Summer Summary - Part I

As summer winds down, I thought I would get back on the blog-wagon with a snapshot of our summer - in pictures. Saves me from having to think too much, except that I have to remember how to upload the pictures!

I am not always johnny-on-the-spot with the camera, so this only consists of activities for which I remembered to grab the camera. Actually, with all that goes on, sometimes I just would prefer to be "in the moment" instead of running for the camera.

We started off the summer with a birthday. Travis turned 9!

My little tradition - to take a group photo on birthdays. It's fun comparing from year to year!

Little pals chilling out during monsoon season in early June!

Brianna & Jeremy picked fresh strawberries for me at one of the local farms.! (Eating while picking was fun, too! Oops!)

Turning strawberries into jam late at night with my neighbor and friend!

The kids posted their own lists of rules. I think they stuck to them pretty well.

We asked the Lord to help us be more intentional about this.

Swimming with Dad....tons of fun!

Dressed up and ready to go to church on the 4th of July. (They LIKE matching! I don't make them do this.)

We enjoyed a pleasant 4th with my parents....

...and Carl's parents.

The closing program for our church camp, "Summer Surge". I love seeing their enthusiasm for the Lord.

I promised my big kids that I would take them to a major league baseball game. We were lucky to get some tickets given to us. Great seats, too!

 I pulled Travis down the steps in a hurry to get his picture taken when I saw the Pirate parrot coming towards us.

Well, I've realized that this is turning into a very long post. And since I'm having issues aligning my text, for now I'm going to sign off, til I get the rest of my pictures uploaded. Stay tuned for Part II.