Bringing home Baby C: August 2014

Our children have started back to their little preschool (2 half-days a week), and in a flash our official "summer" is gone!

Where is 2014 year going so fast? I think I understand the saying of having children sometimes makes it feel like the days crawl but the years fly past. It's true, my friends!

I'm glad that the actual season of summer is not over, because last winter was the longest and coldest winter I've ever lived through in my whole life! A high temperature below 20 with wind chills in single digits or below for about a month is just not cool! (Well, errr, no pun intended!) Add our two active kiddos in the mix made for a little more cabin fever than I'm used to... Let's just leave it at that! :) So, I'm no where near ready to leave behind hot days, shorts, and the ease of dressing the children in two pieces of clothing and flip flops as opposed to one dozen items just to get to the store. If you have going kids, you know what I'm talking about!

If you'd walk down this bunny trail with me for a minute...I noticed this morning since the start of school, the noise of the loud buses flying to a stop in front of our house is something that's returned. My kids would sleep later and I would a little more soundly, but sounds of screaching school bus brakes are back and so are (earlier) mornings. I would like to think a vehicle that carries dozens of kids would gradually ease to a stop, but no! It's a race to the stop signs with a dramatic--hold on to your seat because you have no seatbelt--kind of braking action! Just something I find odd.

All in all summer 2014 has been amazing!!! We've had a blast with our kids and with the rest of our family, so I thought I'd share in pictures the highlights with you. With our kiddos being a year older, grand adventure awaits!

Independence Day was filled a beautiful day with fun, wonder, and awe!

We've spent lots of time eating in the pretty outdoors. A farmers market breakfast one morning. Picnics at home and the park some days. Patio seating at restaurants some nights and the big July 4th picnic on the grounds of my parent's house in the country!

At home or here and there, we've eaten some of summer's best fare!

We enjoyed every minute of playing outside in the beautiful weather! We've played out at home, at the parks, the zoo, at the pool and splash park, and at Grandparent's houses this summer!

And this happened while playing, too! My brave super hero-boy! He was sporting the red, white, and blue face for the 4th this year. :/

I had some wonderful dates with my husband! Thanks to our parents, we had a few special nights out together to have fun and reconnect. We even had time at the pool-- alone! Sometimes being parents can take time away from your spouse, but we want to always keep the love alive!

So all of that amazing food you saw earlier has lead me to many more of these.

But I'm okay with that!! :) That's another blog post, anyways.

Sigh... Looking back reminds me of what a wonderful time we've had! No big-time trip or huge new toy, not this summer. We just spent quality time together, had fun as a family, and made a decision to savor those moments the best we can!