The Wind Down

Well, Summer is winding down now, and it is almost time for school again. (YEAH!!!)School for us starts on September 2nd, later than usual, so we still have a couple of weeks of summer.I can't believe it is already the middle of August, where does the time go so quickly?
July and August have been very busy months, we have had a lot of activities to occupy our summer days.
In July we went on a big bike ride on some abandoned turnpike roads here. They turnpike is our toll road that runs through the state, they have rebuilt parts of it and abandoned the old roads, so in the middle of nowhere we took our bikes and went on a long ride. the roads are complete with pitch black tunnels and everything. We went with a group of friends and had the baby in the bike carrier (Jackson's first bike ride). Mackenzie and I rode almost 10 miles and then stopped to feed the baby, everyone else went about 16 or 17. It was a fun experience. We rode through the dark tunnel, where I got a flat tire and at the other end the kids and most of the adults explored above the tunnel where they kept storage and did maintenance. It was a great ride.
We also had our local fair here in July. Mackenzie participated in the Girl Scout booth twice. John and I each took our turn helping. It was fun helping the girls selling food and milkshakes. Kenzie also entered cookies into the fair, she didn't win anything, but we did it at the last minute, and it was fun.The kids and I went back to the fair on Kiddy fun day to ride all of the rides. It was the hottest day, and very humid, John was at work so I took all three kids, and Jackson and I watched while the other two rode the rides with their friends, JT rode the Hurricane 3 times in a row and then didn't feel good, so while we were waiting for Kenzie to finish her last ride he promptly threw up. He had a fairly empty stomach, so it wasn't that bad. Now he can say that he rode the rides until he got sick. Jackson has a few cow toys, so we took him over to see the cows at the fair and a big cow mooed right in his face and scared him, he didn't like them very much after that, I think he didn't like the noises he was hearing from them and the goats. He cried all the way through the exhibit.
The kids have been attending the build and grow workshops at the new Lowes that opened here. They have really enjoyed making the little projects. They get to use their own hammers and build things themselves. Our favorite is the dune buggy, and the planter boxes that they planted seeds in.
Mackenzie just had her 11Th birthday.(I know I'm getting old) She had a sleepover with a bunch of 11 year old girls. They made their own pizza and then decorated their own cupcakes for dessert. They are quite the little chef's. They didn't get much sleep though, I think one girl fell asleep at around 3a.m. and the rest around 5a.m., but Natasha stayed up all night. John was out of town for a Market America convention, so I got to deal with the girls all by myself. But they were really good.
We Just had our 14th wedding anniversary, can you believe it has been that long already. It goes by fast.
Jackson is getting so big now. He is over 18lbs. He is now 5 months old. He is rolling over and trying very hard to sit up all of the time. He doesn't like to lay down on your lap, he wants to get up and go. I think that once he figures out how to move we will all be in trouble. He has 2 teeth on the bottom front, and he is eating cereal and veggies, he loves sweet potatoes and carrots, and he was chewing on a tomato the other day. He loves to sing along with They Might Be Giants, and he is very vocal. He sits in his walker now and plays with the toys.(He can't walk it yet)He has become very interactive with everything, and it is really fun to watch him with the other kids. They fight over who gets to hold him,and they still kiss him too much. Jackson loves to give wet sloppy kisses and snuggles.
Well I hope all of you enjoy the rest of your summer, it is quickly dwindling away. We are going to be busy until school starts I'm sure. We will have a lot to tell you next time.