It’s that time of year again, you know, when our Facebook feeds are populated with those adorable #firstdayofschool posts and pictures.  Summer is coming to a close, and I’m honestly glad the kids are back to school and we can get back to our normal routines.

With that said, we did have a wonderful, eventful summer.  Just like last year, I’m recapping it all and even throwing in a few things that have developed over my blog post from Summer 2015.

First, my first born is not a baby anymore!  Dean just started his Junior year.  I wrote last summer that he got his permit, and after one year, he became a licensed driver.  Time flies, I remember when he was playing with Hot Wheels and now, he’s taking the keys to my car to school and work!  Yes…he also found a job over the summer at a local pizza shop! *sigh*  My son is a hardworking, tax paying citizen.  We are so proud of the young man he’s growing up to be.  Here’s a pic of the day he got his license.

Cienna just started Fourth grade.  She started Taekwondo early this year and absolutely loves it!  She promoted to yellow belt in June of this summer, and participated in the Summer Tournament where she placed 2nd among yellow belts in her age level and got 4th place in the long jump contest.  Pretty good for her first tournament!  We’re so glad she found something she enjoys, and are very proud of how well she’s doing!

Here they were on the first day of school, luckily I remembered to get a picture of Dean before he drove off!

We try to go on at least one family vacation every year, not counting little staycations or mini vacations.  The highlight of our summer was a family trip back home to Washington state.  We only had a week but we were able to spend quality time with family and friends, and Jeremy and I were able to sneak in one hiking trip.  I intend to blog about the wedding and the hiking trip separately, but here are some pictures of the wedding:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

       

After the wedding, with kids were off doing their own thing, Jeremy and I were able to go on one hiking trip, it was the best way to end our trip!  Jeremy chose Mt. Dickerman. The hike was about 9 miles round trip, with about 3,900 feet of elevation gain and boy, did it ever deliver in panoramic views at the summit.  I will post more pictures when I write about the hike but here are just a few.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also had a staycation in nearby Panama City to hang out with family, we had an awesome time!  We spent the whole day out on the water, the kids were playing and having a blast.  I was so in the moment that I didn’t take but one or two pictures!  Here’s Cienna driving the boat.

 

Speaking of not taking any pictures, we also went up to Tennessee for the 4th of July and I did not take one picture.  It was only a quick weekend trip but it was the most relaxing trip of the whole summer.  There’s just something about the simplicity and slow paced country life that helps me to unwind.  I didn’t look at any electronics, or screens, I didn’t fuss with my phone or even watch any t.v, so unfortunately, I didn’t take any pictures either.

We had a wonderful summer, we hope all of our family and friends had/have a great one too!  Here’s to an amazing school year ahead 🙂