Summer 2013 Recap

Warning: this is an incredibly long post filled with many pictures of incredibly cute children.  Readers beware.

Apparently I took an unplanned vacation from blogging this summer.  School started last week.  My little girl Alison is a first grader and my son Christopher is now going to preschool FOUR afternoons a week this year.  Kate, my littlest, will be turning TWO YEARS OLD in a couple of weeks.  Goodness time truly does fly by.

We had a fun, lazy, and fairly uneventful summer.  I had planned on many picnics at the park and trips to the pool, but in hindsight we really didn't do too much.  Lots of trips to the park (at least once a day, sometimes two).  Lots of playtime in the front yard and garage (with only a few playtimes in our beautiful backyard because the mosquitos were incredibly bad this year).

Not too many trips to the pool because, as it turns out according to my two oldest kids, the pool isn't that much fun without their dad.  Go figure.  But I bought a little cheapo pool at Target that was an absolute hit each three times they used it...before it popped a hole and leaked.

We had a fun trip to Valleyfair, our local amusement park.  My four-year-old year son is OBSESSED with rides.  We had a very fun day and even little one-year-old Kate hung in there for nearly five hours.  No pictures from that day, but we made some great memories.

The kids and I also spent a great day at the Minnesota Zoo.  Sea otters, bears and monkeys...oh my!

The kids and I made a few trips to visit my parents at their farm where the kids had lots of fun riding four-wheeler with two of their older cousins and trying to herd the farm cats.

The kids and I also made it to the Mall of America to ride some rides (again, Christopher's favorite activity) and also so Christopher could meet his current obsession - the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  It was my first time bringing the three kids to the MOA for rides by myself and it worked out great.  They were all so good and we had a blast!  (My oldest Alison is absent from the character pictures because she has a HUGE fear of "dress up people.")

And we wrapped things up with a beautiful late-afternoon trip to the beach (which was supposed to be a season's-end trip to the pool but it closed two minutes after we got there because some kid had diarrhea in the pool.  Don't get me started on that rant - but I'll sum it up with: I get it, accidents happen.  But Moms, I beg you...PLEASE put reliable swim diapers on your kids at the pool and PLEASE don't bring them if you know they have sick tummies.  It's no fun for anyone.  The pool was closed for over 24 hours because of that kid's mess.  'Nuff said.)  Anyway, here are pictures of our glorious late-afternoon-turned-to-sunset-thank-goodness-it-was-diarrhea-free trip to the beach:

Really, a great summer.

And the kids grew up so much over the summer.

And now...

My drawers filled with new school supplies have been emptied.  (First day of school pics coming soon!) New school clothes are washed and ready to be worn when we receive some cooler fall weather.  

I have my typical mommy list of things I'd like to do.  We need to start eating better - way too much pizza, Jimmy John's and Taco Bell this summer (like I said, it was a LAZY summer for everyone, even mom in the kitchen.)

I need to clean out some closets and pantry drawers.

And I want to start exercising again.  But let's not get too crazy.  Maybe I'll stick to a pantry drawer for now.

Good-bye Summer...Hello Fall.  Hello new beginnings.  Excited kiddos.  And praise to God for a wonderful, fun, lazy summer.

This post is linked to Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers.