Summer draws to a close

Blink....summer is over. The nights are suddenly darker, the mornings colder. I'm starting to wear socks. And school starts on Tuesday. What a great summer it has been. The mood has been relaxed. We've enjoyed visits and trips away. Our skin is sun-kissed and the floor of the car is covered in sand. My calendar for September is sitting on my desk by the computer and is quickly filling with commitments. Activities for the kids, meetings for Mama, events for the family. Before we know it, it will be Christmas and then spring break and then summer again.

OK, OK...I'm getting carried away. We've had a great final week of summer. We spent time with our friends in the week, enjoying the sunshine and the rain showers and dilly bars, of course. I snuck in an impromptu night out to the movies with my friend C to see "The Ugly Truth", the first romantic comedy to play in town in about 4 months. Papa and I enjoyed a grown up's night out on Friday with another couple. Nothing fancy, just hanging out at the pub. We learned our lesson about waiting too long to move along to our dessert venue, arriving 5 minutes too late, to be told they were closing.

Saturday was a big day out. We organized ourselves with C & K for a big family hike up in the mountains. We were on a recovery mission to pick up some camping equipment of K's brother who had come out of the woods early because of an injury. We had a great day hiking into a little lake, where Papa and K did some fishing with the kids. Papa even caught a little fish, much to the joy of all the kids. The kids spent most of the walk picking huckleberries, ending the day with purple stained lips and tongues. My attempts to have them slow down were pointless and we paid the price this morning when Schmoo's stomach returned the huckleberries at 5:30am. We ended the hike all exhausted, but happy for a fun day out with our friends.

Today was much quieter. The rain arrived so there was lots of time spent watching shows and movies. Schmoo and I made it to church and then Bean came out shopping with me later. A big shop to pick up the snacks for school. Bedtime was early tonight. Time to get back on track with regular bedtimes. Papa and I have spent the evening roaming the channels on our digital cable, trying to find something to entertain us. I think it will be an early night for us too.