the beach

no....we didn't go to the beach for labor day.  once again, back when summer was still a thing we went to the beach.  seeing as how labor day is officially the end of summer (and when i believe that we should start school...ahem), i thought i might need to post about one of our summer getaways.  i still have a few more summer posts, but i guess one is better than none!! 

so.....back in june, we hit the road and headed to the caribe.  it's been a few years since we've been there, and wes really wanted to go back there for the slides, pools, and lazy river.  we had a great condo, and we made use of every inch of water that place had to play! 

first night tradition...cobalt!

crab hunting experts!  (reed actually didn't care too much for the crabs...he kept his distance!)

playtime!

i promise they went down this slide no less than 500 times.  i'm talking hours, people.  and they smiled every single time!

of course we had to play putt putt while we there.  this is serious business.  if you think there aren't 4 unhappy losers when this is over, you don't know us very well!!  ;)  i was actually just glad to make it out of there without a snake bite.  we had to avoid a snake on hole 13!

and there were go-carts!  always go-carts!

  

we ate like kings while we were there!  i happen to think that's the best part of vacation!  but lartigue's is always a highlight!  (i don't know what reed is pouting about here, but he loves their shrimp, too!)

did i mention that we played hard??

we only had one morning of rain while we were there, but we made the most of it at one of those trampoline places.  chase hates these places.  all he sees are broken arms.  i call that job insurance!

 

thankfully, the sun came out that last day.  so we made a few hundred more trips down their favorite slide! 

hurry back, summer!! 

backing up...

way back when summer was still a thing, wes played on the 8U all-star baseball team.  we had a great group of kids and parents! and coaches!!  they played in several tournaments, and then they made a run during the state tournament.  but, they fell short in the semis. 

ready to roll!!!

 wes played second base and outfield.   he's super fast, so he's definitely who you want scrambling after those good hits! 

 

probably the best part of the season, however, was the end of the year party.  we had a father/sibling/player game where they got to use real bats and tennis balls.  they were impressed with all of the home runs! 

it was a fun way to wrap up the park and rec season!  good job, tupelo all stars!

11

last week, william turned 11.  it was on a monday, so we celebrated over the weekend with hibachi and cake!  then on his actual birthday there were donuts and presents!  and ice cream.  there's always ice cream over here.  and if you're lucky, you get ice cream with candles!  :) 

and to top it off, he broke his first set of strings (for real).  it only took a few weeks and we had to string three rackets over the past month, so now daddy is pricing stringers.  (happy birthday, william.  come here and let me teach you how to string your own racket!) 

looking forward to seeing what year 11 brings our way.  happy birthday, william!! 

1st, 3rd, and 5th!

well, i'm going to have to go back and do some catching up on some summer posts in the near future!  and, now that school is back in session, i guess i'll have the time to do that! it's hard to believe that summer is over....i promise that it keeps getting shorter every year!  now that my kids are old enough to make their own lunches and entertain themselves, i really didn't want summer to end!  but, here we are....back in the learning mode whether we like it or not!

first day smiles...

but this is more like how we really felt about starting school so early!

this is the last time i'll get a picture of all of them walking into school together.  it's the last year of elementary for the tall one!

they were all so happy to have a buddy or two in their classes!

reed and henry

brooks, sam, and wes

william and knox

we aren't very happy that we are back in school, but we are very happy with our teachers!  we sure did get some good ones!

reed and ms. dickerson (he thinks she hung the moon, and everybody at my house has to agree with him!)

wes and mrs. lansdell (we've had her once before, so we know we are in good hands with this one!)

william and mrs. wardlaw  (he actually swaps classes, so this is his homeroom teacher along with math/science teacher.  however, we've heard great things about this sweet lady, so we are looking forward to a great year!  on a separate note, it's a little strange when your kids are as tall as their teachers!!!)

so there you have it.  we are ready to get our learn on.  but don't think for one second that we aren't counting down the days until summer.  according to wes, we have 177 days left!  :)