We are back to school.

 We are back to school and it's all going well!  The kids have been good with getting to bed a bit earlier so they have energy to rise and shine for a new school year!  Usually, I'm not ready for school to begin until that very day.  This year I was ready about a week ago.  The kids weren't really into swimming anymore.  The weather has cooled down quite a bit and the pool water is chilly.  When you know school is going to start soon, you just mentally prepare for it I guess.  

One big sad thing about school beginning though is that then it seems like summer is over.  The long warm nights on the back porch are mostly behind us.  Lazy summer mornings only happen on Saturdays now.  And you know what, that's OK!  I'm ready for it!  I hate to see summer come to a close but I do love fall and it's just around the corner!  It's dark by 8:00 PM, the mornings are cooler and the house is suddenly much quieter with the two youngest back in school.

I did decide to take them on their first morning.  It's fun to walk into school together and see the teachers and hear the buzz in the hallways.  Meeting Austin's teacher was great and that night he said to us as Mike and I were tucking into bed, "I think I'm going to like fourth grade!"  I smiled and agreed!  This was really a good feeling to hear him say this!  

Austin would still rather be at home throwing balls and goofing off than sitting in a desk and doing school work but he knows that learning is a must and I hope he will learn to read this year and I'm excited to see him thrive in school this year!

We dropped Ashlyn off at the front door of upper campus and she had butterflies in her stomach just because it's time to see her friends once again and start a new year!  I'm proud of her and she's already on the volleyball team and really does well with school!

He said I can walk with him into school but not to his locker!  🤣 OK, too cool for me at times but that's OK!

Ashlyn is in eighth grade this year and is excited about her friends, her teachers are more like friends in upper campus and she really likes that!  Sure, there's work to do and sometimes that's hard and requires a lot of studying but Ashlyn enjoys school!  Her best friends are there with her and it's going to be fun watching her thrive!

I can't believe they are growing up so fast!!!!!!

I found this on Pinterest and really liked it!  I printed it out and as we watch for the bus we always say a prayer over the student's, teachers and the school and then I read this!  I love the words to this and we are really blessed to be off to a good start of a new school year!

Dutch Wonderland.

 Lena invited Austin and I along to Dutch Wonderland for the day.  They went a few weeks ago and got rained out and were given more tickets.  Austin used one of their tickets and I bought one to go along!  It was a very warm day and we hit the rides as soon as we got there.  The first ride was the roller coaster.  Bryce and I sat together.  Adrian and Austin were in front of us.  Hutner in front of them.  We took and off and screamed the entire ride!  I hollered over to Bryce that if he's too afraid, he should close his eyes.  Before we could count to twenty the ride was over and we were laughing like crazy!  It was a fun, wild start to the day!

Zayla and I took some rides together.  Lena and the boys went on more roller coaster rides.  Our bellies got a good tickle and we laughed on every ride!

After lunch, we went over to the water park.  The water felt good to our hot, sweaty bodies.  When we went back over to do more rides, it started to cloud up and the rides closed.  I brought Zayla back home with me and she was out  as soon as we hit the road.  Lena and the boys stayed awhile to see if they would open up the rides when the rains pass through.  They came back soon after we were home with another round of free tickets for another sunny day.

Amusement Parks are not my top favorite places to be at but this was fun to ride some fast and slow rides!  The kids loved it!!!!!

We ended the day with Rita's before leaving the park!  Hunter decided to go for another lemonade!

The kids giggled and giggled on this ride!

Lunch was from Auntie Anne's!

Zayla and I did the froggy hop together.

Our first ride was the roller coaster!  Here we go!!!!

Summer days like this are fun!  I'm ready for the tempts to cool down and bit but this was a great way to spend another fun day with cousins!

Garden in August!

 It's been so dry and hot in July that most gardening is tough but we have a hydrant by the garden and with the sprinkler turned on almost every evening, things are thriving!  

Here are the string beans that are loaded with green beans!  

The next garden bed in cut flowers.  After the peas were finished, I grabbed a pack of cut flower seeds and they are growing well!

Succulents love hot weather!

Honeysuckle grows behind the barn and there's a hummingbird that is happily flying around the flowers!

We have lots of green beans, some cucumbers and nice big tomatoes.  The raspberries are hanging again with berries.  There are jalapeños, Hungarian wax peppers and sweet bell peppers ready to harvest!

The Red Haven peach tree is finished with fruit but now it time to pick Contender Peaches.  The kids were all here on Wednesday night for supper and we went out to pick the fruit and came in with 50 peaches!!!!! We played a hot game of Monopoly and its just the best when we all get together!

The kids are growing up!  To watch them in the garden is just as fun now as it was when they were little!  I love this hobby of gardening!

August.

Here we are!  August is here!  This is the month of canning foods from the garden!  It's the last of summer vacations and lazy summer days.  It's trips to the pool and school shopping.  Before we know it, the school bells will be ringing.  I'm never ready for it, until it actually begins.  Then I'm reminded that I actually do like the routine of early mornings and not so late nights!  This has been such a fun summer with the kids being at home with me and I know I will miss them so much when school begins.  But, for now, we are still in summer mode and making the best of these summer days!

Mom and I each did a basket of Contender Peaches.  She canned hers and I froze mine.

These will be used in lunches!!!!

Our church had a campout weekend and even though we don't campout, we joined the fun by water slide and pool!  The meals were amazing and we really had a good time!

Steve cooked a whole pig and the meat was amazing!

 We had an employee picnic and we are so blessed to have a thriving business with great employees that work so hard to make it all a success!  Mike works hard and leads well with this group of wonderful people!  We enjoyed another hot a the park with good foods, jugglers entertaining us while it rained and the guys played baseball while the kids swam!  The day was full of great people that help make Lapp Structures be a success!  Thank you everyone!

Felicia spent a few days at our house while Linda worked this summer.  The kids had a blast!

Ashlyn and Zoey have been wanting to have a sleep over and then watch Inside Out 2.  We made it happen and even though they were both so tired by the movie time, it was a great watch and the girls had a blast!

We spend every single night at home in this space!  This outdoor living space has been so much fun for us!  We are watching many Phillies and Olympics in this space!

Ashlyn is playing well on her baseball team.  Her pitching is great!  She got slammed by the ball in the knee and that scared her a bit but she got right back in the game and ended strong.  They have yet to win a game but the team is having a fun time!

Summer blooms are so pretty!  The lime light hydrangeas are in full bloom right outside the kitchen window and even though my dahlias are only beginning to bloom, these are from a road side stand in town and so pretty!