Well, I'm back. It was a great summer! I'll be writing about it in the months to come, and I'll review my "Summer To Do List" that was in my last post in a couple of weeks once I get all my summer photos uploaded to the computer. Some of the things on that list happened, and some didn't. Such is the nature of To Do lists. We've been back home for two weeks now, and the boys started school a week ago, so it was pretty quick getting back into the swing of things, which was good. School has been going great, with Sam in kindergarten(!!) and John in 5th grade, but Sam is going to miss out on the Perfect Attendance award because he's home sick with a cold today, on only his sixth day of school. Sigh. Oh well!
Last year at this time, I was wallowing in the misery caused by both the sudden disappearance of my Vitamin Sea and the seasonal allergies that hit me full-force in Iowa from mid-August to mid-September. These things in large part cause me to get temporarily/seasonally depressed each August when we come home. I'm very happy to report that it is MUCH better this year--Claritin-D works wonders, and so does coming back later in August as opposed to earlier in the month. But back to last year, I never posted these pictures from last August so here's a little blast from the past of some of the things we were doing at this time a year ago.
I tried out different lemonades when we went out to eat.
Lemonade is one of my favorite drinks!
I burnt this cheerful candle. I tried to choose happiness, I really did!
These slippers were so soft and comfortable. I always wear house slippers, and I wore these out fairly quickly. I wish I could remember where I got them!
{I conducted a successful google search over the weekend and ordered two more pairs.}
My handsome little boy, only a few weeks away from turning five.
Father and sons.
Sam was making a train with his alphabet Lego Duplos. He couldn't find the "D" block, so he got the letter D from a puzzle and taped it to a Lego. I thought it was cute and clever. I'm always impressed by his creativity and problem-solving skills!
One day while John was at school I took Sam to the rides at City Park. We had the whole place to ourselves!
Our train awaits...
Then we went over to the nearby playground, which we also had to ourselves.
These places in late August are like ghost towns once school starts!
Sam cleaned his room!
...Sort of. At least the floor is cleaned up!
We finally went to one of the local pools. I don't know why we feel like we have to travel to places like Wisconsin Dells to use waterslides when there are some good ones right nearby (though admittedly, they're not nearly as awesome as the waterslides at the Dells!). It was fun.
John incoming!
Peter and the boys playing in the pool.
Two out of four of our furry family members.
Finally, the first day of preschool for Sam!
He wanted to eat breakfast in his room, so he set the table and did just that.
And that's a wrap on the happy little things of last August! (Only a year late, no big deal.)
