The Last 2 & 1/2 Weeks of Summer, Part II

Since summer will be officially over in a few days, I better finish this series off.  We tried to squeeze in as much as we could this summer.

One day we took off to Georges Island, one of the Boston Harbor Islands, with some friends (the Corbos).

Looking for sea glass & some skipping rocks:

Another day we drove up to Canobie Lake Park in NH.  To say the kids absolutely loved that place is to say the least.

Last but not least Kendall S. slept over. 

We really did have a great summer.

The First Two Days of School Mornings

Did you see all the fantastic first day of school photos on Facebook?  Aren't they all awesome?  Everyone excited AND happy to be going back to school.  Not at this house.  You didn't see our pictures yesterday.

first day of school outfits:

Our photos were not up yesterday because of ANXIETY.  It lives HERE.  Though some of you say it lives at your house too, in which I say I am sorry to hear that.  Anxiety sucks.  Literally.  Sucks the life out of you.  Take this kid:  The newest Fourth Grader in our house.  He wasn't happy yesterday before school.  He forgets how much he actually LOVES school.  The first day of school for him is always a killer.  Until he gets there, and remembers how much he loves it.  I was kind of like that, except much, much worse.  I had anxiety on the first day of school, PLUS every single day after that with the exception of the last day of school.  Best day ever for me.

Then there is this one.  When can we go?  she asks.  Loves, loves, loves school.  Always happy to go.  Happy to be in Second grade.

Thank God something good happened while he was in school yesterday.  He remembered how much he likes it, saw his friends, liked his teacher, and then his teacher gave out GUM to the entire class, can I get an AMEN!!!!!  

So this morning:  was a different day.  He was happier about going to school.  There was very little anxiety.  (This time mostly about unruly kids on the bus- but they can mostly be ignored).

There was even a small smile this morning:

Have a GREAT day!!!!  Chew all the gum you want!!!!  hey, whatever keeps the anxiety away....

The Last 2 & 1/2 weeks of summer.... Part I

We went to NY to visit with grandparents & relatives...

Cradle of Aviation Museum:

This is so true, especially if you live 10 minutes from JFK!:

By the Great South Bay, Bayshore, with their cousins:

Beaching it with friends this summer.  We were lucky to get a ton of beach time this year.  All these kids are friends from birth!!

Me, Angie, Emily:  Angie, why are you so white????  

Proof that Minecraft can bring siblings together:

Back home, one of our last days with friends in our pool:

Last beach night with the Lincoln-Tanners at Nantasket:

Typical "Hullonian" Beach Kid Crew:

Playing Capture the Flag:

Favorite blankets

This summer I have scored huge at Savers, the thrift store.  I love, love, love hand knits, crocheted blankets, and some sewing, but mostly knit/crocheted  blankets.  The thrift store usually has a ton of them.  Why?  Why would someone give away something that was made by hand?  It seems like a crime to me.

The children's section of Savers always has lots of hand knit or crocheted sweaters.  

I have kept every single hand made anything that was given to my kids when they were born.  Peter's cousin made us a beautiful blue & white quilt when we got married.  I cannot think of one reason why it would end up at a thrift store.  

This particular granny-squared blanket even has a personalized tag on it.  Who is/was Janet Merritt and would she be heart-broken that her blanket ended up selling for $2.99 at a thrift store?  Can you imagine how many hours she must have spent on it?  I'm so glad I found it because I love it.

This gray & white blanket I found for less than $6.  You can't even buy all the yarn needed to make this for $6.  It's my kids favorite & it is a work horse of a blanket in our house.

I look forward to finding more.   I certainly wouldn't get them all --you should see some of the color combinations--oy.  But I'll pick up the nice ones.

Bath time...

My first attempt at giving the dog a bath.  Peter & the kids have given her the past baths, but today it was me.  Cody is a "country dog."  She's outside most of the day and likes to dig, roll in who-knows-what, and unfortunately has discovered some mulch.  In other words, Cody stinks.

First we needed to tie her up so she couldn't run away.  We just tied her to the basketball hoop pole, and we gave her some treats.

This photo below captures how much she loathes getting a bath:
Cody was not happy, nor impressed.

She smells a lot better now.

Good job.