Boating in Charleston....

After cruising through the harbor to see the tall ships

we decided it was too hot to get out, so why not go tubing.....

Ellis was a champ, he ate, swam, ate, hung out with us; such a joy to have....

Mike & Baylor had a good time on the tube

Gigi and Ellis, check out Ellis giving the thumbs up!!

Michael or "little Mic" as he calls himself, looks like he has had enough sun for the day

Bruce got a chance to tube, he must really trust me to let me drive the boat

Baylor & Matt

They tubed over and over....

Ellis swimming

One more trip to the harbor to see the Tall Ships again

What a perfect Sunday on the boat. Of course we planned to go out EARLY, but actually, after a stop for gas, a stop at Walmart for oil (which ended up helping a boater stranded in the water!), and all the packing up, we didn't get out early at all. However, we had a wonderful time with our friends. The kids were good and worn out by the end of the day. Good times!!! Oh, and Bruce got to try out his new car. No longer is he the lone man pulling his boat with a minivan!!

mornings...

Mornings...I have been known as a "night owl" for years. I did work the night shift, so of course I am a night owl. BUT, this year, after starting my first day job in a long time, I have become a morning person. Yes, really, I am up everyday, weekends included, summer, etc... wide awake and moving. Well, today, for the first time all summer, I decided to sleep until 9am, really late. Michael was up before me when I came down. These are his thoughts on my sleeping in:

"Mom, what if I had been sleep walking and lit a match in the garage and I died and you were sleeping" "Mom, I was thinking about making myself a fried egg sandwich or a bunch of eggs for everybody" (YIKES!) "Mom, what if someone like caught the house on fire and you were still sleeping?"

Well, if that isn't proof that I truly am up before the kids everyday, then I don't know what is. Obviously Michael is too young to remember my "night shift days" the other 2 are more than fine with being up while I am asleep....

Another week of camp for the boys....

Michael is the first of mine to go to summer camps at age 9. I have asked Matt to look out for him. They shared a meal card and walked in together. Michael is extremely confident and outgoing, so he thoroughly enjoyed the week of basketball camp. Matt had his best friend Baylor there, so he had a blast. All 3 boys were recognized at the end and received a trophy. Most importantly, they were gettting exercise and having a great time. Not to mention that taking them to camp gets me up and moving in the summer......

Father's Day

Anyone can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a Dad!!

It takes patience with the toddler...

Taking the time to climb a mountain with your daughter

Committment to the family

lots of love

A sense of adventure to ride the roller coasters that mom wouldn't dare ride

A dose of protectiveness and safety

And a lot of fun times together!!

Yes, our dad/husband is truly a DAD!!! We love you, Bruce.

Oops, lets back up....

Matthew gets to have mom at middle school, I tell him how lucky he is daily(ha!)

The incredible, patient, humorous Ms. Camp

Spelling improvement award (comes with an explanation, of course)

OK, before we began our crazy, camp filled, over zealous summer, we did have end of the year awards and celebrations!! Michael was the only one young enough to allow pictures! So, Michael got a creative writing award (gets this talent from Aunt Jeannie, the family editor/writer), and the most improved spelling award. Michael is actually a good speller, he is just an extremely messy writer!! So, his writing was so sloppy, no one could tell that he could spell. After much erasing, he managed to improve to the point that Ms Camp could actually read his papers!!

Next we have Matthew.... Ft.Johnson has been the perfect fit for Matt. He received the Award for the highest average in his class for ELA, the award for the hardest worker, a math award and he has maintained straight A's for the past 3 quarters !!!! I am not usually a bragging mom(at least I hope I am not!!) but anyone who knows how hard Matt has worked in school will understand how proud Bruce & I are that he is experiencing success. Good job Matt.

And Morgan, our Freshman at JIHS> she brought all her grades up this last quarter, started taking dance, and has been extremely well behaved, so we give her the Good Egg Award!! Yeh Morgan... keep dancin!

Citadel Football Camp

Matt & Bay

Daniel, David and MAtt

Coach Higgins

Campers

So we started off summer differently than usual... usually we are quite lazy, but this time the 1st week Matthew and his cousins and Baylor signed up for football camp. So did Michael, but he ended up sick that week. Cathy and Maggie also came and stayed with us. The boys liked it soo much, they are already making plans for NEXT year! Camp ended Friday at 11:30, and by 1pm Bruce & kids were on the road to Destin, Florida for a long weekend. I was on the road to Ponte Vedra, Florida for the first SISTERS WEEKEND. Yes, we stayed at a luxurious resort on the beach!!!