So far behind, but loving every minute of it.

This summer is going by rather fast. On one hand it's a good thing, on the other it's not. I suppose that balances everything out right? Rachael had a great birthday, we didn't get rained out for her swim party this year! A few days later we went on a much needed vacation. We hadn't been on a "family" vacation since Rachael was 9 mos old and we went to Thailand.
Hannah was not present on this vacation, so I guess it doesn't fully count as a family vacation. We had wanted to schedule it so we could all go, but she was to be out of town for all of June, Byron is traveling most of July and now it seems he will be gone for August as well. School starts earlier this year and my dad is coming to visit hopefully the end of July. Crazy huh?

We ended up going to the Florida Keys. Neither Byron or myself had been there before. It turned out to be fantastic! We toured all of the Keys from top to bottom. We all agreed that Marathon was by far our favorite spot. That's a good thing since it's right in the middle. Travel a little north and your in Key Largo, travel the other way and you're in Key West.

Prior to vacation, Jack attended Scout Day camp. He went from 7 am to 5 pm. They were long days spent outside at the Agriculture Museum grounds. It was hot, but he had a blast! After vacation, Jack attended a computer camp where he learned how to make a stop action digital movie. The theme this year was Lego Harry Potter. Not only does Jack love(not really a strong enough word) Lego's, he also has become a little fascinated with Harry Potter. The movie making was a total bonus. He loved the camp.

While on vacation, Jack proved to be quite the little sea guy. He loved snorkeling and see all the sea life. When we took the kids out on a trip to one of the reefs for some snorkeling, both Byron and I were a little concerned that they would get nervous and not want to get off the boat. It was the case at first, but only because the descent down the ladder into the water was a bit on the rough side. Once they were in the water they loved it! They weren't afraid at all that in most spots the water was 15-20 feet deep. Jack kept asking for a camera to take pictures of the fish. I kept forgetting to make a trip to the local Walgreens and pick up a disposable underwater camera.

I joked with Jack that he was a budding Jacques Cousteau. Now that he has learned a bit about movie making, he has said he wants to grow up and be an ocean adventurer like Jacques. I guess he has the right name!!! Rachael still wants to be a surfer.

Byron is returning from a week in LA today. While out there, he was asked if he could spend extended periods of time in LA. Like 4-6 weeks there and 1 week back home. It will be hard for certain on all of us, but if it's not forever I think we can manage. His company will fly us out there at least once to see him, and possibly we will get a Disney trip thrown in too. That alone will make it worth it to the kids.

Well, seeing as how I should be finishing up my RS lesson for tomorrow and not blogging. I suppose I should wrap things up. Do you know how hard it is to come up with your own lesson subject? I wish we had a manual to use for lesson topics. Ugh!!!!