Wow! Where has the time gone? This has been a busy, fun summer with only a few weeks left before school and work resumes. We're having a beautiful day here today, Justin is off and we are going to introduce the boys to canoeing a little later as we just can't let this beautiful day to by without being outside.
Here's a sampling of some of the news from our summer. Enjoy!
"A Little Place Called Shamokin!" Our first trip of the summer was a weekend adventure to Pennsylvania to the Knoebel's campground and amusement park. The boys love the loft sleeping cabins and the classic amusement park is easy on the wallet and a lot of family fun. Blake rode his first really big roller coaster - the Phoenix! It was hilarious. We didn't have to do much to talk him into riding but once we headed down that first hill, he looked so shocked! The wide was blowing his face tight and he was holding on for dear life. Luke said "No way!" and waited with friends while we rode. Blake is a wild man. The adults headed out the last night for some time on bumper cars that was voted America's best. They are brutal. And fun. We were all cracking up. It was great stress relief. One of the girls with us is a county bus driver and said they should add bumper cars to the personnel program for stress relief. LOL.
For the 4th of July, Luke was selected to ride in the parade with "George Washington".
Later in July, we headed to Edisto Beach. Lots of great family beach time. One of the highlights was seeing three little loggerheads make their way from their nest for their first swim. Beautiful.
I also volunteered as a camp counselor at a camp on the eastern shore of Maryland. Some newer friends forget that I was in the Army and can hang tough when needed so Justin got lots of questions about "how I was doing". Well - I slept in a pretty rustic cabin with no air conditioning, swam in a pond with leeches, got flipped in a canoe and overall had a great week. The message for the week was that God created the world with "enough" for everyone. We should only take what we need and share.
The boys spent a week with MeeMee and Poppy making some special summer time memories and we visted my folks for a few days. We hiked to an old coal mining site and waterfalls. We also went night fishing which Blake thought needed a little more excitement so he let out his big battle cry for everyone to enjoy. It woke those old men up. They didn't catch anything but did see a 20 pound catfish reeled in. No joke. 20 pounds. We were in the shack when they weighed it.
Luke has been swimming like a fish and jumped off the diving board yesterday for the first time. We are SO proud of his courage. Go little man!
So - the leaves are already starting to turn but it's not over yet. Get out there and soak up some sun!
