The End of Summer

This summer has felt strangely long...maybe it is because it is the first time I have been home with kids full-time with no school, maybe it is because I started my job mid-way through so it felt chopped in two halves, or maybe we have just crammed a lot in this summer.  Either way, I think both Nate and I were ready for school to start today! 

We had our orientations and meet & greet last week and I thought he might be a little resistant to go back once he realized he was going to a new class, new teacher and new friends...he only has one boy in his class that he knew from last year. But he was surprisingly up and at 'em this morning and seemed excited...that is until he saw the outfit options I had laid out (he insisted on a t-shirt...I picked my battle on this one and gave in) and realized I didn't buy him the shoes he tried on this weekend (that didn't fit).  Oh the fickleness of a 4 yr old.  We soldiered on though and made it to school...jumped right out of the car at carpool...and was EXHAUSTED when he got home.  I had to wake him up or I think he would have napped right through the night!  I think it will be good to get back in to our normal routine...and he seems excited about his new class...yeah!  And now, tomorrow is Matthew's big day (wish me luck getting my little momma's boy settled)!

My sweetie boy - with his "fresh" new haircut. And the outfit he selected...

I always love seeing him with his giant backpack...especially loaded down with school supplies!  He actually seems like he has grown in to it a little better this year!  He feels like such a big boy with it on.

Mom, please...enough pictures...

As I was loading these I realized I had a bunch of random pics on the camera so I thought I would provide a picture recap of the last weeks of summer...(this might be in no particular order)

Nate and I started our gardening experiment back in late spring...my uncle had tomato plants he had started from seed so he gave us a couple and we gave it a shot...amazingly our little starter plants grew into 4 ft tall plants and managed to thrive most of the summer in pots on our deck.  And as you can see, we had a small harvest...Nate helped me keep them watered and loved picking the ripe ones...that is until the squirrels found our plants (it was heartbreaking every time I would see a beautiful ripe tomato on the vine only to find it had been gnawed on)...I think I threw away more than we actually got to enjoy thanks to them.  But it was still fun...and I won't mention the squash plant we also attempted...we got a bunch of little squash but they didn't seem to like living in planters as much.

We didn't get to the Sprayground this summer until we had a birthday party there one weekend...and then the boys wanted to go all of the time.  Luckily Ms Jennifer didn't mind taking them!  I remember the first time Nate went how cautious and curious he was about each fountain...Matthew ran laps around the park running through every spray and loving every dump of water on his head.

I am pretty sure they like it there

Nate went to Summer Camp at his school and made these cool glasses...that he wore for a few days afterwards...he loved the attention it got him in Publix.

I came across this picture when I was cleaning off my card...it's still tough without him...Nate has made comments out of the blue, as recently as yesterday, that he misses Cameron and wants a new puppy.

 And miscellaneous phone pics!

Michael and I spent the weekend at the PGA tourney when it was here...that's Phil Mickelson if you can't tell :)

Ms Jennifer takes him on Nature Walks to get him out of the house and he makes "art" with what he finds...did I mention I am loving our new nanny??

I love this picture...he took a break from bike riding to inspect bugs...

...and he found a caterpillar that he named "Cleaner".

That is what we have been up to...or at least what I have pictures of...my camera hasn't been with me as much as it normally is.  It's been a fun summer but we are ready for Fall!