With just two weeks left until school starts, I thought I might do a summer highlights with photos post. This has been a great summer for me. In addition to my usual activities, I’ve been traveling quite a bit, and Mary’s new kitty, Twinkie, has brought a new kind of joy into our home. We all love him.

Tonight I was thinking… I wonder if I can start blogging again. Maybe on Wednesday nights? And then, of course, I realized that I must account for the gap between May 31st and the middle of August. Well, that’s basically my summer.

My laptop went kerplooey, one oven needs a new igniter and the other needs a new fan, and I had an evening of smoke detectors going off every 15 minutes while I replaced all the batteries, and then finally took down the defective one. Hannah got glasses for the first time and Mary’s taking steps to get braces. There were the annual events such as: the triple birthday party, trimming my dad’s bushes, and completing the school department paperwork. There were many days of hanging out at my dad’s pool or going to the movies.

We’ve been consistently keeping up a Monday game night with whomever is home. We might play Old Maid or jackbox.tv. Modern Family has been popular around here too. I haven’t done any projects yet, but I am hoping to paint our foyer next week.

And now, about the traveling… In June, I went to New York City with Hannah. Bob was with us too, but he was working. We went biking in Central Park, visited a Van Gogh exhibit at The Met, tried out some new restaurants, and rested in the apartment. I think I decluttered the kitchen and cleaned too.

In July, Bob and I met in Los Angeles, and spent the day together. We took a one day tour.

The only reason we went to Los Angeles was because it was on the way to Fiji, where Bob had a work trip. Just like in England last spring, I tagged along and spent the days off on my own. I felt so much gratitude. As someone has said, the beauty of creation makes us think of the Creator, and brings up feelings of thankfulness. (I’m sure it was said in a much better way than that.)

Bula!!!

Last week, Joe, Rachel, Hannah, Mary, and I met Bob in New York City for a vacation week in our apartment. We did a lot of touristy things that Bob hadn’t done before, and we saw some great shows.

So now that I’m caught up, I can blog my little heart out. (Hopefully, it’ll be more than seasonally.)