Summer in Review

Well we did it again. We jam-packed another summer with so much that thinking of blogging about it was just...overwhelming. Nate didn't really take the summer off but his schedule was WAY better. Instead of his normal 12 hour days, he left late and came home early so we could enjoy lots of family time.  I felt a little spoiled, being able to sleep in sometimes or go on a leisurely morning run while Nate got the kids ready in the morning. He's such a good husband and father in that way, always wanting more time with the kids when he can get it. So the summer seemed short and super sweet.

So here's the recap of the summer. It started out right away with swimming lessons for Finn. He is so good now! He's confidant and excited about swimming, which is such a change from the beginning of last summer when he had to learn to get past the first step in the pool. Now he swims like a fish. Mission accomplished.

My sister Jennifer came to visit from Kentucky! And of course she brought with her the hubbie, Karl and 5 kiddos, Michael, Aidan, Luke, Grace and Audrey. We don't get to see Jen and the fam very often so this was a real treat! We got some great sister time, just the three of us.

Summy clan together again! (why do I look so short here?)

Nate took about 10 days off in a row so we could have a real vacation, so naturally we tried to squeeze several road trips into those 10 days. It helps that our kids do pretty well in the car. (thank you portable dvd player). We drove way up to Eugene, Oregon to visit friends Court and Beth and their little Anderson. We had a blast. I really liked Eugene. It's just my style....beautiful and outdoorsy and a little urban with a healthy dose of granola.

I like this My Two Dads photo. Court's diaper bag really ties it all together. :-)

S'MORES! The white glob in her right hand is the smooshy inside of a monster marshmellow that squeezed out with the first bite...and is about to go into her hair, as usual.

Anderson's not sure what he thinks about this forced kid picture and these are the faces my kids make when I say "don't smile." Works every time.

It just so happened that Selah turned 3 during our road trip! (bday post coming soon.)

After Eugene we spent a few days at my uncle's cabin in Etna, near my grandma's house. It was beautiful, serene and full of family. Everyone on that side of the family showed up, and now with all my sisters and cousins having kids, I think we are officially outnumbered by the little ones! The four babies didn't make it to this photo.

Three of those 15 kids had a birthday within a week of our little cabin trip, so we decided that a camping birthday party was in order! We played a little water gun game and then decorated cupcakes. Short and sweet. Happy birthday Aidan, Selah and Sydney!

 Kayaking down the river was a fun activity this year. I pulled Finn and cousin Aidan. It was cute to listen to them chat in their raft the whole time. They are both so quirky...and backseat kayak drivers.

After the cabin trip we made the 4 hr drive home for a few hours sleep and a load of laundry and repacked the car for Santa Babrara! (we're crazy like that.) We rolled in as fireworks were going off on West Beach we stayed for 6 days in friends' house on the Mesa. It was so nice to have it to ourselves and just settle in to SB our "other home." It's so nice to vacation in a place we know so well. We made every second count there. We spent quality time with good friends every day and hit the beach every day too.

Finn and Selah reuniting with friends Ruby and Kai.

Selah always finds a deep hold along the sand and just sits there digging it deeper.

La Cumbre Peak. Nate's favorite SB location.

Finn and Simone catching up over a little game of pretend on a hike.

Finn and Giovana had a blast together. They've been buds since birth.

When we got home, we celebrated our 9th anniversary! I MAY get around to a special post about that. We'll see. After all the road-tripping, we did spend some quality time close to home too. We've been "enjoying" many home projects this summer. Our garden is off the hook! We've had more volunteer plants than we knew what to do with.....resulting in some really wonky zucchini. That's all I have the energy for now. More pics to come.