First Day of School

It is that time of year again when I take this goofy picture of Rob and we talk about how it feels like just yesterday that he was starting this grad school journey. Here we are entering year four! It is flying by. I NEVER thought I would say that when we started out...

Away he went and Liam and I adjusted at home pretty well. He didn't miss papa too much, although he did ask all day where he was and talked about papa going away on the bus. In the morning we worked on making papa a special first day of school treat. He always gets to request a first day and last day of school treat and this time it was this no-bake peanut butter pie. {Yes, he is spoiled and I'm glad to do it!} It uses nutter butter cookies for the crust and I even included a special Nutella layer on the bottom. Unlike past years where my treats have completely failed {ahem, sugar cream pie incident...} this one turned out perfectly and we enjoyed it for dessert. 

Enjoying his treat

And so the days march on and we all settle into our routines. I am feeling an abundance of free time now that our latest kids' consignment sale at church is over. I was the co-chair this past time and it was a ton of fun and a ton of work so I'm glad it's over. The days have been beautiful so we're playing outside a lot, seeing our friends, reading and just enjoying this life. We're making some adjustments -- going to bed earlier, getting up earlier, exercising more, being a little tighter with ourselves as we say goodbye to summer. I'm always thankful for this time though because our summers are so full. They are wonderful and we are very fortunate, but a home routine is just nice for everyone. Here's to what's ahead! 

Family + Memories = Slate Run

Our final vacation of the summer was to our family cabin in Slate Run, Pa from Thursday to Tuesday. We drove all day Thursday and made it in exactly ten hours with one stop for a half-hour lunch. Do you know that we have a toddler and no DVD player for this trip? Oh and do you also know that he barely sleeps in the car? Yea...all I can say about that is that he is a champ and there was a lot of singing and snacks.

But we made it and tumbled out of the car and into one of our favorite places on the planet. The cabin is a bit of shack, but our family is there and we have memories that run deep. Almost everyone from my extended family of 50 some people was able to be there and it was great to catch up and relax together. The weather was beautiful, the bugs were few, the food was plentiful, the games were fun and it all ended too soon. 

Liam had a blast as we knew he would. There was water, candy, rocks to throw, people paying attention to him and of course, his cousins Marco, Lily and Elizabeth. I basically had built-in babysitters and played plenty of games and read two books. 

I always cry when we drive away, but we leave with hope that we can come back next year! And just like my aunt Millie says, I have my pictures to go back and look at. Here are some...

Reunited with his best bud Marco and new bud Lily. 

Checking out a dead snake. These are the best kinds of places for a little boy to be. 

Matching shirts with Pops. Also notice his "M-guy" toy that Grammy bought him. It took him about two days to learn there were M&Ms in the container...but once he did...well, let's just say it was like free refills at a restaurant. 

Best sisters and babysitters Elizabeth and Lily. They were champs with Liam. By the end of the weekend Liam was asking for Elizabeth to read him books instead of me!

How could I resist posting these? Water shoes, a tractor and a naked baby. Need I say more? 

Chugging along on his tractor...complete with a farmers tan...

Apparently the popular breezy hang-out spot one afternoon

Rio reading to Liam

Tubes are great for climbing and playing with Marco

Hugs from Elizabeth

Finally a smile for the camera! Maybe the ring pop had something to do with it? 

A special place

Mama, Liam and Grammy keeping cool in the creek

Down stream 

Throwing big and "tiny" rocks with Marco. He could have stayed here all afternoon. 

More rocks!

One last boat ride 

My mom also got great pictures which she posted on Facebook if you can see those. 

Now we're back home and attempting some type of fun normalcy before Rob goes back to school next week. Enjoying the last days of summer! 

At the Fair

The band from our church played at our county fair on Sunday evening. It was certainly a great show and we were all glad they had the opportunity to share the gospel through music to fair goers. Liam and I went early and had fun visiting the animals and Liam's favorite, the field of tractors. 

After the show Liam got to play papa's drums. 

Showing papa his fireman hat

He could have stayed on the tractors all evening. 

The band rocking the fair

A fire truck came and parked by the stage and after the tractors, Liam could have stayed here all evening too!