Better Late Than Never AKA I wrote this in the middle of August

Summer is done. Its conclusion feels as abrupt as that sentence and I am about as prepared for the beginning of a new school year as food poisoning. OK, I am less apprehensive about it than I am about food poisoning but there is still a slight nausea associated with the very idea. This Summer was good. It wasn't great. After all when you start with a miscarriage it takes a bit to even the score. Still, as many tears were shed there was a great deal of laughter, blessings, and memories made. So in honor of Summer coming to a close I give you some of its many highlights....

- Indiana Visit -

  

A conference in Michigan meant special family time for the kids and me with Ben's family in Indiana. It came on the heels of my D&C and I was shocked by how exhausted I was but when you are with my husband's family you are spoiled rotten and this was no different. In a way I think it was healing to leave home for a bit and reset

 

- Virginia Beach -

We made a last minute decision to take our very first family vacation and naturally we chose the beach. Johnny screamed for a shocking amount of time on the drive down but by the time we reached our hotel and, more specifically, took the kids onto the beach it was completely worth it. Ben and I had not been to a beach since our honeymoon in the Summer of 2012 and the kids had never seen the ocean. Leo and John were absolutely enamored; Tessa was terrified and did not go in (on purpose) once. The sleeping arrangements posed some challenges but I think that's the way of things when you choose a hotel instead of a condo and it was still 100% worth it. 

- Vacation Bible School -

Sadly I did not think to take ONE SINGLE PHOTO during Vacation Bible School but suffice it to say that somehow I went from being a kid going to VBS to being a mom with a child old enough to attend VBS for the first time. I mean WHAT?! It was absolutely surreal dropping him off and I was a little worried that he'd freak out as soon as I left so when it came to pick him up I held my breath. But despite a few nerves and missing us he had a fabulous time and the week went beautifully. It also allowed me to begin tackling a project at home that I was very excited about...

- The Bathroom Remodel -

I hate 70s style wood trim. Seriously. I hate it. I don't think there's really anything from the 70s I care for actually but warm-toned wood trim is pretty high up there on the list. So between that and the dull/dirty cream walls and the out of place dated wannabe-French cottage style vanity I just needed to get in there and do something. After I started I realized how out of my depth I was and man alive I learned a LOT in the process. I mean, I don't think I could do it much better now but I could sure as heck tell YOU what not to do! Anyways here is the proof that it done got did 

As you can tell by the horrible symmetry of the photos above I don't really understand how to post photos. I could probably figure it out but that is close to the bottom of my To Do list....

- Staycation -

Vacation for my side of the family involved zero travel for us and by and large I am a big fan of that! I was pretty skeptical about a week of everyone hanging out here in good 'ol Virginia but I was pleasantly surprised by how smoothly things went. The days were stupidly hot but we still managed to do a lot of fun things - Air and Space museum, Wild Animal park, a few trips to the pool, etc. The evenings were full of conversation and games. Despite some hiccups along the way I can say that it was one of my favorite family vacations and my one major regret is that I didn't use my camera nearly enough!