Rest of the Summer

Summer is over. I have a few leaves falling on our over turned pool reminding me that cold days are on their way. I have to say summer is my favorite time of year. Sunshine makes me happy and to see that time leave is so sad to me.

I feel like this summer slipped through my fingers like fine sand. No matter how much I wanted it to last longer there was nothing I could do to keep it.

So here it is in no particular order pictures of our summer.

The Splash pad was a must.

We set up a pool on the deck. We actually popped the first pool. My parents we nice and bought the kids a second pool so they could stay cool the rest of the summer.

We have played a lot of basketball in the evenings when it finally cools off enough to be outside.

Katie had her second driving lesson. This time instead of a truck she was able to drive the Lawn Mower. She is pretty good. Rick will take his hands off and let her steer all by herself.

Katie will go get the mail all by herself.

It was a busy summer with lots of transitions. I would say that it was way too short.

Ashes to Ashes

 

So one of the reasons I’m behind on my blogging is the fact that my laptop crashed. It was an easy fix. It just needed a new hard drive. The bad thing is that nothing could be recovered from the old drive.

Yep documents and pictures were all gone. I broke down and cried. I had said for over a month that I needed to back the pictures up. I just put it off or shoved the thought to the back of my brain until, like everyone else that has ever had this happen, it was too late.

I went on the picture search. Luckily Rick had most of our pictures saved on his laptop and we had a few external hard drives and SD cards with pictures on them. In the end we have everything up to Brady being born. We have bits and pieces after that. I have a few pictures from Brady’s baby blessing and a few of the kids playing sometime last spring.

Unfortunately I wasn’t the only one hit. Rick’s brother and his wife had the same thing happen with in days of us.

I do have to say I’m very grateful that I do a blog and post excess pictures. I am also glad that I turn my blog into a book every year. I may not have the highest quality picture but at least I didn’t loose everything. Sadly this will make next years blog book a little lower quality.

For the future I now don’t delete anything from my SD card until it is saved in at least 2 places and plan to do DVD copies of pictures once a quarter. Hopefully this will save heartache in the future.

Moral of the story: PLEASE BACK UP YOUR PICTURES TODAY. RIGHT NOW!!!

4th of July

We spent the 4th having family over. It was the first time we really invited anyone to the new house. It was so nice to have family around for the holiday.

Granny, Grandpa, Uncle Steve, and Aunt Tephame. (Stephanie) over for some burgers. Katie can pronounce all the parts of Stephanie’s name but doesn’t like to put them together.  Poor Steve and Steph had Katie attached to them all night.

After wards we went to a little concert at a park next to the lake and had a great seat for the fireworks.

Morristown so far has done its job to provide us with activities to attend.

It’s always fun when Grandpa comes……

My parents came to visit in July. It had been way to long since I could wrap my arms around them and give them a great big hug. When my dad pulled in the driveway I was as giddy as Katie over him and my mom’s arrival. I didn’t want to let go of him, even to have him come inside. I have a great relationship with my mom but my daddy owns a little of my heart.

My mom helped me unpack a few things and even took care of Brady at night so I could get some much needed sleep. My dad helped fix our lawn mower and did a few other odd jobs around the house.

We took  them hiking with Rick’s Family at the Smoky Mountains National Park. We saw Cataract and Laurel Falls. Before we hit the trails we made a stop and did a little Go-Karting. Katie was just tall enough to ride. She smiled the entire time.

This was Cataract Falls. It is a skip and a hop from the visitor center. Steve, Rick and Katie climbed up to the top despite the sign.

Also along this trail we came upon the following. This picture is for my sister since she collects pictures like this…

You never know where you might find a fire hydrant!

The following signs marked the trail. They just made me feel so warm and fuzzy

The trail to Laurel Falls was paved but much longer. Brady wasn’t able to stay awake long enough to see the waterfall initially but woke up before we left.

Look at the newlyweds being so sweet

Steve and Stephanie really are cute together

 

 

My Mom also made a suit for my brother when he was a baby and somehow kept it all the years. She was able to see Brady wear it when she was in TN. Talk about vintage!

I also took my parents Frisbee golfing.

We did the front 9 and then called it a day because it was so hot.

 

It was hard to tell my parents goodbye. Especially since I have no idea when I will see them in person again. Hopefully it will be sooner rather than later.

Thanks Mom and Dad for all you did and do for us!