Famous Last Words

Those famous last words would be "I would never let my blog fall to the wayside"...eating those words this summer!

It's slowly coming to an end, and I can honestly say we've enjoyed every minute of it.  I've let a lot of things go in order to be able to spend more time with the children while they're at home without school and their usual long list of afternoon commitments.  It's been pure bliss.  Of course, there's always the fighting, the "I'm bored, Mommy", the taking of toys from one another, etc. Just keeping it real.  There have been a few moments when I wonder if I'm half crazy not having the kids in a camp every other week.  But all in all, I wouldn't change a thing! It's going to be a wake up call when it's time to go back to school.  Figuratively and literally.  They have grown quite fond of sleeping "late".  All the way to 7:30 - which is late in our world!  My head spins at the thought of having to have everyone fed, dressed and on the way to school by the time they're usually just waking up lately.

While activity here has been slim, it has been anything but that in real life.  We helped J's good friend Billy celebrate his wedding in Fairhope around the first of the July.  When J talks about growing up, the stories always center around Billy and Bradley.  Funny how when they're together now, they're more about showing pictures of their children to each other on their iPhones...

It was a full-on Selmatown reunion, and I've seriously never laughed so hard in my life.  I gave up taking any pictures after this one...

There was way too much fun to be had!

Not too long after that, I turned another year older.  I'm thinking 32 might be my most favorite year yet.  Towns gave me this...

It came with a big hug and kiss, just like the card said.

And Cate drew me a picture of the two of us...

If only I could be neon pink in real life.

The older I get, the more I realize that things like this are way more special than anything they could purchase.  I've got so many of these little treasures.  If you know me, you know I never throw a single one away.  Ridiculous?  Probably, but I just can't help myself.  I spent the day with these two clowns which was just the way I wanted it...
It was a monsoon which nixed doing anything outdoors, so we landed at Chuck E. Cheese where 895 tickets won will get you a Fun Dip, two bouncy balls, and a bunch of temporary tattoos...

Cate loves to use her tokens on these pictures...

Check out the death grip I have on her.  When B saw this she laughed for days!
It ended with dinner with my loves...

We're always making a scene.  We try hard to keep it calm, but inevitably everything totally gets out of hand!

A couple of weeks ago, the girls and I drove through a torrential downpour to spend the day in Tuscaloosa with my precious, collegiate cousin Mary Catherine.  We went armed with lots of homemade food.  If you've been away to college, you know why that was an absolute must!  She gave us the tour of her house, the tour of campus, and our most favorite, the tour of all the Greek houses!  We went to lunch, and the girls couldn't stay off of Mary Cat long enough to let her breathe, much less eat her meal...

They think she's pretty great.  So do I.  We had a blast, MC!  Can't wait to do it again soon!

Late one July afternoon we sprung the Kiddie Carnival on the kids as a big time surprise.  They had a blast, and we left wondering why we'd never gone before?!  We hit the swings first...

Every time they came around, a teenage girl with a super soaker wet the daylights out of them.  After a few trips around, they were begging to get off.  But they really give you your money's worth there...it was a full five minutes before the ride ended.  And they were soaked from head to toe.  Goodness.
B told them to get on the front of the roller coaster because it was the best seat, and they meant that's just where they were going to get...

The scrambler was always one of my favorites...
Towns found out the hard way that the outside seat isn't the one you want!
The ferris wheel was a joke for Towns, but Cate and the little girl riding with them devised a plan to spice it up...
They figured out how to make it rock back and forth...
Which made the boys above them scream like girls and complain that they were too wild...

 By the end of the night they were barefoot and fancy free...
We couldn't leave without cotton candy, snow cones, popcorn, and everything else that makes you nauseous at a carnival after riding all the rides that go round and round...


 We've spent some time at the library where we sit for hours quietly entertained...

That usually means we've got to get ice cream or something afterwards to get us going again...
Blurry picture from Zen Beri, but I love that lap full of sweetness!
Come to think of it, ice cream has been a big part of our summer...

That was from the day those four spent together from sun up 'til sun down.  They swam, ate ice cream, went to the park, ate ice cream, hit the splash pad, ate ice cream, and then we ate some more ice cream...
During this particular trip, Cate talked Ella into feeding her all of her gummy bears.
When they're not into ice cream, they're into cake pops...

They're going to hit a crash from a major sugar high when summer's finally over!

Cate's dabbled in piano a little lately.  The other day she had her iPod on the piano playing a song that she was trying to play along with...

I was rather impressed at how she could pick the notes out!
Meanwhile, Towns has come to the conclusion that summer school is for the birds.  You can tell she's none too thrilled that I've been helping her brush up on her math and reading...

Bethany has been in and out all summer, and has kept busy working her little heart out.  When she's home, you can find blondie right up under her...
They were anything but cooperative with picture taking that day, but played along on a tennis date not too long ago...
Towns wants to do anything and everything possible to act like, talk like, and look like her big sister!

We're gearing up for school starting which brings football season along with it...

Much to my surprise, their little trick I walked up on didn't end with broken bones.  I have a feeling you'll be seeing a lot of those outfits in the near future.  Football season lights a fire under us around here!

Here's to a fun Fall and jumping back on the blog train...