Kissing Summer Goodbye.

We finally got Scott to come to the pool with us a couple of weekends ago. He started his third year of medical school, 3 days right after he took his boards. It's the end of summer and this poor man has had no breaks. He's been pulling 12 hour shifts at the hospital. Some weeks he's doing the day-shift and others the night-shift. I must admit that the night-shift throws me off so bad because I'm used to having him sleeping next to me and it is just so difficult for me to fall asleep when he's not home during the night...the night shift is HORRIBLE! He leaves at 6pm and comes home at 8 or 9 the next morning!!! He sleeps until 4pm, takes a shower, eats and heads back again!

I am definitely NOT a fan and he is not either.

But aside from the hours, he has been loving it and he's learning so much.

(All of these pictures were taken with my little Canon Powershot, my Nikon is getting fixed, Braden broke the memory card cover a while ago and I finally sent it out to get fixed. I've been missing my Nikon a lot!)

He had 2 free weekends and we definitely took advantage of it.

Can I say how much better our life is when Scott is around?

He just completes us. Cheesy but true.

I've been telling Scott all summer long how his son is a fish. Braden was in heaven with his daddy. He played hard.

This picture is blurry because I took a snapshot of the video. Every time Scott would throw Braden in the air, he would put his arms behind his neck like that. I was laughing so hard, I asked Scott if he had told him to do that, he said no. So I asked Braden where he had learned that and he said, "Shrek does that!"

Later that night, we had some fun visitors over for dinner. Two of my former students, Emily and Seth were in town visiting Seth's sister in Maryland. They were kind enough to come see us and spend a few hours with us. They are both wonderful and it was such a delight to have them over and catch up. We had some yummy dinner, talked and played games. It was so enjoyable and it made me so grateful that I was given the opportunity to teach at BYU-Idaho and create these lasting friendships with students.

There are days, when I miss teaching so much.

The following weekend, we headed to Burke Lake Park. It's only 15 minutes from where we live, it's huge and there's so much to do there. The kids did the carousel, those things always make me sick but the kids loved it!

Then we went on a train ride. It was such a nice day that day. It was a nice break from the hot and humid days we have been having.

This would have been a clear shot with my Nikon! :)

After the carousel and train ride, we headed to the lake. We thought we were going to be able to put everyone in one rowboat but I guess the limit is 3. We stood there deciding what to do, at first we thought, let's just go home but Brielle and Braden were so excited about it, we decided to rent two of them. The thing is that, all I had done before was canoeing and I was frustrated trying to figure out how the heck to row a stinkin' boat! Scott was so patient with me and helped me figure it out. I finally did and we had an enjoyable time out there.

We brought our lunches and it was fun to have them in the boats. The kids thought it was so fun!

It got a little hot with the life-jackets. But the kiddos were good and kept them on, Scott and I were dying, so we took them off.

We brought plenty of water to drink.



This little boy had such a fun time. We all had such a great time as a family. It was fun for me to try something new and for my husband to be proud of me for getting the hang of it! I loved that park, there is so much to do and it's so close to us!

I splurged and got Braden glare-free lenses for his glasses...and oh my heavens! Can I just say it's so good to see my son's eyes!!!

I have been asking him to please, please, please stop growing. In the last few weeks, I feel like he's just not needing me as much anymore. As a matter of fact, he's been telling me, "I don't need your help, I'm a big boy." It makes my heart a bit nostalgic for the time when he was a cuddly little munchkin. He's been cuddling with me less and less. I substituted in nursery on Sunday, and he told me, "I don't want you to come with me, I'm a big boy, I can go by myself!"

When did this happen?

Every once in a while, it hits me.

They grow, and just when you wish you could hold on a little longer, it is too late...because that's just how life is meant to be.

Another summer has come and gone and we are getting ready for school. Both of my kids are going to preschool this year!

What am I going to do with myself?