Aaaaah Summer

What can I say, the kiddos and Christian have been on vacation for the past month and a half so things have felt a little bit like vacation for me around here too - late nights, lazy mornings, and relaxed responsibilities.  As a result, I have not spent much time blogging.  Another reason for the absence is that I have been using Instagram much more frequently and the blog just seems duplicative.  There are only so many cute pictures of the kiddos and brief updates about our lives that the public can tolerate, or so I imagine.  I did not (yet) make the decision to stop blogging altogether, but the kids are older and tougher to photograph, the days (and nights) are much busier now that they are older and I seem to have much less free time.  So, maybe this is just the natural progression.  I will continue to try to post periodically, just to keep track of the goings on around here for the kiddos, for posterity.

And for those of you who are wondering how the kiddos are doing and what we have been up to this summer, I can catch you up to date in just a few pictures.  While Christian was grading AP exams in Cincinnati, Luz and James spent two weeks in Atlanta at Nana and Papa-T's house.  They loved every minute of their time in ATL and spent it swimming, hanging out with their cousins and learning Tai Kwon Do.  And me? Oh, I worked (and enjoyed having the house all to myself, no cleaning/cooking/laundry/etc).   With the exception of another brief trip to ATL for 4th of July, the rest of the summer has been filled with softball and summer camps.  The softball season ended (finally) last Saturday and Lu was selected to represent her team (along with 2 other kids) on the Allstars team.  I missed the warm ups but by the time I got to the game it was clear Lu's head was not in the right place and Christian said she was totally nervous and feeling completely incapable.  My heart ached for her because that is such a tough feeling but she pulled it together and her first at bat was a beautiful double (and just the confidence boost she needed to get through the game).

We have a few more trips planned (Disney cruise, Houston for Red Sox v. Astros, Pensacola) before school starts but the summer is racing by and it is hard to imagine that in a month it will be back to the crazy school-year routine around here.  

A little glimpse of summertime:

Luz, in the hole, ready to pat

It was always hot at the ballpark and James quickly learned to improvise:

Ready to swing. She is better than I ever was at softball:

Playing at the zoo with sweet baby Walker:

Last trip of the summer to the concession stand:

Allstars & 3rd place trophy:

Ready to jump in the Thibodaux pool: