Our summer in review

Today is the last day of our summer break!  Monday we start our new school year; David will be in fourth grade and Abigail will be in second grade (where does the time go?!).  We have enjoyed a busy but wonderful summer break, and here are some of the highlights.

Library trips

 

 Pool time (even once as an impromptu stop when I let the kids swim in their street clothes -- they thought it was very daring and exciting!)

 A visit from my parents, complete with 4th of July fireworks in the middle of rain, thunder, and lightning

 (As is typical, my mom did much better than I about taking pictures and blogging them...go to her blog during the first week of July to see them!)

Playing on the slip-n-slide

 (Abigail inherited her daddy's horror of water on the face...hence the look of pain...she really is having fun!)

Playing at the playground

 (and, of course, jumping the stream to get in instead of taking the bridge)

 ...even Abigail tried it -- and did it!

 A week at summer camp

(Abigail enjoyed a week at Camp Grandparents-McKee, but I wasn't there to take pictures...she reports that she had a fabulous time!)

David thoroughly enjoyed his first time at camp, Bruce and I had a wonderful week of fellowship, learning, and getting to know our teens better, and I hogged my friends' baby a lot, which was great fun!)

 

 Blueberry picking with friends

 Backyard wildlife

 I wasn't very good about taking a lot of pictures this summer, so this is only a snippet of our summer days...but I treasured every together-moment!  On to the new school year!

Summer camp!

David is at summer camp at The Wilds for his very first time, and we are privileged to be here as sponsors for the week.  (Abigail is having her own special week as resident princess at Grandpa and Grandma McKee's house.  I talked to her yesterday and she was bubbling with excitement...she is loving her time with them!)  David and his buddy were very excited to come to camp together. (That is a bit of an understatement.  Just ask Bruce, whose car they were riding in on the way to camp.  Everybody else in the car needed a nap by the time we got here!)  They got all checked in to Junior Boot Camp...

...we met their counselor, who met the boys with high-fives and energetic guy-type noises, and the boys took off after him like the Pied Piper!

Yesterday while we were out walking, we passed David (in the orange shirt, by the tree), who had just come back from swim time at the lake.  He looked a little nervous that we were going to make him leave or something, but once he figured out that we were maintaining a safe distance, he managed a Joe-cool smile for the camera.

Let me tell you, it was a real challenge to behave myself and not run over to smother him with hugs and kisses.  I'll make up for it on Saturday. :)