Oh where has the summer gone?

Perhaps it's having school-age children now or this has just been a very busy few months, but I'm shocked at how quickly this summer has gone by. I really had planned to get more done and relax more and to just have time to do more in general. I'm almost looking forward to having a regular routine when school starts, but I know I'll miss the flexibility. I honestly didn't mean to abandon my blog so much either, but we've been doing "stuff" like hanging out at pools, shopping, scrap booking, traveling, hosting visitors, etc. Our biggest travel is coming up in a week, and although I am so excited, I'm a bit nervous too, but that's for another post at another time.

Here's a brief glimpse of what we've been up to:

The girls took swim lessons and absolutely loved them. They beamed every time they got in the water, and although the lessons were everyday for 2 1/2 weeks, they were well worth the effort and time.

I've also managed to finish two complete scrapbooks (90 pages- front and back, journaling and decorating, etc.) in about 3 weeks. My albums are rather simple, just basically tell the stories behind the pictures, journaling our everyday lives.

I'm able to make my albums rather quickly by laying out the pictures and borders with a Power Layout box. My husband jokingly says that I remind him of the guy on "A Beautiful Mind" because I often have them spread out over every flat surface in the house.
We enjoyed visits from my in-laws and my sister's family (including my one and only beautiful and brilliant niece.)

We also visited my in-laws in Cheraw, SC, and went to North Myrtle Beach. The kids loved playing in the sand and warmed up a little more to the waves. It was a long drive to and from the Carolinas but the kids were troopers and I got some rare "reading time" done. I took advantage of a few Sonic Drive-Ins here and there since there aren't too many in our neck of the woods. (Sorry, Stephanie, but I would have sent you some if I could.)

Like I said before, this summer has gone by way too fast, but I have no regrets about how we've spent our time.

Note to all the little sisters out there

Should you be playing dress-up with your big sister and she offers to make you even more beautiful by applying make-up, think twice about letting her apply green marker in place of eye-shadow. It doesn't come off very easily, and you'll get lots of funny looks while running errands with your mom.

Happy 4th!

There's no better way to celebrate the 4th than to welcome an Army unit home. The rest of hubby's unit came home this week. It's great to have them back on our soil, but please keep praying for all of those who are still in danger's way to protect our freedom.