It feels as though this summer has been the shortest one on record! Well, actually it IS my shortest summer in a long time. Due to Mary Alice's little stint in the hospital two years ago and Silas' birth last year, I haven't been in attendance for the first day of school in a couple of years! So yeah, it went FAST! I am not going to lie, there were times this summer when I longed for the start of school... I must have been heavily medicated, or else in need of some! I feel as though I have officially fallen into this stay-at-home mom gig and have begun to appreciate it as (dare I say it) a gift.
The start of every school year comes as a swift punch to the gut. I wish I was one of those teachers that was excited to see summer end, excited to meet all the new faces--excited to venture together in the quest for knowledge. What can I say, my life has little to do with pixie dust and unicorns!
I thought in honor of the end, we could bid farewell to Summer 2011 with a bit of a recap/squeeze-together of all those posts that I have been meaning to get to... rolled into one and make it look like it was on purpose.
Summer 2011 started with a bang as we ventured on our first family-of-four vacation. To Aspen we flew (we wont rehash the flight), with family we stayed, and with friends we visited.
Then to MI we trecked (by land) for the first Flippo Family reunion on record. Good times had by all, and once again our daughter ended up naked and monitoring tire pressures... CLASSIC!
We rounded out June with a cruise with friends... sans children! I must say this still ranks #1 on my list of highlights for Summer 2011!
July marked the end of Ben's summer breaks... FOREVER! His academic schedule has come to an end with the start of his internship. July also marked the beginning of ME home with the kids ALL THE TIME, and ALL ALONE! Therefore, there was much swimming to be had with friends. They had fun and I retrieved my sanity.
Summer 2011 introduced us to new genres of Mary Alice. Aqua MAK, who LOVES to swim, jump, be thrown, drive, stick her head under, touch the bottom... and most of these things are done "by myself!" This girlfriend would swim everyday and all day if we let her.
We were introduced to Mimi Pteranodon and most of us wish this was not case. For you see, Mimi Pteranodon is about as loud and shrill of a creature as one ever cares to meet. Well, that is unless you have met Mama Pteranodon!
In addition to greetings, Summer 2011 had some sad farewells. We said goodbye to the Gaba boots, the gold "sparkle" shoes, and the jelly-shoes. This is HUGE news folks! The Gaba boots marked MAK's first true obsession, the sparkle shoes adorned her feet as she took her first steps, and the jelly shoes were the first maternal childhood obsession to be passed down... the first of many I am sure! My little lady is VERY into shoes. In fact, she often introduces you to her shoes before commencing into the more common-place greetings. Let's be truthful, documenting this girls life by the entrance and exit of shoes is more than appropriate.
We have said goodbye to these shoes (maybe we will bronze them), but in saying farewell, we welcomed THESE beautiful kicks into our lives... so, no one is complaining!
(yes those are cork wedge heels, TOMS, and oh so metallic for my "golden goddess")
We also said farewell to 1st birthday parties, and we tried to go out with a bang. Theme: "SILAS: mischeif with food on it!" The first birthday was complete with bugs, snakes, chesse puffs, hot dogs, swimming, and dirt cake! Good times were had by all!
(yeah, he was a big fan!)
We lived in denial and squeezed the last few drops of freedom out of the summer. And there it went... but there are vacation days to be had this year... maybe it's time for another cruise!
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