Summer Vacation 2013

I absolutely cannot believe Summer vacation is coming to an end. It has been absolutely wonderful. Jeff has been at home with all 3 kiddos all summer and while he is ready to go back to work (he really enjoys the structure and routine), I'm not ready to be running in a million different directions with all 3 of the kids at different places. Preston will be at the elementary school, Emily will be at the primary school, and Callie will either be at Dana's house (she will keep Callie 2 days a week) or at Linda and Roy's. We do what we have to do, but it's hard on a Mama's heart to know that her birds are all spread out when out of the nest. Nonetheless, we are all a bit ready for some structure. We've had a summer full of lake trips, sleeping in, afternoon adventures, visiting lots and lots of family, a Cardinals game, and pretty much anything else we could think of. We went to visit my Mom in Oklahoma for several days during the 4th of July and then drove to Springfield where we visited with my Grandma and then got up the next morning and caravanned with my Aunt, Uncle, and cousin and her family to St Louis. We met LeeAnn, Barrett, and their kids and had a full weekend of fun. We watched the Cardinals play and win and went to Grants Farm and then let the kids take full advantage of the hotel pool. It was a very full weekend, but I was so thankful to be able to spend it with family. Just this week, I met Jeff's cousin and her family from Chicago. They drove down with Jeff's Aunt and Uncle and we've spent several days with them. Yesterday we spent the afternoon in downtown Memphis showing them around and eating. It was fun. They have 2 children, Becca (13) and Caleb (10). Both my big kids really bonded with them and can't wait to see them again. Hopefully we'll get up to Chicago before too long. Callie is doing great. She's had a few hard nights lately, but we think it's a combination of growth spurt and full moon. :-) Hopefully these hard nights will end soon. And by hard, I mean up for about an hour. I know that's not really hard when talking about an infant, but for someone who has slept well her entire life, this is new and hard. She's such a happy baby that it's hard to hear her cry at night.