Summer Half Gone

How is it possible for summer to go by faster than the other three seasons combined? I demand that someone get on this problem for me.....seriously, I haven't been blogging much lately. Part of it I can blame on Facebook--I talk to friends all day there and they see my updates constantly, so this blog, which began as a way to keep far-off friends and relatives apprised of our lives here, has become less necessary. One of the problems I have with blogging is that I make a mental note of events I want to write about, but then life is so busy that I don't make the time to write it down, and then new events pile up and before I know it I don't know what to write about!

So, in a nutshell, we have been really, really busy! Building the tree house, scraping wallpaper and painting the living room and dining room, swimming and seeing friends, having house guests, attending programs and events all over the place, Emma and Ben both learning to swim without any floaties, Emma learning to read, Julia going to science camp, Rachel getting a lap top with money she's earned babysitting, trying to plan lessons for all four kids come September....it's been a whirlwind. And looking ahead to August doesn't lend me much in the way of peace and quiet, either.

Favorites? Going into NYC as a family and playing all day at the Central Park Zoo and Victorian Gardens (an amusement park set up in Wollman Rink every summer now), though the trip via the LIRR was something we'll never bother with again! Adventureland, a new summer tradition. Beach days, pool days. Seeing Kelly and Collin, finally back from Okinawa after 3 years stationed there (we haven't seen David yet!) A day in Port Jefferson with Amie, Evelyn and Sadie, which began with seeing a play at Theatre 3 with 20 or so other friends. Time in the tree house. Seeing "Guys & Dolls" performed in Mattituck with Matt after a lovely and romantic dinner at the Old Mill Inn on the water. Seeing "Harry Potter 6" with the whole family, and "My Sister's Keeper" with Rachel and Amie. Greenport with Grandma Barbara, where we rode the carousel as always but then took a sail on "Glory," a lovely electric boat--and all 4 kids got to drive!

Planning....Ben and Emma's birthdays and the annual family barbecue at our house. Jenn and the kids visiting from NC. A trip to the Bronx Zoo, our first in several years. A camping trip, if we can EVER see a weather forecast with no rain in sight! The library's "Battle of the Books," where Rachel is the team captain. A trip to the Baiting Hollow Hummingbird Sanctuary. Seeing "The Wizard of Oz" at the Gateway Playhouse.

This is what I mean by a whirlwind!

--Jen