Last Week of Summer

I cannot believe it! this is our last official week of summer! In some ways it feels the kids have been out forever but in the same side it feels like school just ended and summer began! All that to say though we have had a wonderful summer. At 5 and 9 I feel like the kids are at amazing ages and that this has probably been one of our most low key, restful summer EVER! Part of that is we really didn't do a BIG trip this summer like the past couple of years. We chose instead to do 3 smaller ventures. We went camping at the start of summer, went to Alabama for a few days, then spent a week in Hattiesburg. Still though the kids have had an amazing summer and have been able to do a lot. There have been many playdates, park trips, swimming, grandparent time, zoo, aquarium, children's museum, and other things thrown in. This summer we also chose not to do any extracurricular things. I hated that my girl missed out on dance (she chose not to do it this summer) but it also helped us maintain a quiet and more low key summer. They ofcourse did VBS though and Colby did a week of camp at the church. We've also continued with our church activities so we have been busy but not overextended. 
Monday Austin was off so we were FINALLY able to do go to the COOL ZOO. The trip had been postponed twice. Lindsay still had her glue and strips on her forehead but we decided to just risk it. Most of it is peeling off and the wound is healing up quite nicely. We knew we just HAD to go before school starts. So we set off Monday and got there right about the time they opened. We were shocked though at how busy they were. I figured a Monday and this close to school starting that people wouldn't be out there but it was a BEAUTIFUL day and I guess everyone had the same idea. It was actually cool for NOLA. Anyway the kids had a blast. Austin got in with them and I mostly just sat and read. Honestly I think I would have considered getting in but I was on my period and I had taken a shower the morning. It was nice to just sit and people watch and relax while they played and wore themselves out. They both love the Lazy River now. Lindsay was a little more timid at first and wouldn't go off and do anything on her own but by the end she had warmed up. I wish we had time to go one more time though so she could feel comfortable. I think mostly her worrying about her bobo lowered her down a bit. We did put a Band-Aid on it though so that also helped keep it dry. So we stayed and let them play from about 10-12:30. By that point it was really getting crowded so we decided to go on and leave and go eat lunch. We stopped at our usual McAlister's. That afternoon was pretty low key. We enjoyed the family time. We made hamburgers and potato salad for dinner then took a walk. 
Tuesday the kids and I decided to have a fun morning with friends. It was a beautiful day...its been amazing that so far August has brought us cooler temps. Its dare I say felt "fallish". Anyway so we had made plans to meet up with Lindsay's friend Layla at the park. Lindsay was excited to see her and as always the girls were happy playing together and I was excited to visit with Cindy. The kids were having a blast. Soon after we got there Colby's friend Makyrin and his little sister Makylee also arrived. That ended up being a HUGE blessing b/c it gave someone for Colby to play with. He had been a bit bummed at first not having a friend. We stayed out there nearly 2 hours. It was just nice to be outside and them playing with friends. A sweet childhood moment! After we had to drop our tuition check off at the school so we caught a glimpse of the teachers and also my mom who was up there helping serve for the teacher's luncheon. After we picked up lunch and came home. We spent the rest of the day around the house. That night we had leftovers for dinner. Austin was a bit later getting in so it was pretty much heading the kids to bed once he got in. 
Wednesday we got up and got going early. I had a coffee date with a friend and the kids were going to hang out at my parent's for a couple hours. Since we had no Bible study this week I knew my parents wouldn't object to keeping them for little bit. I had coffee with Jenn from Aurora. It was nice to catch up and hang out with her for about an hour. I then went and knocked out my grocery shopping before getting the kids. We came home and mostly just rested/hung out since we had church that evening. That night church went well. I enjoyed being with the big kids again. Lindsay had some little friends back this week. She and Ebbie mostly played. Colby still hasn't really had any "best friends" there this summer but he still manages to have fun. We combined with the big girls again this week so we had a total of 6. I had kinda wished we had done 3 and 3 though b/c i think the lesson was over Lindsay's head and I think the other 2 little girls as well.