So Long Summer

Summer is almost over and it's time for school to begin.  We had a great summer full of great memories.

We are continuing to home school for Nate's 2nd grade year.  This was taken on his first day of co-op: Thursday, August 6th. His co-op subjects are Bible Heroes (writing class), PE, and Science (aquatic animals).  We will study those subjects at home too along with reading, literature, handwriting, math, history, and spelling.

These two...

I could post a million pictures of them. :)

Cora is wearing one of Ashlyn's old bubbles.  It's about 20 years old.

Weekend Getaway

My sweetie and I got to have a weekend getaway at The Grand Hotel in Point Clear.  Darren had a work conference for the weekend and we decided to leave Nate and Cora with my parents!  This was our first time to leave Cora overnight and I was really nervous about it, but I relaxed once we got to the hotel.

I love the beach and The Grand is on the bay.  It was more like being on the lake instead of the ocean.  My favorite thing about The Grand is all of the inclusive activities.  You can kayak, sail a sail boat, paddle board, ride bikes, and more.  I loved bike riding while Darren was in meetings.  He and I went for a ride together also and we kayaked around the bay.  

It was mid-July and HOT! These hit the spot one afternoon when we were relaxing by the water.  It was cool to sit in the shade of a mossy, water oak tree and look out at the bay.  I did miss those sugar white beaches and clear water though. 

I'm so thankful for our weekend together.  It was just a week before our 16th anniversary so it was kind of an anniversary trip as well.  I'm thankful for my parents and their willingness to keep our children! :)

Happy 8th Birthday, Nate!

We had a great time celebrating Nate's birthday with our families.  Nate and Darren provided us with some sword fighting entertainment.  

If it was up to Nate, he and Darren would fight or wrestle all day, every day.  It's his absolute favorite.

Nate's favorite present from this birthday was an Xbox One.  

I love this picture of Ashlyn and Chris. :)

We always have nachos for Nate's birthday dinner since it's his favorite.  For the past two years, he's requested brownies instead of cake.  Can you see the 8 on his brownies?  M&Ms are also one of his favorites. 

Gosh, we love this kid.  He is smart, funny, tenderhearted, kind, generous, loving, thoughtful, and the very best big brother.  He loves Cora so much and is so sweet and patient with her.  There are no words to adequately express how much we love this kid.  We are so thankful God gave us Nate.