Our Summer in Review

We had a great summer and since it has come to an end, I thought I'd review it a bit.  This summer was one of the busiest we've ever had.  We did tons - at least by my standards.  Zoey was pretty small at the first of the summer and so that prohibited a few activities, but by the end of the summer we were able to do more - maybe not more, but what we did was easier.
This summer we:

• went swimming
• went to the park
• saw one movie a week for most of the summer
• went to the drive-in
• played in Boise
• played with Josh and Rachel a lot
• went on a lot of walks
• jumped on trampolines, swung on swings
• roasted marshmallows
• played at Grandma and Grandpa's a lot
• ate a lot of Popsicles
• went to Lagoon, the fair, and the Treehouse Museum 
• and...spent as much time outside as possible  

Here are few pictures that didn't make the grade the first time around, or ones that I just got from Sherry.  By the way, Sherry is the best photographer of my kids.  She has more pictures of my kids than I do.  When I get pictures from her I am always so excited!  I don't know how many pictures this will be, but here we go!

On the trains at Union Station

Playing in the pool at Grandma's and Grandpa's.

A great picture of Zoey's really long tongue. I'm sure if she tried she could touch her nose.

Abby and Sherry at Lagoon. Abby pronounced it "Magoon" until recently.  Abby had a great time with Sherry at "Magoon". They went on a ton of rides together!

Me, Zoey, Sherry and Abby on the train at "Magoon".  My goodness I am not tan....we obviously didn't spend our summer in much sun.

Both girls love to swing at my parent's house. Zoey got to try it out this summer and it was a real hit!

We add blue Popsicles to the list of "Abby food".  We spent most of the summer eating those and then washing the sticky blue drippings off of the patio.  Ahhh....summer!

These are the first matching outfits that our girls had.  They were gifts from our friends Robert and Barbara.  This picture made the sidebar for a time, but it needed to be added to an official post.

Abby is cute in this picture, but how awesome are the flowers?  They are growing on a light post, and I think they are one of the best parts of summer. 

Abby as a "Rockstar"!  She looks very serious about her music.

Rachel and Abby on the 4th of July at Aunt Lori's.  They have been really cute friends all summer.

Zoey and Ned getting ready to watch the fireworks.

This summer I learned:

• how to read books while having two kids
• how to go places with both children without significant meltdowns - that could complete the list, but it seems everyone else can do it so it's not such a big deal...
• that sometimes I need to get out of my house and be "Melanie" for a minute
• that Gap is not in the Layton Hills Mall.  That may have been true for a while, but I learned it the hard way.
• that an officer in the Boise PD "would have arrested me" for changing lanes in what this guy called "reckless driving".  Whatever.
• that my DVR probably shouldn't be my best friend, but it just might be.
• that I miss having a "Sunday Calling". 
• that summer starts to feel really long when you are waiting for Premiere week in September.
• that preparing a three year old for preschool is actually all about preparing yourself mentally.  
• that I love summer and it's even way better with my kids than it was when I was a kid.  
• that watching my children have fun is the best kind of fun!
• and....this lesson I just keep learning: Diet Coke after 6PM is always a bad thing - it's 12:48AM.  UGH!

Okay, you're at the end.  Summer was great, we're sad to see it go.  However, we are really excited about Autumn and all the new things we are up to now.  Thanks for hanging in there for this crazy post.  Totally random - I know.