Summer Wrap Up...

Alas, I'm posting! :)

We had a great August! First of all, Max kept continuing to do better and better at the pool... he treads water FOREVER, jumps off the board with no one watching/catching/worrying, doesn't use floaties and overall swims like a champ. Do I hear scholarship? :) Even the lifeguard said she doesn't worry about him or feel the need to constantly check on his every move because he's gotten to be such a strong swimmer. He definitely loves it and keeps reminding me that tennis, swimming and golf are his favorite sports. Ok! :)

Speaking of sports, soccer games started in August. Max is on the orange team, sponsored by none other than Kleather's Pumpkin Patch. Very appropriate. While I think he may have the strongest leg on the team, he doesn't have the strongest will to play. He loves "flirting" with Kenleigh and Carley, playing duck duck goose and so on. Thankfully our friend Jim is the coach and understands all this. It's a big success for Max!

Max... #5

August also brought our first ever family vacation! I mean seriously, Max is 4 and we have never vacayed before? Well we have, but it always included staying with family somewhere, not a "TRUE" vacation where we were on our own. We drove the 12 or so hours to Destin, in no hurry whatsoever, and loved every minute! We took our time stopping to see friends both ways (including stopping in Nashville overnight for a tour of Vanderbilt), enjoyed catching up with old friends while in Destin and had a fabulous time! Max did AWESOME in the car, mostly thanks to his new Nintendo DS. We spend most every morning at the beach collecting shells, challenging waves to knock us down, etc. and afternoons at the pool, shopping, eating, etc. Carrie and Eric were awesome hosts and we hope to do it again this spring if they'll have us! Here is a slideshow with some of the pictures we took while there...

We rounded out summer with a family reunion put on by my grandma! It was great having our family all together, something we don't do enough of even though most of us live around here! We spent Friday night having dinner at Bravo and Sat. afternoon playing, eating, and goofing off at North Park. Thanks Grandma, for putting this together and treating us to a wonderful weekend!

Grandma and Her Granddaughters

the WHOLE family!

Summer had to come to an end, much to our dismay, and Max's last year of preschool began. We thought he was ready. He talked excitedly about it, he picked out a new Mario Kart lunch box, etc. The first day drop off was baaaaad though. He fought and hit and elbowed when we walked into the building. I basically had to drag him by one arm, hand him over to his teacher (who probably wasn't prepared for the strength she needed to retain him) and said "I love you, bye". Poor kid. Of course after 2 minutes he was FINE and day two, and three were smooth as can be. He is in school 4 days a week for half days and on Tuesdays will stay for lunch and take a karate class so he can be more like a Power Ranger. Wish us luck on that one!

in front of school on day 1 (above)

in front of school on day 2 (below)