All of our friends are back in school this week, as we enjoy our last week of summer break. So, in honor of our summertime coming to a close, I thought I'd share some pictures that never did quite make the blog over the summer months. :)
As so many others did, we enjoyed a Texas summer full of HEAT.
Hot enough to melt a crayon on your console, actually.
So, even though we started the summer with bike riding and outdoor fun,
we enjoyed the rest of the hot summer just staying cool!
There was lots of swimming...all three of them swim like fish now, which is so nice, and makes swimming much more fun!
LOTS of ice cream and yogurt trips...
Breakfast treats...
Cool summer hair...
And, lots of indoor activities! (like body painting. :)
We started a little bit of "school time" in the summer, just to get ourselves used to the idea. It went over great for the little time we actually stuck to it. Ha ha.
This is probably my favorite "school" paper from the summer:
Here, Kendyll says that her dream is to "nurse african children", she is talented at "piano", and if she were an animal, she "would be a dolphin". She drew a picture of herself with Freeman and Doris, both from Ghana. I love reading my children's thoughts on paper.
But, even after "folder time" was long gone and our summer routine was already crumbling, there was still lots of time for reading and LOTS of trips to the library,
There were many air-conditioned afternoon naps for Mommy and Katers (there is nothing better!),
Quiet time and Ipod listening for the other two (Carlie's new favorite past time is the ipod...now if we can just get her to sing quietly to herself. She just doesn't get that she is singing full volume. It's hilarious. And, I love it.)
We had sleepovers for the whole gang throughout the summer, and I always enjoy having all of these sweet kids at our house.
There was time for sponge rollers, nail polish, and lots of sister fun.
I love these pictures of picking Kendyll up from summer camp. The sisters missed her SO much and could hardly wait to hug her!
While she was gone, Kendyll arranged for them to get a "package" from her on the front porch. (Mommy was directed to put them on the porch on a certain day in a certain way and call them downstairs at a certain time. It was so cute how much she planned it.)
Inside were some of their favorite candies and activities, and a sweet note she had written to each of them. (click on the pic to read.)
It's moments like these that I'm reminded---even though they quarrel like any other sibling group---that God has given them very special friends in each other. This whole summer was filled with special sister times, and I'm just so thankful for that.
We did also have a fun family photo session at Gammy and Papa Ron's house in July that I somehow never blogged about. Lots of cute pictures of almost the WHOLE gang together! (We missed you, Lindy and Will!) By the way, these are not the professional ones. These are just with my little old automatic camera. Better ones to come!
Gammy and Papa Ron with all the grandkids...
All the grandkids with Maw Maw and Paw Paw (my grandparents)!
And, some of the fun between the photo shots!
The photographer even shot a few of the cousins saying "hi" to baby Chase with balloons!
That same weekend was Fourth of July (which I also never blogged about!),
where the cousins got new cots to sleep on that were QUITE a hit,
where the family lovin' never stopped (I love that you can't even see my sisters in this picture!)...
where the ranch activities were dirty, sweaty, and VERY fun...
And where the sparklers and popsicles never ran dry.
This really was a GREAT summer, full of fun memories with our family, but also important God moments for us as well. Definitely a summer I will never forget!
It has been fun to see everyone's back-to-school pictures this week. We have spent time praying for our friends' school years as they begin. And, of course, Mommy especially is praying constantly over this new adventure called home school, which will be starting up next week around here. This weekend is officially my "Strategizing and Organizing" weekend, while Daddy entertains the troops.
I have a lot to share about my homeschool thoughts and plans too...but that will have to come another day. I'm off to share what is left of the evening with my hubby after a very crazy week! Happy First Week of School, everyone!
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