What I did this summer... because obviously I wasn't blogging

Summer - a time to relax and enjoy time together.
Summer - a time to jam in all the things that you can't do during the rest of the year
Summer - Hurry up and enjoy... NOW before it is over.

A blog blitz on our summer.

Mom turned 75 and we celebrated at a resort perched on the highest point in Illinois overlooking the Mississippi, which was at flood stage back in June. Our celebrating mom included eating, shopping, swimming and playing.
Mom, at 75 years young... but that didn't stop Tamara and I from beating her in miniature golf

The Great Muddy Mississippi. If you enlarge the picture you will see that the island in the middle of the water is not an island at all but the tops of trees. (yep we are at a ski resort...in ILLINOIS! don't even comment)
For some reason they would not stand closer and Jack would not stop talking long enough to let me take the picture.
The Alpine slide. We tried to convince Mom to give it a try (she went white water rafting the previous Fall) but she was not brave enough. Olivia is on the left and my niece Erin is on the right. The slide was cool people. I highly recommend it.Jack and Eric on the way back up after a ride down the alpine slide. Note the slide in the lower right corner. Let me say again - totally cool fun.


Also in June we said good bye to Tamara as she moved back up to Boston with Jill. We miss them both. It was a sad weekend.

Aunt Tamara with O on O's birthday

And then the last weekend in June we drove to Birmingham Alabama to visit the Patricks. Great fun. And Birmingham is beautiful y'all. On this trip we realized that Eric had driven through 16 different states and the District of Columbia in the month of June. NC, VA, WV, KY, IN, IL and IA for Mom's celebration. NC, VA, MD, DE, NJ, NY, CT and MA for Tamara's trip back to Boston. And then, NC, SC, GA and AL for the Patricks.

This is Vulcan. He overlooks Birmingham. I could tell you the history behind him but just google it.

Here is Jack doing his best impression of Vulcan. (click on it to enlarge)

Olivia, Amelia, Jack, Colin and Yeadon running away from The Vulcan.
All the same kids with baby Emma at the side. Note Colin is three months younger than Jack.

July brought Katie and Bob (my niece and her husband). And fireworks or missed fireworks or natural fireworks. We played Uno attack outside on the deck waiting to leave for the Fireworks on the 4th and then the clouds rolled in and we had a major thunderstorm. So the kids and I watched the fireworks on TV from DC and Eric, Katie and Bob watch the fireworks from the storm as it passed through.
July also brought Tom Petty. Ok, he did not come to us. We went to him. This was my birthday present to Eric. It was a GREAT concert. There was a moment during the concert when several college students who had consumed more beer in the last hour than I had in my whole life, started to toke away and I had a moment of clarity on just how many of Tom's songs are about getting high. Not saying I did not realize this before but the songs sung in succession and in juxtaposition of the students just brought it home a little more clearly. But Tom can Rock people.
July also brought the projects. Eric made a tree house for the kids and we made screen curtains for the front porch. The tree house is complete. We are still working on the screen curtains.

For some reason I don't have a picture of the completed treehouse but here it is in progress.

And August brought school but not before we spent time with friends, swimming and making memories.
Jack lost his first tooth the first week of school. He lost his second on our Labor day vacation. And he did literally lose them or he swallowed them. But the tooth fairy still left money based on the gaps in his mouth.

And being the procrastinators that we are, we saved the beach for last. We went to Hilton Head for Labor day where we had a great time playing in the ocean and on the beach, swimming in the condo swimming pool and eating ice cream and Italian ices ... everyday.

I love this pic. Olivia holding her nose, Jack with his hands in the air. Both screaming with delight.

And now we await Autumn.