Remembering Summer

I'm back, and hopefully over the next few weeks, I can write a little about our summer. We did nothing extraordinary, but we have been busy, busy, busy! Joanna & Ruthie did several summer reading programs, and both girls have really shown growth in their outloud reading abilities as well as their comprehension. (I am very proud of them!) Joanna took swimming lessons, and we spent a week in New Mexico with my family. Sam flew home right before July 4th to spend a few days with us before heading to Iraq, and Nathan has been home for the past two weeks. Tonight we say goodbye to him, and he will drive to 29 Palms, California, Marine Base. Tomorrow, we get out school uniforms and check for sizes, gearing up for school, which begins on Thurday the 13th. Whew!

Speaking of Nathan - we have hardly seen Mr. Social Bug. His friends are also home for the summer, and he has been here and there, doing everything from boating to Water World to a Rockies game to eating buffalo wings with friends to skateboarding to ... packing his bags and having one last meal with his family tonight. The girls are viewing this as a major event and have even written a special song for the occasion. (Again, I will say - girls are sooo different from boys! NEVER would my boys have even considered singing a goodbye song to one of their siblings - lol!) I admit that even though Nathan has been messy and a little too busy, I will be sad when he is gone. It reminds me of how quickly kids grow up and how very different my life is from just ten years ago. Forever a mom, I will not rest easy until I get a phone call from 29 Palms saying that he has safely arrived.

I did not write about Sam's trip home at the time, but even though it was very short, it was so good to have him home. Unfortunately, Sam decided at the very last not to drive, and he flew solo with McKenzie staying at home. It was incredibly sweet of her to urge him to see us when she had so few days left before his deployment, and I hope she knows how much we appreciate her. Sam will be gone for one year, and during this time, McKenzie's younger brother will move in to keep her company. Sam feels good about this, and so do we. Sam is a staff sergeant with army intelligence, and he takes his job seriously. We are so proud of him and the decisions he has made as a young adult. As a sidenote, he will turn 26 on the 11th of August. Wasn't it just yesterday that I was turning 26?!!

Over the next few days, I will try to post a few of our summer pictures and do some "flashbacks." That's just about as good as watching your neighbor's vacation slide show, huh?!