Summer wrap up

I guess it's appropriate that I sit here on the last official day of my summer vacation to finally post summer pics...I can't believe it's over! Ok, it's not really over...there are still weeks to go before school actually starts and we have plenty of fun summer activities still planned, but the days of lazy mornings and having no schedule are over as we know it for another year. I suppose I shouldn't complain...some of you don't have the luxury of still getting summer vacation every year (and I feel sorry for you...) but it doesn't make it any easier! So, what have we been up to?? You mean besides birthday fun (mentioned in the last post) followed quickly by a Nebraska trip? And then moving a week later? That's about it I guess... We had SUCH a good time in Nebraska this year! Jessica's neighborhood finally finished the pool they have been promising since she moved in and we took full advantage of it. It was absolutely perfect for little ones and we invited some friends over throughout the week to enjoy it with us. Here's Will with a couple of buddies, Luke and Laney. It's always incredible to me how well they all play together even though they only see each other a couple times a year. So fun!

We also went to Lincoln one day to hang out and checked out the Lincoln zoo. The feature exhibit this summer is a camel, so of course Will wanted to ride it! He was so excited and loved every single minute. They won't let you ride by yourself until your 5, so Todd was the lucky winner that got to ride with him. :)

Another super cool event we got to take advantage of (thanks to AJ's quick thinking ahead of time) was the Olympic swim trials. It was awesome to be even a very small part of the Olympics and as we sit on the couch watching now we can't believe we actually saw some of them swim in person! Here's Will signing one of the phone booths for the London Olympics. He took the job of putting his full name in there very seriously -- and now somewhere in London the Olympians know that "Will Tones" is rooting for them!

Probably my favorite picture of the whole week. Will measuring himself against a picture of Michael Phelps. We asked him if he was the same size and he measured himself, looked up, and said "not quite..." Not quite indeed little guy. :)

And something that is SO uncharacteristic of Will -- he rode a shark! Think mechanical bull for little ones and you've got the idea. He is usually not our risk taker at all, so I thought for sure that we were passing up this chance. But after investigating it for a while and coming up with his strategy, he was all for it! And he actually did a really good job! Check out his concentration...

You'd think all of that would be enough fun for one trip, but no! We also checked out the dinosaur exhibit at Fontanelle forest. Of course Will loved it and the rest of us actually didn't have a bad time either. Fontanelle forest is beautiful and the dinos were so interesting that Will walked the one mile trail twice! Here's Will and Grandma with one of the dinosaurs spotted on the trail.

And inside while we wait for Will's second trip through the forest, Bellamy is quite content to do a little beanbag lounging...

There was also a dig pit, which I think Bellamy would have played in all day if we hadn't been invaded by a group of day camp kids...

To finish off the week Jess and my mom planned a great family get together at, you guessed it, the fabulous new pool and clubhouse! It was really great to see everyone and spend some time with family before we came back. I did a horrible job of taking pictures, but here is B with one of her cousins. The girls in this round of cousins are outnumbered for sure -- they have to stick together! If only we lived closer...I see a future babysitter in the works right here...;)

And then we made the long trek back to Texas and went straight to work...

We said goodbye to Sugar Land the first week of July and moved back into Houston. All of that really means nothing to you out of towners, but it was a great move for our family. Todd and I are much closer to work, we are all closer to church, and most importantly, we are practically around the corner from some of our closest friends. For those of you planning a trip to see us (wink, wink) you'll be happy to know that we have shortened your drive by at least 20 minutes. :) So in spite of the summer being quite the whirlwind, we have really had a great one. We are looking forward to all our new beginnings of the year and all the adventures yet to come. Including climbing this great new backyard tree...