It's You and Me in the Summertime

I'm trying to figure out this new blogger system, so bear with me if this post is a total mess.  (which, now that i'm finished, i can see it totally is -- my apologies)

Summer is in full swing around here, and here's a little bit of what we've been up to.....

Shannon and the cousins are in town for a visit, and we've been busy having fun.  We went to the splash pool, which is always a big hit with the kids. 

Joseph pauses to show us his big muscles.

Emmalee and me having fun

Lindsey is a bathing beauty!

Speaking of Lindsey . . . her ballet recital was last week, and as usual, she was amazing!  She's on the far left.

The after-performance flowers from her Dad are always her favorite part!

Cousins, cousins, cousins.........

 We've been to the park and spent some time by the river.  Super fun stuff!  We found a snake, and everyone wanted to keep him . . . even though I did too, I decided it wasn't the best idea.  But he was a cute little guy.

 Sorry -- this is all out of order -- here's an example of the kind of shenanigans that go on when I'm not around . . . Chris bought a bounce house at DI.....

 Bradley's medal for serving on Student Council this year -- he LOVED it and took his responsibilities very seriously!  It was the cutest thing ever when he came home from his Student Council meeting and reported everything that was going on at school....love that boy!

 Nathaniel's eighth grade graduation ceremony -- yes, he's going to high school, folks!

Chris the super amazing wonderful dad drove the kids down to Cedar City so they could have the best possible view of the eclipse a couple of weeks ago!

He also took them to his TERT training where they got to have some fun in the LifeFlight helicopter.

More of the lovely ballerina....

Joseph being super happy and cute about his bucket and shovel -- he can't wait to go to the beach and make some sand castles!!!

Lindsey lost a front tooth -- and then another -- i need a more recent photo!

At Scouts they worked on Law Enforcement stuff -- Nathaniel looks pretty handsome and scary.

Mr. Ice Cream Face!

I loved being home with Joseph all year -- he's my little buddy!  We had fun doing whatever we wanted while the kids were at school.....like going to Chuck E Cheeses.

We went to the park a LOT!

On campus, hanging out with the Cougar!

Cute girl playing around with the camera.

I guess this is what they do in Young Men??

Chris sent me this photo while I was gone with the caption, "I miss mom!"  So sad!!

 I went to Georgia for a quick visit.  Had a reunion of sorts with a few of my oldest and bestest friends!  It was fun beyond description!  We did stuff like singing karaoke with this crazy girl -- Tiffany really gets into her music!

We did a LOT of eating, which was fun and bad!  Here we are at a delicious restaurant called 'Cue -- yummy pulled pork sandwiches and brilliantly funny conversations!

We also played a lot of pool -- I discovered that I truly suck at it.

You can tell Ami and Davin really enjoyed having us there.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these girls!!!!

I also got to hang out with my good friend Sarah, and we had so much fun kayaking on the Chattahoochie River and goofing around. 

After spending some time with friends, I went to Augusta to see my family.  I got to see most everyone -- went to a delicious lunch with Chris' parents at T's, ate at Outback with Mom, Granny, my Aunt Katherine and Uncles Andrew and Ed.....I was so happy that my trip coincided with my Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Joe's 40th anniversary party, so I got to celebrate with them and see a great many of my cousins, etc, including a couple of sweet babies I hadn't yet gotten to meet!  It was wonderful!

With Granny and Mom -- none of us look like we were ready for this picture.

Have I told you lately that I adore my grandmother?!?  She is a wonderful lady, and I'm so thankful for the opportunity to spend some time with her, and with my awesome Mom and all of my other amazingly great family members.  It was a great trip!