Saturday, August 30, 2008

And they're off...

The summer seemed long and short at the same time. We squeezed so much in this year- a spontaneous road trip to St. Louis, with a two-night stop at Niagara Falls over the Fourth of July, and so much more. In St. Louis we had a VIP tour of the famous St. Louis Zoo, with a private viewing of their amazingly trained Sea Lions, and special exhibit viewings--all because Mark is working on some campaign material for them. What a treat. Oh, and look what we found inside the St. Louis Zoo! How fun!



On the other hand, we camped through some awful storms in central NH, and left just days before a tornado hit. We finished off our summer with our regular trip to a family cabin in Maine, just north of Camden. We spent a couple extra nights this year, watching the kids enjoy time with their cousins. The kids paddled around the pond by themselves this year, and swam to the float a gazillion times, and were quite proud of it! Here are Sara and Julia (front and back) paddling their cousins around. Adam was in the kayak with Dad.



And here we are at the beginning of the school year again. The girls are in first and second grade in the same school, so they are on and off the bus together. Adam is in his last year of preschool.



So we're back into our routine again. Well, sort of. Mark has left the office environment and is working from home now, so things will change a little. I'll have a clean kitchen each day (courtesy of him!) and a stocked kitchen. Lucky for me, he loves to cook, and he doesn't mind the grocery store! And I won't worry so much when I have a doctor's appointment and have to get home in time for the bus. He'll be around to help with the little things. Life is good.