Staycation and Vacation

I can't believe that the kids go back to school in less than two weeks. August 8th is their start date. I also can't believe that they will be at the same school and in school the same hours! I guess I have to come to the realization that my baby boy is growing up.

On our trip, Vince slept in bed with me almost every night. And when I say almost, I mean that every night except one when we were together. He told me that he is going to marry me and when he does he will call me Laura Ann and not mom anymore. And that we can download apps for the Ipad that cost money...I guess that's a perk that Jeff gets and he doesn't.

Ok, back to the summer. I started a job in June working for a real estate group in Bonita Springs, FL. It's about 15 miles from Fort Myers, on the way to Naples. My Sequoia got about 13 miles per gallon and had over 160,000 miles on it, so we traded it in for a Nissan Altima. I am enjoying the 35 miles per gallon that I am getting now! The kids enjoyed Vacation Bible School at Cypress Lake Presbyterian Church and Cypress Lake Methodist Church as well as Summer Camp at Bright Beginnings Early School. We also drove over to Sanibel Island for their 4th of July Parade. Savannah got soaked! And loved it!

 We left Fort Myers on July 5th and spent the weekend in Macon. We were able to visit with some friends and we all enjoyed that. Once in Charlotte, we attended Sardis Presbyterian Vacation Bible School, went to a play at CPCC, played with neighborhood friends, ate at Showmars (A family favorite!), went to Monkey Joe's, and so many other great things! The kids and I went to Boone, NC for a week, and along the way we stopped off in Newton and visited with Great Grandaddy Stewart. In Boone we went to Tweetsie, tubing on the Watauga River, swam in Watauga Lake, drove to Tennessee to buy fireworks, sampled wine and played at the Grandfather Vineyard in Banner Elk, toured downtown Blowing Rock and ate at the Mellow Mushroom, and had major water balloon fights!

Back in Charlotte (July 20-21), we hosted a neighborhood party with old friends and families. I think we ended up with over 50 people there! It was great to see my childhood friends and their spouses and children. Savannah loved meeting so many people and coordinating the silly string fights! G-Mama turned 70 on Sunday the 21st, so we had a little party for her that afternoon. Robert had been sick, so Lin stayed home with him. Gary, Wilson, John, Rosalie, Savannah, Vince, G-Mama, and I all went out to lunch at Ghengus Grill and enjoyed that very much. Savannah stayed busy with playdates with neighborhood and church friends and is now "hooked" on Build A Bear!

Vince's Artwork

The kids stayed with Nana and Grandaddy at Lake Norman for 5 days and they swam in the lake, went to the splash park, ate at Stacy's (a family favorite at the lake), played with Cousin Eli, baked Nana a cake, and toured the lake on their new boat.

We cut our trip short-we originally planned to spend the last weekend in Macon to see some others that we missed the first weekend-and went to Amelia Island instead to scout out a place to stay for Thanksgiving this year. Cousin Hal and Mark have just moved there...and when I say just, I mean, they still have boxes to unpack, and the next truck was coming today. But, it was a successful trip-the kids swam in the pool with the dogs, rode on the moped with Hal, and most importantly, we reserved a house for Thanksgiving!

I think that about sums up our trip. I was exhausted today, and was glad that Jeff suggested we come back on Saturday rather than Sunday. At least we have today to relax and get settled back in before camp and work tomorrow!

AND....He's Back!

Jeff went back to work for a half day on Thursday and he plans to work all this week. Here's a picture that a colleague took last week. Everyone enjoys the knee scooter! He has a follow up appointment with the doctor this week and hopefully will start physical therapy in the next few weeks. So far, he has very little pain, and pretty good range of motion.

A Great Start to Summer!

 Vince on the diving board during swim lessons today.

 Vince counting the holes in Jeff's ankle

Savannah has enjoyed being at the YMCA sports camp these past two weeks and Vince has enjoyed being at home with me. Jeff had his ankle surgery on Friday and has been home all week. He hopes to get in the office for a few hours tomorrow and thankfully, his pain has decreased tremendously. His follow up appointment with the doctor went well yesterday and a friend of ours let him borrow her "knee scooter" for a few weeks until he is in a walking boot again. The kids love the scooter, and they have stranded Jeff a few times while taking it for a joy ride around the house. The drawback to his having this scooter is that he is super quiet and can easily sneak up on us! I think the kids secretly enjoyed him hanging out in the bedroom the past few days because they didn't have to clean up their messes in the den and kitchen as much! Now that he's more mobile, they have to pick things up, not just for the house to be tidy, but so that he won't run over toys and "flip" his vehicle.

The kids have been going to Vacation Bible School at the Presbyterian Church nearby this week at night time. The house sure is quiet without them here! They have had a great time and have been tuckered out by the time they get home and don't really mind going to bed. Next week is VBS at the Methodist Church where we are "pseudo-members"...the kids sing in the choir and Savannah is going to church camp with this group. They are looking forward to that too. Before we know it, we'll be heading north to Macon, GA and North Carolina!

A visit with Great Grandaddy before he went to North Carolina for the summer

Jeff and Vince before his surgery last week

The kids at the beach photo shoot at Lover's Key State Park

Savannah and Vince at Vacation Bible School

Summer is Here!

Wow. Another school year has passed us by. I am super proud of Savannah, she has been in four schools in three years and never missed a beat! She scored well on her FCAT (standardized tests) and is enjoying being at the YMCA for summer camp. Vince has enjoyed hanging out at home with me. He starts swim lessons next week and we are hoping that he will want to cross the deep end (actually, the middle of our pool) by the end of the lessons. He's become quite a dare devil in the pool. Cannonballs, jumps, and all sorts of other fun stuff he comes up with in his little mind.

The last week of school Vince had his end of the year program and Great Grandaddy and Thomas came down from Port Charlotte. The kids have enjoyed being so close to him. We try to go to Punta Gorda on Thursday evenings for the "open mic" at the park where Great Grandaddy frequents. The kids have loved getting up and singing. Vince likes to sing "I've Been Working on the Railroad" and Savannah likes to tell knock knock jokes. I hope to get a video of Vince singing tonight.

Jeff goes in for surgery on his ankle tomorrow. We are hoping that the rehabilitation won't be too great, but we won't know until after the surgery and what the doctor finds/fixes.

We have a busy schedule coming up with Vacation Bible Schools and a trip to Macon en route to North Carolina for grandmother birthdays. Have a wonderful week, I will do my best to keep you updated!

 Vince with Great Grandaddy and Thomas

 The VPK classes and Stepping Stones sang at the volunteer appreciation breakfast

 Savannah's last day of third grade!

 Vince and his teachers from Bright Beginnings

 Savannah and her friend Maddie looking at the ducks and frogs

 Savannah and Maddie playing in the pool

 Vince enjoying some beach time

 They really do love each other.

Memorial Day at Bowditch Point with friends