But here I am, the summer almost ending, school beginning in a few days, and I feel like I blinked an eye and it's over. It's like a blur. A 120 mph tornado. I feel rushed to get things ready for school and to finish tidying up the house in preparation for 4 boys being in school this year (woo hoo by the way).
Our summer had a great mix of exciting adventures and some laid back family time. It began with a visit from my parents followed by a visit from some dear friends from Florida. There were many dinners on the back deck as we enjoyed the evenings (until it began to get too warm). I simply detest the heat and I am not sure how I survived as long as I did in Florida. Beau dislikes the heat almost as much as I do. Many days were spent with the boys playing in the sprinklers and eating Popsicles at their picnic table under the swing set. Speaking of the swing set, the boys became quite active on their new set that Beau built and we have definitely received our money's worth on that purchase.
Later in the summer, Zander spent a week at scout camp and had a wonderful time. He worked on earning new merit badges and got plenty of chess playing practice with the staff. I think he secretly enjoyed the chess playing a smidge more than the boy scout stuff, but either way, he had a good time.
After Zander returned from camp, I celebrated my 40th birthday. This was a harder event than I had imagined. I remember at 30 spending the day trying to hold back the tears. I am not one of those strong women who look at their age as simply a number.
I wish I did have that outlook because it would make turning older more graceful. But I vowed to not cry at 40 so I didn't. Although I was a bit gloomy, I kept it inside. Beau really went out of his way to make me feel special, as he always does. Dinner and movie date night and a beautiful necklace made turning 40 a little easier to swallow.
Soon after, I flew to Florida (without kids or hubby) to spend a few days with my parents and friends. I worked hard at getting the house in excellent condition, the refrigerator stocked full, and all the laundry washed and put away. It was only 4 days, but I packed it as full as I could and I got to see just about everyone I wanted to. Beau did a fantastic job keeping the house in order (mostly) and the kids well nurtured while I was away. He's a great daddy.
A day after I returned from Florida, Zander had an opportunity to fly to his "other home" too. He had a great time spending days in Daytona with Beau's grandmother, aunts, uncles, and cousins. In fact, he was spoiled. It was like he was an only child again with all the attention he received. He got to play games with MaNew and help her feed the animals. She lives on a large 10-acre piece of land with lots of critters to tend to. His aunt and uncle took him fishing, they taught him to use a compound bow in archery, and they climbed the lighthouse in Ponce Inlet.
The last half of his trip he spent in Jacksonville with my parents.
There again, he was spoiled. They took him clothes and shoe shopping for school. What a huge relief that was for me!!! His stuff is so expensive now. He bought some new books, went to the movies, and hung out in their pool. One day, he even got to invite a couple of childhood friends over for a short reunion and time spent in the pool. Zander is so fortunate to have lots of family and to be so loved.
One of the highlights of this summer was a day spent at Canobie Lake Park. It's a small theme park about 45 minutes from our home. We had a blast that day. Zander roamed the park by himself some of the day so he could ride the "big" rides and Beau and I let the little guys ride things appropriate for them. We opened the park and closed it down. The kids did great. However, we found out from one of the park employees that we had chosen THE busiest day of the year to come. Oh well, we still had fun.
The most special event this summer was when William accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior. Beau came home for lunch and he and I prayed along side Will as he asked Jesus into his heart. Sweet, sweet time.
This summer, we also celebrated Carter's adoption day. It's been 2 years now that he's been a Bennett. We celebrated William's 6th birthday.....however, his actual party was 6 weeks later. That will be in a later blog (when I finally get around to it). Zander had his braces removed and he made the high school junior varsity soccer team. In between all of that stuff, we fit in school physicals, continuing to organize our house, completed additional interior painting (still much more is needed), trips to the movies, neighborhood party, and every day life with 4 boys.
All and all, we had a great summer filled with many new memories to be cherished for a long time. But.....I am READY for school to begin.
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