Squeezing in the Last Drops of Summer!

Slurpee on the way home from the pool?  Yes please!  She could not have been happier to get this little treat.  

Carson had an end of summer sleepover at Elliott's house...his brother Ian got to tag along and they even let them sleep in a tent! 

Last weekend before school starts means we are off to Millenium Park with Grandma and Grandpa!  I'm pretty sure we did the same thing last year and the year before. 

Carson was helping Evie "swim".

Carson and Grandpa rented a paddle boat. 

Summer was oh so busy, oh so fun, and way too short.  It felt so short this year!  I was sick to my stomach about the kids going back to school.  But they both have had 2 great weeks with new teachers and new classmates and I guess we will survive another winter. 

First day bus stop with Carson, Ian, Elliott, and Laney!

The kids had 4 days of school and then a 4 day weekend.  We didn't waste any of their time off for resting, no way!  Friday we took Carson and Laney to MSU's first football game.  We had a great time tailgating with Kevin, Becky, and Kayla, Josh, Jen, Jack, Will, and Leah, and some other friends too! 

Laney was super into the game this year.  She loved chanting all the cheers, watching the cheerleaders, and Sparty!  She had lots of questions she was really trying to figure out if the Spartans were going to win or not. They gave us a little scare at the end but we got the W!

Carson took it all in as well.  He wasn't as into the cheers but he was really paying attention, had lots of questions, and was determined to stay until the end of the late night game.  We made him leave half way through the 4th quarter just so we could get a jump start on traffic.  He wasn't happy about that but he had fun anyways.  Worst parents ever you know.  

We carried the kids in late night around 11:30 and then the next morning threw on our swimsuits and headed out to Uncle Tom and Aunt Dawn's for the day! 

The kids loved playing with their second cousins Olivia, Owen, and Ian.  They just kept swimming back and forth across from the dock to the slide and back. 

Evie loves to swim but she likes to be able to touch when she wants to so she hung out on the beach and just went in as far as she wanted. There's something for everybody at Uncle Tom's!

Laney spent over an hour just fishing by herself off the dock.  She'd catch a small fish, unhook it, throw it back, and go at it again.  All of a sudden we heard, "Whoa, Whoa, Whoa!" from Laney.  We all went running to see her big catch!  A bass!  Uncle Tom helped her take the fish off the hook and then she grabbed it and ran up to the cottage with the fish tight in her hands as fast as she could to show her Great Grandpa Schultz.  He really liked seeing her with that fish :-)  

Evie spent a lot of time jumping on the stepping stones.  The other kids thought it looked fun and made a game out of it.  We always leave with happy, exhausted kids.  Thanks again for having us Aunt Dawn and Uncle Tom!  We love hanging with you at the lake! 

That night the kids fell asleep on the way home from the lake.  The older two woke up, took a bath, and went to bed.  But Evie was up and ready to party after her nap.  She stayed up watching football with us until about 11 pm until she finally gave in and snuggled up on Grandma.  I will say Carson and Laney slept in until 9 and Evie until 10am the next morning!

Good thing they slept in so they could be in good moods for our visitors on Sunday!  The Brang, Stalder, Mazloom clam all came to hang out for the day!

The ice cream truck can't get past our house without Laney hearing it. 

Lexi got lots of extra love from Eliana :-) 

And last, Monday we spent the day with Uncle Adam, Auntie, and Maeve at Grandma and Grandpa's house!  Whew, it was a fun-filled weekend that's for sure!  Monday night Carson called Patrick up to this room after we had put him to bed and he asked him when we could have our whole family over again.  He just loved having everyone over to our house.  We all did!

Stopped on our run to watch the train engine hook up to all the train cars.  Everson was excited to watch the train up close but she is still terrified every day when she hears that whistle at home.  This is a stage I won't miss :-) 

And just like that school is back in session and summer is over.  Bring on Fall I guess!