I can't believe that the summer is winding down so quickly.  It has almost been a year since we moved into this house now!  August is peeking around the corner and once again I am trying to imagine how I will keep up with my growing kids.  We've enjoyed lots of outdoor play this summer both at home, in the pool, and on the baseball fields.  Both Abby and Chas have learned how to swim and Spencer is doing well with the arm floaties.  We've added about a million freckles to our faces and all three kids look like "well-toasted almonds", my "brownies" I call them!   Chris and I have enjoyed spending time with friends that we have not been able to hang with for months (thanks to my hectic school schedule).  Chris took a day with the guys to see a Cardinals game in St. Louis.  We even got to take a couple days to go up to Six Flags... just the "grown-ups".  I managed to make it through 2 roller-coaster rides... no one knew that I have not dared to ride one since I was 12 years old.   I don't mind waiting another 18 years for my next go round!  During our church's vacation Bible school I was recruited to lead a group of kindergarteners for the week, this proved to be a lot of fun and my own children had a blast as well.  We even inherited 12 goldfish from the "sailboat ponds" and have been diligently keeping MOST of them alive!  Chas spent a week at RA camp (that's the southern baptist version of boyscouts) and Abby spent 3 days at girl scout camp which was her first time to camp overnight!  While they were away we took Spencer to the zoo and had a blast even with a heat index of 100 degrees! 

 

The repairs to the basement continue in slow-motion it seems.  We have a guy working on the taping and mudding of the walls so we can prime and paint.  We will be waiting a while before installing the wet bar and purchasing new furniture but at least we'll be able to put down the rugs and feel "at home" again. 

 

I've tried to add a variety of pictures for everyone to enjoy... sorry I haven't kept up with this much this summer.  Guess I've been having too much fun away from the computer!