Can you even believe it?! I'm back! While I never intended to take a 5 month break, it was really needed. We had a super busy month of May and then summer hit and I would rather be sitting at the pool with the family on Sunday nights rather than blogging so that's what I did. I'm not sure if this will go back to a weekly deal or every other week or monthly, but I'm not going to worry about it. I enjoy having this little corner of the internet and that's all that matters!
So, sit back, relax, and pour yourself a steaming cup of coffee or a nice glass of wine. This is gonna be long!
Let's go back to where I left off. May. A busy month for the kids!
The high school season wrapped up for #2. We were so happy to get to watch her play soccer for her high school. I was even more happy that the weather was finally nice and a sleeping bag wasn't required of me.

My mom made it up for a busy weekend watching her grandkids. She made it to #1's EKL (East Kansas League) swim meet:

By the way, Blue Valley West won that swim meet which was a really big deal. It was so much fun! #1 also swam at State again this year. And yet again, she came in 9th in breaststroke. Ugh! But she had fun and made the 200 Free Relay so that's all that really matters. Especially because she has officially decided she does not want to swim in college.
Here is my mom with #4 after volleyball. I think volleyball is #4's favorite sport - but tennis is a close second:

We did some work outside. I got my garden planted. Sadly, it just wasn't our year. We were gone so much that it was hard to keep the pests away.

I finished my deck refresh. I love the rug I painted!

We had a fun surprise for #3. Her BFF surprised her with a visit from Ohio. It was so great to have Addy for two nights!

Yep - #3 graduated from grade school. It feels strange to only have one kid left at SRE!

Last day of school for the girls. Two in grade school:

and two in high school:

I let the little girls host some friends for the last day of school. They had a blast eating subs and swimming:

The hubby and I sent the girls off to Hilton Head for a week to vacation with the hubby's parents and brother. They had an absolute blast! They navigated their way through two different airports with plane changes each way. I was slightly nervous but knew they had each other so it would work out and it did.

Meanwhile, the hubby and I traveled down to Arkansas for the weekend. We had a great time with my mom and Jim. I hadn't golfed - my own ball and not a best ball - in YEARS! I may actually pick it back up again in a few years when the Littles are a bit older.

Finally, we started building a crushed gravel patio and fire pit:

See? I told you this was going to be long. That was only MAY! Here comes JUNE...
Remember how #3's BFF came to visit in May? Well, Addy's family was gracious enough to host us for two nights while we were driving to Washington DC. Sadly, Addy was in Boston so #3 missed seeing her but we still had a blast! We had two fires and roasted marshmallows, toured OSU, ate lunch at an adorable little bar in Short North (can't remember if that's right?), went to Pins were we bowled, and just enjoyed experiencing a new city. This picture was taken at Jenny's - a delightful ice cream place. (Seriously, so good and AWESOME flavors!)

While we were in Ohio, we celebrated #2's 15th birthday!

We spent a week in Washington DC. We stayed in a row house in Eckington. I could write an entire blog post on that place! But I won't. We saw a TON of sights so I'm not going to list them all. Here are the girls in the back of the White House:

And here is a picture of Mt. Vernon. I absolutely loved this day! The history was fascinating. So much so that I promptly bought a biography on George Washington and read in a couple weeks. So good.

We also spent a night in Weems, VA with the hubby's aunt and uncle. This is the view from their back porch. It was simply stunning.

After 18 hours - each way - we spent the remainder of the month relaxing. I even learned how to make pizza on the grill!

And this was our view almost every single night. #4 begged her sisters to join her at the pool and quite often one or more of them would, but not always. She LOVED swimming!

Phew. Let's move onto July!
We celebrated the 4th down at my mom's house. We had a couple wonderful lake days! (We were missing #3 who had a better offer to spend the week with her friend in Pensacola.)

As is tradition, my mom hosted the kids down to her house for a couple long weekends. The littles went first with their cousin:

They had a great time. They golfed (duh), rode go-carts, went tubing on the lake, built pillow forts, and went out to the dinner one night. (Or more - can't quite remember!)
The hubby and I "celebrated" our 21st anniversary:

OK, that's really all the celebrating we did. The kids made us a delicious chocolate peanut butter cake. It was all good!
Then, my mom hosted the big girls and their cousin for a long weekend:

They went shopping, tubing, golfing, got their nails done, and went to eat. They loved getting spoiled!
AUGUST! It was a busy month. But a good month.
I was invited to celebrate my friend, Carmen's, 40th birthday was a super fun group of girls down at the Lake of the Ozarks. I didn't know everyone but it didn't matter because they were all so awesome! We went out to dinners, ate delicious breakfasts and snacks at the cabin, spent a LOT of time in the water, and just relaxed. It was so perfect. Oh, and we drank a "few" beers:)

Next, my sister got married! It was beautiful and perfect and fun and so special. We love and adore Jason and couldn't have been more excited for the two of them!
Anyway, the wedding was in Vail, CO. We drove out Thursday and had all day Friday to do something fun. So we decided on a hike. The reviews said it was fairly easy. You know what? They were full of shit! It was HARD. I think it ended up being 9 miles round trip and hiking in the altitude is no joke. My sister ended up turning around and taking the Littles with her. So smart. The hubby, #1 and #2 and I persevered. But damn! it was long.

This was the summit. The views were stunning.

Friday night we had dinner at Bol. It's a great restaurant/bowling alley. I loved it. And then Saturday was the wedding at the Betty Ford gardens. It was just spectacular!

Here's the whole family - all snazzy in our pretty clothes:

(Ignore the cut off feet. I had someone take our picture since I was the photographer and she cut off our feet. Oh well.)
As soon as we got back home, school started. Gross. None of us were ready.
Here's the big girls on their first day:

And #4 - the last kid in grade school which means the latest to leave the house:

SEPTEMBER!
Per tradition, we capped off the summer with one last lake weekend. We had beautiful weather and it was the first time all summer all six cousins were together. They were thrilled and had so much fun together! The lily pad was new this year and it was a solid investment. So glad we bought it!

Gamma even got in on the fun:

The next weekend we turned around and headed to Lincoln for the football game. The hubby's parents were kind enough to stay with the kids for us. Even though we suffered a loss, we still really had fun hanging with our friends!


This has been a super common sight - a kid on a skateboard. Both #3 and #4 are into this and I have to say it's pretty adorable.

OCTOBER! We're just about caught up. Phew.
We finished the patio and fire pit a few weeks ago. To date we've had two fires and LOVED it!



The plan is to build a sectional couch to go in the corner behind the fire pit. I have the cushions - just need to build the frame. Most likely that won't happen until next spring. But that's OK. We just pull out the lawn chairs and we're good to go!
I feel like we're just about caught up. School is going well for the girls.
Senior year for #1 - can you believe it? She seems to have a much easier load this year vs. last year even though she is currently taking four AP classes. She ended up dropping Calculus and signing up for College Algebra instead. I think that was a super smart move. She does not love math and does not need it for college. She's still swimming full time.
Sophomore year seems to be shaping up well for #2. She's in one AP class this year but doing well. She's also in Algebra II and chemistry and those classes are no joke! (I hated them with a passion!) She's driving more but she and #1 share a car so she's been taking the hubby's car quite a bit since it's a little smaller than my Suburban. She's still playing soccer and driving herself to practice.
Middle school seems to be working out OK thus far. But let's face it, I don't know of any kid who escapes middle school truly unscathed. (Well, #1 seemed to do pretty well. #2 not so much.) So my fingers are crossed she remains above the fray. She has a group of girls she is going trick-or-treating with and they are all making their costumes together on Friday. She's still playing soccer though I'm not convinced she will stay with this team long-term. We shall see.
Fourth grade is going really well for #4. She doesn't seem to mind being the only one of her sisters at SRE. She really likes her teach and so do we. All of our girls have had her! She's still playing volleyball and tennis.
We've been talking colleges for a couple months now. #1 has officially toured University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of Colorado-Boulder, Colorado State, and Wyoming. However, none of those places float her boat. So, we are heading off on a reconnaissance mission to Honolulu, Hawaii. Yep - you read that right. University of Hawaii-Manoa. I kept thinking Hawaii would be a floating idea - something that sounded cool until she really started thinking about it. But nope. She's serious. So we're taking her seriously. This will be our last college visit until she receives her acceptance letters and finds out how much each school will really cost. But if she/we can swing it, and she loves it as much as she thinks she's going to love it, she will be jetting off to Hawaii next August. I just, I can't even...
Phew. That's my longest post ever! I almost made it to 2,000 words. If you stuck with me this long, thank you. I hope you had a great summer and your fall is shaping up nicely. 'Till next time,
Suzanne