I give up on August. Meet me in September.

I'm post-dating this entry.
It's actually mid-September and I've been spending the past six months trying to do this blog thing all backwards, remembering things that had happened, and then posting about them.
Here's the facts:
I'm doing some great LIVING, and some awful remembering.
I love summer. 
Here are a few pictures from August.
It was great!

Hiking.

Girls Camp.

News from our missionary.

Family visitors. 

 Kimball's.

 Sunday driving.

 Visits from Enrique.

 Sister time.

Together time.

 Tomato time.

A week in Manhattan.

 Gardening.

 More Hiking.

(Sleeping Giant State Park, CT)

 Friendships.

So long summer...

you're the BEST!!

XOXO

a few things

1. These two nine-year-old boys spent the afternoon together. Watching them stroll around so busy chatting with each other that they weren't even able to focus on an activity was priceless. They talked more (and with more enthusiasm) than two long lost sisters reunited after years apart. They share the same name. They're like a two-for-one special. Entertainment at its best.

2. While those two were catching up, I finished every last piece of dirty girls camp/vacation/work laundry that has been piled up ominously in the laundry room for too long. I also painted M's bedroom floor. It looks much better, and since I estimate that it will be in the queue for new flooring for more than a month or two, I'm much happier looking at paint than at plywood.

3. We almost went to the beach today. I'm glad we didn't. We needed a day at home to just BE. And I caught THIS happening:

4. I made a big pot of beans. Simple dinners make me happy.

 5. For dessert, we hit Kimball's. Everyone else had ice cream. I had myself a big scoop of Lincoln with a cherry on top. DEE-LICIOUS!

Cocoa Beach + Friends = HAPPY!

Cocoa Beach with the Parsons makes us HAPPY!! from Jenny Hutchins Whitcomb on Vimeo.

Airboat Rides -

NOBODY regretted making air-boat rides a priority on our Florida trip.  Seeing alligators in their natural environment and experiencing this beautiful part of Florida's ecosystem was a definite highlight.

south of the border

The South Carolina border.

This is the most absurdly gaudy (cheesy, tacky) rest stop we've ever been to.  EVER.  But experiencing some South Carolina cheese and driving through Pedro's legs made our L-O-N-G drive down the east coast a little more interesting.

If you find yourself making the long drive down I-95, (just as you leave North Carolina and enter South Carolina) be sure to set aside a few moments to stretch amongst some dated and kitschy Americana tourism.  It made us laugh.

over the river and through the woods (and down the New Jersey Turnpike) to Grandmother's house we go...

 ...past miles and miles of rolling farmland

 to Palmyra, Virginia.

It was GOOD to visit.

 and GOOD to be reminded of what great parents Dub has. I often tell my kids the story of how his family was the catalyst in my decision to marry him (way back when).

 they still bring me great joy.

 It's clear that our children feel the same when we're together.

 Hooray for family!

And hooray for family selfies!

They both make me laugh.