Track Out

The children have been tracked out for almost 3 weeks. Monday they head back to school. Sometimes I wish we were home schooling again. Less homework, less hurry up and finish this project, less hassle; then I remember how much work for me it is. Between trying to get this real estate business up and rolling and just keeping up with sports I wonder where I would fit another thing in.

Matthew teaches seminary and has so little personal time I could not ask another thing of him. I am just glad we get the chance to be with our children as much as we do. I get a bit melancholy at times when I think about Cameron and Ashton heading back to school. I love being with them and just staying up late, watching a show, snuggling them until they fall asleep in my lap. I know those days are numbered. However, when they have one of those days where they argue and fight, I think, "Monday can't come soon enough." Once Monday does get here I will be wishing they were at home to fuss with each other. I guess it is human nature to want what we don't have.

Fall is right around the corner and the weather is promising to give us a break on the heat. It can't come soon enough. I can truly say I am finished with summer. During this track out we did take a beach trip and loved every minute of it. The weather was warm, the tourist season had ended and the beach was relatively empty. We could not have asked for anything more. We split the rental of a house with another family and enjoyed the sand, sun and water. Even Matthew had the chance to enjoy the beach a bit.

We did not get tons of photos but, we did pick a great time to snap some shots. It was so nice to see the children enjoy each other and be outside so much of the day.

In addition to our trip we visited Alan and Tori in Fayetteville right before Alan shipped out to Afghanastan for a year. We were able to see Danny, Alan's brother and enjoy a cookout with Nancy and Graham. The bonus of having Alan stationed back in NC is that we have seen Graham and Nancy several times in the past few months. The biggest bonus is having Tori stationed in NC also. She is such a joy to have in the family and is such a wonderful person. The children are in love with her and we can't help but notice a similarity to Olea in the way they talk.The cookout was a blast in so many ways. After all, who doesn't like fireworks? Although Alan is out of the country we do get to enjoy Tori. We pray everyday that he is safe and the time for them passes quickly.

For now we wind down our week, prepare for general conference; or as the kids say, "pajama conference" and get ready for Monday.