and Caden in Sea Isle. It was such a great time, as always!

Landon and Caden = Best buds!

Surfer boy!

Ethan loved playing in the water!

Always wanting to go back in!

 

 

We were also able to take a day trip to the zoo as a family which was a lot of fun!

 

Landon wanted to take some pictures!

(yes, the Dunkin Donuts coffee is how I manage to keep up with my 2 active boys!)

Craft time in the kids' zoo

Ethan likes to poke eyes apparently. :)

And, he likes to brush the goats

Mr. "Really into pictures" Landon was just as into posing as he was taking pictures!

My 3 boys! ...and a reptile- yuck!

Love this picture! What a fun day!

 

 

What summer would be complete without a visit to Aunt Laura to clean our teeth? We always try to save those appointments for a time when we can make a lunch date out of our cleaning as well! Landon loves going to the dentist so much that he wants to be a dentist someday too!

 

Someone loves their Aunt Laura!! :)

 

 





A few months later, on our way to church, Landon randomly announced, "Dad, when I be a dentist, you know what I'm going to let you do?" "No, Landon...what? Wear your gloves like Aunt Laura lets you wear hers?" (Good guess, Daddy!) Instead he excitedly declared, "Nope! I'm going to let you use my sucker!" Landon always has these comments that make us laugh!

Kentucky Bound!

"It's catch up time again!!"

In early August, my mother in law and I packed up the boys and headed out on a 10 hour driving trip to Kentucky to visit my sister in law, Jill and Jackson. The trip out went rather smoothly- thank God for the DVD players attached to the back of our seats! The boys listened to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and we had Patch the Pirate on repeat since it was the only CD we had remembered to bring along! Whoops! :) Starbucks snags during rest stop visits helped to keep the front seat passengers awake, and before we knew it...we were there!!

We all had a great time together visiting the Cincinnati Zoo and just hanging around the house playing! Here are a few "highlight reel" pictures from our fun filled 48 hour visit! (although bathtime was probably one of the highlights...picture three active boys in the tub together...I decided to leave those pictures out for obvious reasons) ;)

Landon and Jackson are quite the pair!

Aunt Jilly, Jackson, Landon, and Mommom at our Cincinnati Zoo Visit!

Ethan trying to climb the tiger

Landon: "No, Ethan, this is how you do it!"

Our attempt at a cousins picture!

Mommy and Ethan looking at the elephants (we don't have elephants at our zoo!)

Landon posing for a picture with his chocolate milk

Dinner time with 3 toddlers was quite the adventure!

Never too young to wrestle! All boy!!

Three boys playing fetch with Braidee!

After a long day, mommom and the boys loved cuddling up together on the couch!

 

 

 

We will definitely be making a tradition out of this trip! What a fun time we all had! It is so exciting to think of all the fun years we have ahead of us with all these boys in the family!! :)

Sandy Cove Fun!

Amidst all of our construction and house repairs this summer, we took a few fun trips! I know...it's Fall and I'm just now blogging about our summer. Life has been super busy! Hopefully I'll have a chance to catch up on my blogging over the next few weeks so you can see JUST how busy! :)

In July, we went on our annual family vacation to Sandy Cove. My entire family has been going (more than 25 of us!) since I was a baby. Each year we all have a BLAST and are physically and spiritually refreshed! There are just

So SOOO many memories that I love creating with our family each year!

Water FUN!

Ethan got REALLY comfortable in a pool this year! Often just wanting to be left alone to swim and move around at his own pace!

 

Greg and Ethan enjoying some pool time!

Greg and I rode the Wave Cutter a few times with my dad, sister, cousins, aunt, and uncle.

Thrilling fun I hadn't had in years!

 

Landon really enjoyed water balloon fun with his friends from Club Cove!

 

 

FAMILY MEMORIES!!!

Teaching Granddad (my granddad, Ethan's GREAT granddad!) how to play the Leapster

Leah re-living her baby years! ;)

Stencils and drawing fun with Aunt Sue!

 

Puzzle time with Nana!

 

Family Worship!

Landon's oldest cousin, Jed...whom Landon is a HUGE fan of! ;)

 

 

 

Mini Golf Fun!

I have a funny feeling Greg will have two more golf buddies in a few more years!

 

Ethan was a little more interested in....

running to the water! Thanks to Nana who helped me block him! We were the comic relief for other families!

Landon spent literally every waking moment with one...or all...of his cousins! I absolutely love how close they are!

 

 



Bubble Fun thanks to Uncle Pat who bought all the kids their own bubble wands!!

 

 

Speaking of Uncle Pat (wish I had gotten a picture!), he and I began three of our vacation early mornings on a 4-5 mile run through the beautiful Sandy Cove grounds, along the Chesapeake as a part of my marathon training. Even though it was early, the heat and humidity definitely made those runs a challenge! I'm sure it had nothing to do with my ice cream intake the nights before! :-)

 



 

Me and my hubby! Isn't he handsome? ;)

 

 

Each day Greg and I got to spend about 40 minutes each day sitting in the chars you see behind us, talking about how to make our family and marriage the best it can be. Having a week to daily be able to talk,  share our dreams, and pray together was another favorite part of our week at Sandy Cove.

 

 

 

Me and my baby sister all dressed up for the dinner.



 

Eating ice cream with our family every night was the perfect ending to each hot day!

 

 

Each year there is a different speaker at Sandy Cove. This year we were so happy to have been able to sit under the encouragement and direction of Ted Cunningham who works with Gary Smalley developing strong families and marriages across the nation. He developed a comic relationship with my grandparents early on in the week- they are the epitome of a great marriage. Ted spotted that early on, so they became the daily example in his messages each day.

 

And, as uncomfortable as it may seem...having their kids and their spouses and grandkids in the audience to witness these jokes was more hilarious than awkward! We are still laughing all these months later!

Aren't they a beautiful couple? Love them!

 

 

We ended the week singing with all the other families on the big hill overlooking the Chesapeake.

 



A last day photo op! See how tired we all were?

 

We weren't the only ones who were tired! Grandmom was tired out from all the activity too!!

 

 

A huge thank you to Aunt Wawa who took all these pictures for us...and even made a photo album for us! 

 

We are already looking forward to next year!! :)