Last Throes of Summer

Boy am I behind!  These are our last pictures from summer-time.  Ice cream, sleeping all over the house, and enjoying a lake in Iowa with friends.  None of us were really ready to head back to school, but time keeps going...

These kids all fell asleep on their own this day.  You would think I kept them up at all hours.  Actually it was Sunday, and they dropped where they fell once they got home.

Summer

Swimming:

A new bike from Grandma (without training wheels!)

Dane's Dairy:

Meg learns to tie her shoes:

 Spencer's Haircut:

Ellie writes a "Secret Kid" newspaper:

Some of us hide from the cold, wet pool:

A long time ago, when summer was young...

... my kids had all their hair, and we started a garden.

(We were informed that in Iowa we would rarely need to water, but this summer proved to be different.  Still, we enjoyed a lot of garden tomatoes which just so happens to be the most wonderful thing ever.)

Our fellow gardener's took these photos and passed them along to us.

Looking at these photos make me wish that:

1.  We could start summer over again.
2.  I had not cut off all of my kids' hair.

3.  I still had a garden fresh tomato to make a tomato sandwich with.

"Summer lovin' had me a bla-ast, summer lovin' happened so fa-ast....

met a girl "climbing a tree", met a boy cute as can be...."

We had one last lovely day before summer started and we had to get to bed at a reasonable time.  (Although why we try with M and GQ I am not exactly sure.  They prefer to throw blankets/books/dolls/ at each other until 9:30 anyway.)

This is E climbing the tree out front.  It hasn't occurred to her to go up higher than that yet.

New school/birthday outfit from Grandma:

Don't I look angelic?

Don't be fooled!!!!