Long Overdue...

Our summer really has been more fun than it appears in our blog! We have been on the go so much and I just haven't had the time (or quite frankly the energy) to keep up with all of our pictures and postings. But, I figured, if I don't get caught up now I never will...so here is my attempt at catching up! I knew I wouldn't have the patience to do it all in one post, so there are a few event specific posts below this one...but here are some additional random things we have done so far this summer...

We drove to the mountains one weekend and had a picnic...

and hiked to a waterfall...

and found a stream that both Daddy...

and Nate played in.

Michael had a tennis match near Stone Mountain one Saturday morning so we decided to spend the afternoon there. Nate had fun riding the train around the base of the mountain (If you look really closely you will see Thomas in his hand...as you scroll through the next few posts you can play "Where's Thomas?" He loves his trains and pretty much always has one in his hand!).

We had a pool party and cookout with the Pavloffs and Luskins in July. Nate, Amanda, and Jackson played their own version of Cornhole...

did lots of swimming.

Jackson, Austin, Amanda, and Nate taking the wagon home for the evening.

Nate and I rolled out the paper one Saturday and brought out the paint and brushes and glue and created a messy masterpiece. Here is Nate admiring his work.

Here he is doing the "Thanks for Letting Me Make a Giant Mess Mommy!" dance.

The Artist at work

Then cleaning himself (and Cameron) off in the yard afterwards.

He is also working hard at figuring out how to dress himself. Sometimes he does a great job, some times it gets confusing.

We have played in the water a lot this summer...sometimes at the pool, but sometimes its fun to just turn a sprinkler on in the yard...

That (and the following posts) is just a snapshot of what has been going on the last couple of months with us. We haven't done anything extravagant this summer but it's been a good one none-the-less. It's such an amazing thing to experience summertime with a child...it makes doing simple things all the more fun! We hope your summer has been as fun as ours...

Nate in the Wild

Michael has been wanting to take Nate camping since before he was born...and I finally gave in a couple of weekends ago and agreed to give it a shot. Camping overnight, in a tent, with a toddler didn't really sound like a good idea, but it actually turned out to be really fun and Nate loved it. We went just north of Dalhonega in the North GA Mtns to a place call Desoto Falls and it was (luckily) much cooler up there.

Bringing his Dump Truck turned out to be a good move...while we were setting up camp he pushed it around and collected rocks and sticks.

Having a snack in his tent. He slept inside his tent inside of ours so he had a little cocoon. He stayed up a little later than normal just because it wasn't dark out but after a little bouncing around he fell sound asleep and didn't wake up until 7:30 am. Cameron slept in the tent next to him so he was very excited to wake up and see the dog next to him! I woke up to him saying "Hi Puppy!!"

We went for a little hike around the campsite and Nate found a creek to play in.

The Dump Truck also served as great entertainment...it was really fun to ride downhill in it!

Helping Daddy get the campfire started. He did well staying away from it...he just danced around it saying "Danger!" and "Hot!"

Hanging out by the Campfire

Cameron loved being out in the wilderness (even though you can't tell in this pic - he was tuckered out by the time evening rolled around)

We grilled out steaks and made smores (of course)...yum...you can't have your first camping trip without them.

Nate was an excellent little camper...we may even do it again. ;)

The Lake

In July, we spent a weekend in Knoxville with CC and Papa Steve. We fit a lot of activities in to less than 48 hrs but we had a lot of fun!

Michael and his Dad and Aunts played golf so, after a morning of shopping, we met up with them at the club for lunch.

Then we went to Margaret and Gloria's and met up with Sydney and Piper for a fun day on the Lake.

Nate got to drive the boat

We thought we would take Nate for a spin on the wave runner...but the sun and the wind in his hair must have been too soothing because he fell asleep! Who knew you could sleep on a wave runner??

Michael did some fishing and caught a bass (see it??)...Nate thought it was hysterical.

After a long day in the sun (without a nap - unless you count the 15 mins on the wave runner), we went to a cookout with the rest of the Cox family. Nate played with Gavin and Ryn for as long as he could until we finally had to return to Papa Steve and CC's to turn in.

It was a quick but fun weekend in TN!