End of Summer Recap

Well, I'm getting this post in - just barely in time for the first day of school.  It just doesn't feel like summer is over without a wrap up blog post.  In other words, there is no way I could post summer pics after summer is over.  Just too unorganized :)

So, here's a picture recap of the summer's last few weeks:

(And the pictures didn't load in order like I wanted, boo...)


In early August, my friend Molly and her three boys invited us to join them on a day trip to the Children's Museum/Aquarium/Science Center that is the McWayne Center.  It was awesome!  We all had a blast!

On a bed of nails

I love Lu's pose in this photo as she chats it up with Parker.  And Connor's just busy running around the room.

Except when he's playing at the water table...

or watching beautiful, amazing creatures!  Love that color!

Lucy was brave and rode this bike across a wire which hung in the lobby.

Too much fun!

Digging for dinosaur bones.  They had little paintbrushes to dig with.  Precious!  And they loved it; we camped out here for nearly an hour :)

And when we were home, the kids were usually on their rollerblades.

A highlight of our summer was having Uncle Brendan (my younger brother) come visit us from Mexico.

This is one of my favorite photos from summer.  These two were playing outside, playing a new game they invented.  "Walk the dog" where Jack was the dog - with the prong collar around his head, and Lucy walked him - only it was in rollerblades, down the sidewalk.  Wow, safe...very safe... ;)

And Connor stayed busy finding new places to nap around the house... :)

seriously...his feet weren't even on the chair; just dangling...

or at dinnertime... :)


Okay, so now onto the big changes...Jason has left his government job and tomorrow he begins his new job as "software scientist" at a local biotech company called Kailos.  It is a very small company, ten employees total, and Jason is beyond thrilled to be setting out on a new adventure with this job. 

Last night, I threw a surprise celebratory dinner for him, complete with fun themed menu items all relating to terminology around his new office.  (Of which I contacted his new boss to ask about what some of those terms might be.  And hell if I know what these terms mean, but I did figure out ways to incorporate them into menu items :)

"Next Generation Sequencing"  I 'sequenced' antipasta skewers with basil leaves, roasted peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, and sausage. 

The signature drink for the evening was "Kailos Blue."  It was pretty yummy too, equal parts of vodka, curaco, and lemonade.

Dessert matched "Target Rich" with bullseye chocolate cakes.

The main dish - Chicken Cordon Bleu with Parmesan Dijon Sauce - went with "Nested Patch PCR"  (again, what it means, I have no idea...)

And thanks to Molly, who made a delicious pasta salad!  "Double Helix Salad"  Poor dear ended up sick that afternoon and couldn't make the party.  :(

Congratulations, Jason!  I am SO very proud of you and super excited.  Good for you for going after what you want and making it happen!




So, that dinner was last night, and today brought us to the very last day of summer.  We went to Monte Sano for the school's "back to school picnic" where it was a cool sixty something degrees (yes, it's August!)

Kids had a ball...

And I got some sweet loves from Connor:

And back to more pictures from Brendan's visit.  Here's when we went ice skating:

And the week before Brendan arrived, Jack and Lucy got to enjoy a fun filled, completely spoiled week in Atlanta with my mom and dad!  They ate pancakes every morning - um, yum! - in bed, and packed in fun to every hour of the day.

I'm not sure what they were eating here, but it was probably doughnuts, chocolate pastries, or something decadent like that :)

One night my parents created a "We-don't-need-no-stinkin'-Rosie's" night and prepared their own Mexican meal. 

Lots of hockey with Uncle Ryan.

So, yes, tomorrow it's back to reality, alarm clocks, daily checks of backpacks, overseeing homework, tutoring a full load of students, but also enjoying every second of my Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings when both my boys will be at Preschool until lunchtime.  Oh the bliss...And while I've signed up for some new adventures that will take up some of that time, I've also scheduled time for quiet and relaxation.  This summer, I started setting aside scheduled time to be alone and soaked in God's Word.  And it was so wonderful, every time, every encounter with the Spirit.  I am so looking forward to more of that time!

Happy 1st day of school tomorrow!  Woo hoo!