Her first "sleep over" camp!

And only a little bit of homesickness! Maybe she will go away to college some day after all! She and Delaney had a blast, and the plan is to return next year!

One Last Dip!!

As a "Get Acquainted" gathering, we invited Matthew's class of first grade friends to enjoy the last bit of summer, and topped it off with scheduled visit from the Ice Cream Truck! It was really a lot of fun, and everyone behaved so nicely!

Just a little more summer.PLLLEEEEAAAASSSSEEE!

Cause it's not summer without a trip to Michigan! We stayed in New Buffalo, went to Chicago for the lego store in Saturday, and went to the dunes on Sunday... Aaaaahhhhh...

WHAAAA! Summer was too short!!!

A little piece of me gets on that bus with them every morning, and it's missing all day until it is returned to me when they get off the bus in the afternoon. Funny thing is, my own Mom told me just the other day, that the feeling never goes away no matter how grown up they get. She told me that she still feels that little bit of loneliness when she says goodbye to me even now.




Sarah and Matthew switched to Carmel schools this year, and handled the change with maturity and grace beyond their years! We're so proud of how they're growning up!

This is crazy, this is crazy, this is crazy....

"This is no longer a vacation. It's a quest. It's a quest for fun. I'm gonna have fun and you're gonna have fun!" (Clark Griswold, from the movie "Vacation")

Okay, so in the spirit of one of the best movies of all time, Clark (I mean Tim) and I set out for a two week vacation out west with the family! There may not have been an Aunt Edna, but there were plenty of memorable moments! Las Vegas in July was a lot of fun, who knew what 126 degrees really felt like until then!! The Hoover Dam, Cirque De Solie, M&M World, The Pinball Museum, and the MGM Grand pool were some of the highlights. Then on to Flagstaff Arizona, which was beautiful and reminiscent of Colorado for us (also much cooler than Vegas!). The Grand Canyon from there, which was breathtaking, and a day trip was perfect for the attention span of our party! Saving the best for last, Albuquerque New Mexico to see friends (and lots of brown things:)


Excitement building on the plane ride, portable DVD player...Priceless!


Another Kodak moment interrupted by sibling dispute..


Ahhh, happier now even though it was 110 degrees at 8:30 in the morning! We only lasted a couple of hours at the Hoover Dam before dehydration and lethargy set in!


Gumby has a moment in front of the Bellagio fountains


M&M World rocked, if it exists with an M&M logo on it, you can buy it here!


Hotel "Paris" was a knockout!




Downtown Flagstaff a the train staion


One of my all time favorite pictures... Our own two "wonders" standing in front of one of the seven "Wonders"! The Grand Canyon is truly a must see, but I was a nervous wreck the entire time. Would it be so wrong to have a few guardrails?






And the true "Grand Finale" of the trip, 5 days with the Cordova's! (We may have overstayed our welcome, I know the three day rule!) They were so gracious to open up their home for us, and I will cherish evenings spent on the balcony with margarita's forever! Tim and I made it to Sante Fe for a night, and and we had a day trip to a wonderful state park! We miss you Cordova's!!!

I am your parent, you are my child. I am your quiet place, you are my wild. I am your calm face, you are my giggle. I am your wait, you are my wiggle.

Romantic Savannah...

I think our friends sometime wonder how I entertain myself while Tim is photographing... Well, now you know! Gumby and I hang out! We spent a lovely five day in Savannah, Georgia and surrounding areas! I enjoyed every minute of the alone time with my husband (Yes, even when he was taking MORE pictures!).


Whew, nothing like a cold one after a day of exploring!








We spent some time at Fort Pulaski, very interesting place to explore! Those holes are from cannonballs, some of which are still stuck in the wall in places!






We loved Tybee Beach so much that we went back for a second day, I'm sure that's no surprise to anyone that we ended up on the beach during a historical vacation!