I tried. And for the first part of the year I did really well. But then life got busy and crazy...actually, busier and crazier...and blogging fell to the bottom of the priority list. With school starting soon and Alyssa getting ready to leave on her mission, I really need to get back on track with blogging.
So what have we been up to this summer? The girls have been busy...Mark and I, not so much. My good friend Paula came and lived with us for several weeks as part of her move to the DC area. We loved having her here and our house seems so empty now. She fit in so well with our family and it was great to have her here.
My parents came up to visit for two weeks in June...unfortunately, I spent one of those weeks TDY in Texas for work! But Mark was a wonderful host and they got do so some sightseeing. It was wonderful to have theere with us before they set off on their two-month cross country adventure (literally cross country -- they drove all the way to California and even had a trip up to Alaska during their two month adventure!).
Alyssa and Brienna went on an Adventures by Disney trip with my sister Andrea and her family to see some historic sites...Philadelphia, Gettysburg, DC, and Mt. Vernon. They enjoyed it...both girls said the food was fabulous and they enjoyed spending time with my sister and her family. Andrea and her family live in Alaska so we don't get to see them as much as we would like. The girls even tried kayaking on the Potomac River and loved it, which spurred us to try a kayaking trip last week that we also enjoyed. Kayaking may become a new favorite family activity!
We were thrilled that my Mom and Dad and Andrea and Bryan were able to be here when Alyssa went through the temple for the first time in June. That was a wonderful, special day and it was even better because we had family here to enjoy it with us. Alyssa and I have been able to do a couple of trips to the temple since then. It's a beautiful place.
After the trip with Andrea and her family, Brie immediately headed off to girls camp where she did a COPES course, among other activities. All of this was done with a cast on her arm since she broke her wrist in two places in her last soccer game of the season. Not a fun way to spend half of the summer! But she was a trooper and handled it well. It didn't slow her down at all. After girls' camp she was home for a couple of weeks and then headed to the beach in Florida with one of her school friends. She had a great time and came home sunburned, but not too badly.
Alyssa has been keeping busy with work, going out with the missionaries, and getting her fill of all her favorite TV shows and moves before she leaves on her mission. She leaves in 47 days. She is excited. I, on the other hand, find myself constantly on the verge of tears.
Mark taught summer school and really enjoyed that. He said it was one of the best teaching experiences he ever had because he was teaching students who were taking the class to get ahead in school, not a remedial class. We were grateful he was asked to teach because the pay from summer helped make up what I lost in pay because of the lovely Department of Defense furlough of civilian employees. While I've enjoyed having my Fridays off work for six weeks now, I have NOT enjoyed not getting paid for those days! I'm happy to be getting back to my full salary!
As you can tell, Mark and I didn't get a vacation this summer. We still haven't made it to the beach and probably won't since he goes back to work next week. But we've had a lot of family time and that has been a huge blessing.
Alyssa and I do have a trip coming up, though. We wanted her to have one big, fun experience before her mission and so she and I are going to Disney World in September. We'll drive down to Georgia, spend a day or so with my family, then my parents are coming to Disney World with us. We are so excited and really looking forward to this getaway! Then we'll go back through Georgia on our way home so Alyssa can see some of her friends from high school, and then we'll be home, doing the final preparations for her mission. Her farewell will be September 29, if anyone is in the area and would like to come. ;-) We're looking forward to having family here with us -- Mark's parents are coming, and my parents and grandma are coming. Our home will be full to overflowing, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Thank goodness for three and a half bathrooms in this house! :-)
2 comments:
Great to see you back...enjoyed the update! :)
You will have to tell me how to get through Alyssa leaving for her mission. We are working on Amy's mission forms now, and while I'm so excited for her, I'm sad for me. When they are away at college we can still talk on the phone, facetime, email, facebook, etc. It won't be like that while they are on a mission! How do all these parents do it???
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