Summer Lovin'...Had Us a Blast

 All good things must come to an end, I guess. Tomorrow, Chris and I return for a week of in-service days before students start back school on August 15th. I sure have loved my lazy, summer days of sleeping in, extended quiet times with JC, traveling to beautiful places with friends and family, and enjoying a much more relaxed schedule. Here's the photo dump for Summer 2022:

We kicked off our summer with a sizzlin' Japanese steakhouse dinner to celebrate Maggie's birthday with Nan and Pap. 

Maggie got to celebrate her 10th birthday with a donuts, art, pool time, and 6 sassy friends! She sure is a joy in our lives and we are so very thankful for the "gift" that she is to our family! We love you, Maggie Pie!

We kept the good times rollin' by hitting the road and heading to the beach! We stayed at a little hotel called Tropical Seas, but it was the perfect spot to do all our favorite things (shark and shell hunting, wave jumping and riding, music listening and beach sitting, pool splashing, seafood eating, icecream devouring, arcade playing, and pier walking). Beautiful memories in beautiful places! 

CSTALCK 2022 debuted in St. Pete's this year! We had the most cultural trip ever! We went to the Salvador Dali museum, a French bistro for dinner, attended a Rays baseball game, enjoyed car karaoke, ate at the "pink hotel"...Don Cesar, and "laughed our heads off" at crazy ocean water pics from Clearwater. I LOVE these girls so much and am so very thankful for the way God has kept us connected and supporting each other.   

While Mom was playing in Florida, Riley was away at Scout Camp in Barstow near Columbia,, SC. 

Maggie did a great job planning a party for our family!! She also planned a fun movie night with popcorn trail mix snack (popcorn, marshmallows, and dark chocolate). And she planned a drawing night where we did different drawing competitions. She sure is a great party planner! And I love her desire for connection and quality time with family!

We headed to Kentucky this year for a special edition of Camp Nan and Pap! We rented a big house in Danville on the river and got to enjoy time together eating out, playing card games, tasting local beers (not recommended by the way), going bowling, catching fish, and designing iron-on shirts. It was a lot of fun! 

Maggie got a new short, summer do! After getting her braids taken out, we needed a easier style to manage and she was so proud that she could style it herself. What a beauty...inside and out! 

We celebrated Chris' birthday with our annual trip to Lupie's and this year we added in Top Golf too. The next day, we got to catch up with Aunt Connie, Bryan, and his son, Alexander, in Greer at Frankie's Fun Park. These darlings sure have had their share of fun and games this summer! 

We're ending summer on a "sweet" note! It's been a "cool treat" to have this extra time as a family to relax, recharge, and relate to each other. The kids didn't always like having to "earn their screen time" on our down days by building their brain (some sort of academic/learning activity), building their body (some sort of exercise or physical activity), and building their spirit (reading the Bible or devotion book and praying), but I feel like it was a good way to balance out the days and weeks where we weren't on the go. I sure will miss my summer "schedule", but I'm looking forward to what new adventures we will have this school year too! 

Just kidding...that's not the end of this blog...these pics got mistakenly left out. So here's a quick recap of the middle of the summer: 

Maggie had her June 11th recital and did a great job! 

Maggie endured 4 hours of hair braiding and it was a super easy hairdo for summer! 

We LOVED getting to see RoJo (Roe and Joel) when they came in town for a friend's wedding! 

Maggie got a new room maker! We painted Riley's bunkbed white and Riley upgraded to a full size bed. Maggie made her own artwork and is thoroughly enjoying her new LED lights and glow in the dark stars. 

Chris and I celebrated our "furniture" anniversary (17 years...modern gift). Chris redid our porch with a rug, plant stand, hanging ferns, artwork, and greenery. And I gave him a repainted nightstand for our guest room. We celebrated at Persis for dinner on our actual anniversary and then went to Optimist Hall the next day for a great lunch and a few beers. Cheers to 17 years, babe! 

Maggie and Emme and Whitney and I had fun finding the frogs in Old Town one afternoon. I love this reminder of fighting for "Justice for ALL". It's such an important part of recognizing human dignity and respecting others.