Well, our summer break is almost over. We have just a couple of weeks before we will start school -- homeschool for the girls and 2nd grade at ECS for Will. It seems the years and the breaks go by faster, and the summers get hotter with every passing year! We are trying to stay cool swimming or doing other fun indoor activities, which isn't always easy.
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| Ryan and I got to get-away at Andover Plantation in Olive Branch to celebrate 13 years of marriage. |
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| Outside the plantation home |
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| Maggie and Will with the Ferguson boys after the play "Willy Wonka." |
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| Playground at the Redbirds Game |
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| Maggie's cabin at Camp Good News and one of her counselors. This was Maggie's first camp experience and she loved it and can't wait for next year. Neither can Will. |
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| Saying goodbye to Abby Mutrux. |
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| Will's sign for Maggie to welcome her home. |
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| Meredith and her picture and sign for Maggie. |
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| Happy to have big sister home! |
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| Meredith's play date with Amelia Greenslade. |
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| Maggie's and Reagan's outing at Paint a Piece. |
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| Dixon Gallery kids' day for 4th of July. Reagan and Connor Lutz spent the weekend with us before they moved, and we had lots of fun having them with us. |
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| Making a print of the American Flag |
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| The finished flags -- and notice Connor and Will match, on purpose! |
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| In costume for their play |
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| Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-Fil-A with all the Lutzes |
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| Porters, Lutzes, and the ever-creative Oakley Weddle |
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| Meeting Nana in Batesville to get some yummy sweet corn and eat lunch. |
A couple of weeks ago, we went as a family to St. Louis just for a short vacation, and we had such a great time. Thankfully, the Lord allowed a cool front to come through the night before we got there, so even though it was still rather hot, it was tolerable. We went to the science museum, the children's museum, zoo, Anheuser-Busch Brewery, Grant's Farm, City Garden, farmer's market, and picnicked at the Arch which was just a short walk from our hotel. We also got to have supper with a friend from my high school years and both of our college years -- Joel Hathaway and his family. I think the kids enjoyed that a lot because they all had someone to play with. Shannon and I visited while their 3 older boys and Maggie and Will played baseball with the dads, and Meredith played with their 2 year old daughter Mary. Another highlight was eating at Dewey's Pizza. Not only was it GREAT pizza, but they had a window so the kids could watch them throwing the dough and making the pizzas.
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| Play ground at the Missouri welcome center |
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| St. Louis Science Museum |
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| Dewey's Pizza |
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| Children's Museum |
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| Maggie at the top of Jack's Beanstalk |
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| Super Fun Slide |
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| Heading into the Zoo |
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| The Brewery |
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| The Huge Clydesdales! |
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| Up close and personal with the Clydesdales at Grant's Farm |
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| Heading into feed the goats -- notice Meredith's face. We didn't realize that we would be "attacked" by the goats, and Meredith wanted nothing to do with them! |
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| Will gave sips to as many goats as he could. |
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| Maggie LOVED the goats! |
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| City Garden |
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| Getting soaked and cooled off |
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| Meredith practiced her swimming which was great. |
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| Headed to our picnic at the Arch |
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| Will strikes a pose. |
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| My attempt at a "cool" picture |
Our low point for the summer came right before we left for St. Louis when we had to say good-bye to our best friends, the Lutzes. They moved to Memphis 4 years ago when Ryan Lutz took a job at ECS, and we hit it off right away. We will miss them so much here in Memphis, but we are already planning a visit soon. The kids are saving all their money for Six Flags! We are all thankful for the technology of cell phones, email and skype when close friends move away!
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Will's goodbye letter to Connor -- I had to take a picture because it was so sweet! The money was included in the letter.
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Will turned 8 on July 21 which, of course, is hard for Mama and Daddy to believe. We had a fun celebration with a few friends at the bowling alley the day before. On his birthday, I made blueberry pancakes for his breakfast, fish sticks for lunch, then grilled chicken, mac n cheese, broccoli, and French bread for supper -- all at his request.
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| He wanted a Hot Wheels cake, so here it is. |
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| Trying to get those candles lit! |
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| Licking the candles -- Yum! |
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| Noah Newhouse and Will |
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| Aaron Brink and Will |
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| Bonner Brownlee and Will |
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| Griffin Garrison and Will |
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| Having fun opening presents |
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| Will and his blueberry pancake -- decorated and served on the Special Plate. |
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| A German Shepherd Webkinz ("Amos"), and a new watch |
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| Gifts from Nana and Papa -- outdoor tools, a new backpack for school, and a new Blaze book |
Before school started, we took a trip down to Mississippi to visit Nana and Papa in Tchula. We had such a great visit with everyone. Meredith even took to swimming at Jan Jan's pool, which we were SO excited about. Will and Maggie had the best time just running around outside with the dogs and going to see Coco the horse. As always, it was sad to leave!
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| Meredith loves getting her picture taken! |
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| Maggie and Will are always thrilled to give Coco some apples. |
