What have we been up to?

A little bit less of this compared to previous years...

First time success for sand dollar hunting for Justin...after
six summers of unsuccessful tries.

Plenty of boogie-boarding!

A little bit of shopping for new board shorts

for growing boys...

Plenty of time with dad in the surf (he is my biggest kid!)

A bit of land-bound football throwing...and
might I add that Kendall had the attention
of everyone around us with her catching and
throwing abilities. Such a natural athlete!! With
her petite size, I think people couldn't believe how
well she could catch and throw the ball. Her dad was

a proud dad ;-)

Since school got out on June 30th, we've been tubing on the lake A LOT- to the point that all four of us have skinned knees and elbows, but in addition to that, the kids have raw fingers from gripping the tube handles for hours on end. The water has been so refreshing and even the adults have had a blast tubing!

Then, on Tuesday, we headed to Wrightsville Beach for two nights. We were on the beach from 10 a.m. til 7 p.m. on Wednesday (our longest day) and did everything from sandcastles to throwing the football; from boogie boarding to jumping waves; from sand dollar hunting to sunning ourselves. The water was 78 degrees and felt downright cool compared to the hot sun. Awesome family time!

We arrived home with just enough time to go meet Kendall's new teacher for fifth grade (Miss Williams) and a quick appointment with the orthodontist, then pack up supplies for the start of the year, cook dinner, wash laundry, pack lunch for the first day of school and get kids tucked in. Oh- Keith and I took a 3.5 mile walk also. Then, I caught up on a couple of DVR'd shows (one being Hell's Kitchen)...and answered a couple dozen emails. Now, it is time for bed!