This week finally feels like fall. I’ve been around the Alabama weather scene long enough to know this doesn’t really mean anything for the longterm forecast. We’ve worn shorts to the Pumpkin Patch in October, so a cold-front in September doesn’t mean the temperatures are here to stay. The lake is cooling down and football Saturdays are back in session, so while we’ll still have some warm days, I think it’s safe to say, summer as we know it is officially over for 2017.
It took me 22 pictures to get all of the highlights of summer in one post, I’d say it was good to us!
We started with Braylen’s gymnastics exhibition, she showed off all of her new skills she had been working so hard on this summer. This is the exhibition that almost didn’t happen, I forgot to register her, but thankfully, they had an extra leotard and took care of getting us registered.
We started off summer with the best summer camp ever, Summer Show-Off’s! Y’all, if this camp comes close to you, register your little one, it was amazing. They spend a week learning the songs for the shows (it’s singing and dance combined). You can follow their Facebook page for updates. The week focuses on confidence building and team work and at the end of the week, they perform on stage and everyone gets a solo in the final performance.
And what about this guy? He turned ONE! It’s hard to believe he’s been a part of our family for so long or that we’ve been without Coco for almost a year at this point. She is still missed every day, the kids love to look at old pictures of her and talk about funny things that she did, Braylen draws pictures and writes about her in her journal. I don’t think any dog could ever replace her, but this guy sure did help heal our hearts!
Our well-check was bittersweet this year, our amazing pediatrician retired that same week.
And the painted rocks were huge this summer! We painted rocks and hid them around town and found others and hid those in a new place. Of course, I joined in on the fun, too. Here’s a picture of our first batch of rocks.
Even Jud joined in on the fun and had the best time finding and hiding his rocks!
We had another great week at Summer Blast at Highlands! How cute is that tiny camper?
We spent a week in our favorite spot, we rode out a tropical storm and enjoyed some fantastic family time. It was just what we needed after a busy year and we had so much fun, even when we were stuck inside putting together puzzles with a billion pieces and playing Jenga for the fourteenth time. Uninterrupted time with these two is the best!
A few weeks later, I celebrated with some of my best friends at the beach to celebrate our 30th birthdays! I forgot just how simple beach trips are without kids, it’s crazy to only take a small bag down to the beach and not have one million extra things. We had the best time just hanging out on the beach and eating delicious food! Here’s to 30 (yes, basically our whole lives we’ve been friends) more years of friendship (and you’re not getting out of the next one, Sus).
One of my favorite things about summer is BK and Jud get to play together so much. He misses her tons while she is in school during the day, so having all day together is so good for them! He’s old enough now to cooperate and play games and the fighting is minimal (most days). We went on some pretty fun adventures.
And we finally caught a baseball game at the new Regions Park!
And a couple of zoo trips on pretty Sundays….
And we tried out a new candy store!
We even managed to sneak in a couple of adult days on the lake!
And we added a few new things to our after-school activity list, my personal favorite, piano lessons!
And cheerleading!
School started (at the beginning of August), but that didn’t mean that summer had to end.
And a few weeks later, Jud started MDO again!
All of Braylen’s bedroom dreams came true when Allen built this amazing bed for her! She picked one out from the Pottery Barn Kids catalog, but Allen was sure he could build one super similar and I’ll admit, he was right.
We spent one long Labor Day weekend at the lake, welcoming football and sending off summer. The days were perfect (and that mat just might be the best purchase of summer).
See you next year, lazy lake days and sandy beaches and days full of nothing but fun!
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