Summer 2014

I can't believe this summer is already over.  It is my favorite season and it always goes by way too fast.  

Izzy and I spent several days at Seven Peaks.  Cambry stayed home with a sitter, she's still a little young and she needs her nap, plus this way Izzy and I could go on all the water slides. 

She is such a great swimmer.  She can swim the length of the pool on her stomach or back.  Her favorite part of Seven Peaks was the dipping dots. 

There were several outings on the boat, but not as many as I would like.  Boating is one of my favorite things, but we weren't able to get out as much as we have in past summers. Cambry was not too sure about the water the first time we went out. 

She preferred to eat chips on the boat.

Mike's company had a box at a Bee's baseball game with food, face painting, and balloons.  Izzy couldn't be happier.  I'm pretty sure she left with over 10 balloons. 

Cambry loved swimming too!  Her favorite part was to wear as many goggles as she could.

Relaxin' pool side.

Cambry and Justin

Of course, horseback riding was a must during the summer.  Our neighbors, the Hunters, bought a miniature horse and invited Izzy over to ride it.  She got bucked off the first time, and she said, "That didn't hurt as much as when I fell off Daisy (a big horse)."  She got back on and had a great ride. 

One day before school started Emily, Claire, and I took our daughter's to Dear Lizzy for lunch and then to get manicures.  Izzy thought the fancy lunch was so cool.

She loves to get her nails done. 

Daddy is often the horse, complete with a lead walker and rider. 

Lots of time was spent playing in the backyard. 

Suzette and Jon came for a quick visit in August.  It is always fun when I get to spend time with my awesome sister!!

It's been such a fun summer and I'm sad to see it end, but we have Fall, birthdays, and holidays to look forward to! 

New York

Thursday night Mike and I took a red eye flight to New York City.  We left the girls home with Derdle.  We landed in NYC around 7AM, picked up our rental car and headed to Connecticut to visit Mike's high school buddy, Tim Kendrick.  Luckily I slept most of the 3 hour drive.  We spent some time at his house with his family and ate lunch at a restaurant on the beach.

From Tim's house we drove another hour to Newport, Rhode Island, where Mike graduated high school.  Mike was player of the state of Rhode Island in 2002 and also inducted into the Newport Gulls Hall of Fame.  So it's always fun to go back and see old coaches and teammates.  We went to a Gulls game Friday night and they introduced him on the field. 

Mike and Chuck.  Chuck is such a great guy and has greatly influenced Mike's life for the better. 

Saturday morning Mike had breakfast with Chuck and Chris while I slept in.  I was still trying to recover from the red eye flight.  That afternoon we drove into NYC.  We got checked into our hotel (which was amazing).  We went to dinner and relaxed for the evening. 

It's always good to get pictures from the kiddos and know that everything is ok.

Cambry loves her ice cream.

On Sunday we went to church with Lydia (Stephen's daughter) and then out to lunch.  It was ironic that she meets in my sister, Celeste's, old building so I felt like I was back in familiar territory.  That afternoon we went to the World Trade Center Tower memorial.  There was such a strong spirit there, it moved me to tears. 

We went for a bike ride along Hudson Bay.  The scenery was great and the weather was perfect. 

The new Freedom Tower in the background. 

On Monday Mike and Stephen had a meeting, I slept and then we met Lydia for lunch.  Then we headed to the airport and flew home.  It was a fun trip with Mike, but it's always nice to get home with the little ones.