July

 

Shortest summer ever!  Seriously, it was only 8 weeks and here we are getting ready for school to start again.  We squeezed so much fun into the summer though and have loved all the extra time with grandparents in lieu of camps.  At the beginning of the summer the kids did participate in Zoo Camp, Ninja Survivor Camp, Cheerleading Camp, and Field Day camp, but in August as COVID numbers soared... we canceled some plans and opted instead for days spent playing games and going to the library with Oma and Opa or floating in the private pool at Grammie and Grandaddy's on Spinnaker Pointe.

For the 4th of July weekend the whole local family gathered on the Wheeler's dock to watch the fireworks over the lake and enjoyed taking a dip in the water.

We ended the month with a week at Wild Dunes and now that our parents are all local it was easy for both sets of grandparents to squeeze in a night or two visiting us at the beach.  Kate was more interested in the pool than the ocean this trip, and even more keen to go on some historical outings.  Matt was more than happy to take her to the aircraft carrier and Fort Moultrie.  Luke meanwhile would probably still be splashing in the ocean and jumping over waves if we hadn't dragged him back to Columbia.

 

Date night!  Thanks Mom and Dad!

Rainy day called for a puzzle project

We are definitely ready and very excited for first and third grade to start this week.  We are thrilled with our teacher assignments, ecstatic about best friends in our classes, eager for a fun filled fall and already planning camping trips with friends.  However, at the same time, unknowns about the Delta variant, fear of sickness and quarantines wrecking schedules, frustration over the maskless faces in schools, and just the general sense of "the world is going crazy" tends to creep in and take hold from time to time.  There are so many things we can't control, so I'm trying to focus on the things I can, starting with my attitude.  May our school year and my outlook be as happy and optimistic as if I was heading to a beach chair under a blue sky for an afternoon of reading and relaxing: