Genius...

Waiting for dinner, Kensley spelled "mom" and being a great reader, realized it was missing something. :) She does my teaching heart proud!!!

Summer Va-cay

We don't have bronzed, tanned bodies to sport this summer, because we just weren't at the beach all that much. It seems that we were back and forth all summer to anywhere BUT the beach! Our latest trip was to Mohonk, NY where we hung out and really were treated like royalty - thanks to Uncle Rob and his connections.

On our way up, we stopped in DC to catch up with some friends from Germany and to meet their newest (precious) addition to the family. The kids had a blast, we got our bellies full, and we were headed back up the interstate.

We stopped for a night in NJ to check on our house there. Our tenant is wonderful and things are still great with her. It was a very special treat to have dinner with Mr. Andrew and Mrs. Ginny at our favorite restaurant, Femmina. Kensley didn't miss a beat reconnecting with them!

We left half a day later and rested in Poughkeepsie, NY - which was tons of fun. It's a neat town - obviously a little more liberal. We thought these two guys would be great models for this coffee. :)

We made one stop to sight-see at the OCC shop just before we got to Mohonk. It was really cool to see the bikes in person that we have seen being built on TV!

When we drove up to Mohonk Mountain House, we were awed. The pictures online did not do it justice (so I am certain the lack of my photography skills will!) It was truly a mountain getaway. The gardens were surreal all their own.

All along our travels, Kensley continued to perfect her swimming skills and is really a great little swimmer, now. She has two cousins who are real fish and so she has worked all summer to swim like Boyd and Tucker. Her final endeavor was to put her face in the water and swim. Who would have known that the promise of Disney Princess diving sticks would do the trick? With all of the anticipation behind her, she was a swimming fool and was proud to perform for anyone. I regret that I don't have any pictures of her swimming, but I was in the water with her most of the time!
To culminate Kensley's swimming adventure, she jumped off the diving board into the natural lake at the mountain house into what I am told is about 60-something feet deep. It was way deeper than she'd ever done before! At first Kensley really wanted to just swim in the diving pool. We told her the only way to do that was to jump. She wasn't keep on the idea, so we didn't pressure her. The young boys were jumping off and waited patiently and assuringly until she finally got the gumption to try it. She counted and jumped. The inconspicuous crowd erupted in applause for the little girl who jumped in the big pool with the big kids (and adults). Pop was on top of a ledge watching all of it unfold and captured it! I forgot to get the pictures from him, so when I do, I will post.

Kensley got to ride a real horse, Toasty, one morning. She still tells everyone about it.

We enjoyed a lobster dinner one night and fabulously indescribable meals (and oh! the desserts!!!!). After dinner on the last night, we hiked to the lighthouse tower after Nanna and Pop had done so in the morning. It was a hike! On our way back down, a fox (furry kind) and I scared the beejeesus out of each other while the boys were coming down from the lighthouse. I was afraid to go further because we'd already seen a racoon on the way up - and the animal encounters were only getting larger. The deer seemed almost tame, until we viewed them from afar. They bucked and splashed and played with one another as if no one was looking. When we got a little closer to one, we couldn't help but note all the ticks. ew.
Coming back from Mohonk, we took a different, scenic route and stopped in Roanoke, VA. What a pretty place?!?! I see coming back to it in the future.....

Let Freedom Ring!

I talked my family into going to the beach to watch the fireworks.{Lots of traffic!} It was so pretty and so much fun, and wildly enough, relaxing. Kensley got to play in the water until it got dark, met a new, sweet friend, and we enjoyed the kid-version commentary on the fireworks display. "Hayley" commented that the fireworks were so big and gorgeous that "even the aliens in outer space could enjoy them"... The spectators around erupted in laughter - and we're still having a fun time with it!

Mommy and Me

Sometimes self-portaits are just fun. Love my girl!

Summer Fun

 On top of Stone Mountain

 The walk down

This summer has been a busy one! When we went home and visited with Nanna and Pop, we hung out at Stone Mountain Park one day. Pop thought it would be fun to ride the sky lift up and walk down. If you know me - you know the walking down was WAAAAAY more pleasurable for me. Once we were on top of the mountain, I was much better. The walk down was hot, but totally doable. Kensley and Pop explored the mountain all around and then we headed down and watched the Yogi Bear 3D show. After that, we caught the train and enjoyed the ride. Later, we watched the *NEW* 3D Laser Show and thoroughly enjoyed it. Two different families adorned Kensley with the neon bracelets!?!