No complaints here: I will take a social life and vacations over countless available hours on the internet. When we first moved to Buffalo - life was much less hectic (due to not knowing more than five people!) and with only one kid in school. Now Ayla is blossoming in second grade, bouncing between playdates, homework, swim and gymnastics class. Jackson is loving full-day Kindgarten and ballet classes - as well as refining his Wii skills before and after school. Elliot is now old enough for preschool and literally rolls his eyes at me if I don't leave fast enough at drop-off. We are a family that enjoys our time together, but damn, they also love to get out of the house and be with their friends! I am thankful every morning for their confidence and happiness to be away from me! (But also thankful that they are happy to see me at the end of the day too.)
Our summer itself was bonkers. In June, we hosted grandparents for Ayla and Jackson's dance recital. We traveled to Canada twice: once with my cousins and their adorable children to camp in Pinery Provincial Park, and another to finally meet my cousin Lynn's children for the first time. (Seems like not such a big deal... until you hear that these boys are in high school! Unfortunately, in my spread out family - it's not uncommon to go 15 years between visits.)
In July, we took our first beach vacation in three years. Thanks Gramps and Nano for having an amazing beach house and keeping in un-rented at the peak of the season. We traveled through Greensboro (to see more family), to Holden Beach, NC for a week of boat rides and baking in the sun. And on the way back, packed three kids and myself into my sisters' compact DC apartment for a little sightseeing and DC food trucks. Not to mention seeing my college roommate and bridesmaid, Ilyse, for the first time in almost a decade.
And in August, we co-hosted a big "check out" party for my husband and his co-worker Luke. Basically - there is an enormous amount of training when you sign on to be an air traffic controller. Months in Oklahoma City, months (okay, even years) of on-the-job training for your local airport. So what better excuse to celebrate and get everyone together for the ice-luge?
We were also lucky enough to have more visitors in August! My friends Sara and Shane brought their two kids en route to Maine; the highlight being our trip to the fairgrounds and the Maid of the Mist at Niagara Falls. Grandparents and Uncle Matthew came to our party, Ayla turned 7 (whattt!), and an overnight visit from Gregory's Uncle Chris. There was also a little wedding dress shopping with my sister in the 'burgh... eeep!
Did I mention that we also sent the kids to Pittsburgh for some solo time with their grandparents? That means Ayla and Jackson were gone for two weeks and Elliot spent a good four nights away as well. Gregory and I went on a date night without paying a babysitter! We also turned our house in Pittsburgh over between renters - it was emotional, yet awesome, to be back in our first home, cleaning, replacing floor tiles, putting the wet vac to good use and trimming back the grapevines in the backyard. Epic events.
That brings us to September: getting back into school routines, packing lunches and running to different daily activities. More time for sewing (which is a main reason this blog has fallen to the wayside), my Etsy shop is busier than ever and I can power through quilts in less than a week. More time for daytime lunch dates when Elliot is at his school and more time for Zombie Mud Runs... and for Baxter's little accident.
Yes, Baxter had an accident. He has always been known to take off running at the slightest opportunity. This time he ran straight into a moving vehicle. We watched him charge down our street and then bounce off a sedan. And then bounce back up and run back to the house, utterly bewildered. Somehow we didn't hold a doggie funeral and one week later, he is back to his normal (ha!) self.
This was all on a day that we had friends from Pittsburgh come up to run the Zombie Mud Run with us... so we were pretty spent from darting growling zombies and trudging through mud, having our dog get hit by the car proved to be too much for one day.
And here we are, with some trips already planned for fall and incredibly lucky to have a life filled with friends, family, vacations and Zombies, too.
