Summer Wrap-Up

I've been attempting to write this post for about a month now, but every time I sit down to write it, I am interrupted or I just can't consolidate all of the fun we had this summer into a short enouch blog-length worthy of publishing. So, here it is. I'm determined to hit "publish post" before Anders wakes up this morning.

Drumroll please.

Highlights of this summer (and there were many, many, many!)

*Running a camp at school in June for 30+ elementary age kids and working with some great teachers & counselors. Joel & Anders got to spend a week at home together.

*Joel was able to take a 2 week intensive class in Advanced Poetry writing. It was a crazy time to take it with camp going on and the amount of work he was already doing on his master's capstone project, but it was well worth the time, effort & money.

*In June, I spent a few days in Wisconsin with my family, while Joel spent a few days in Nebraska with his best bud from growing up. They were able to relive their bachelor days by grilling, playing golf and just relaxing. He drove to NE and then up to Wisconsin to spend a few days with my family, too!

*A few of the highlights from the trip are:
-Celebrating mom & dad's 40th wedding anniversary--all of the adults went out to a nice
German restaurant in downtown Milwaukee for dinner while my Aunt Connie stayed home
with the 3 kids.
-Watching Anders try to keep with his 2 cousins, Faith & Avery. He wasn't really sure what to
make of these crazy girls. But it sure was fun watching them all interact. The girls were so
kind and helpful with Anders, it was very sweet to watch.
-Spending an afternoon at a beautiful park picnicking, riding paddle boats & enjoying the
unusual cool weather.
-Taking family pictures...it was an adventure, but lots of fun, too.

*This spring my parents offered to watch Anders for 24 hours while we were there, so we didn't even think twice abotu saying yes. Joel & I left on Sunday afternoon and spent the afternoon in Madison. We had a great time, sans Anders, eating at an outdoor cafe, window shopping and just enjoying a quiet evening together. We stayed in a hotel overlooking the capital building and enjoyed every minute of our quiet morning before meeting up with family the next afternoon.

*We spent the next three days in the Wisconsin Dells (the Las Vegas of water parks as our neighbor likes to call it).


*After leaving the Dells, we drove to Grundy Center, Iowa, where my Aunt & Uncle live (and where my dad spent most of his childhood). It is a great small town and they were in the midst of celebrating their annual "Felix Grundy Days", including a Kiddie Parade themed "You're a Star". Anders won a $5 prize for best "float". How cute is that? He was even featured in their town newspaper! We had a great time visiting with family--including 2 of my 3 cousins from that family! We missed you, Anne!

*Jacobson visit in July--we had a great time spending a few days with the Jacobson family including a picnic lunch and "hike" around Echo Lake. Haiku joined in on the fun.






*Taking a number of trips to the zoo with friends & Grandma J.


*Watching countless movies together...here are a few of our favorites:
The Soloist
August Rush
New in Town
Breach
Stardust
Marley & Me
21
Slumdog Millionaire
Traitor

*Playing lots of Battleship & Yahtzee on our Wii

*Taking walks with Haiku down to the park...Haiku loves playing fetch and Anders enjoys swinging in the swings and sliding down the slides. A bath is always required after a visit to the park.

*Going swimming. Anders loves the pool! We've enrolled him in swim lessons for this fall.

*Spending lots & lots & lots of time with friends.

*Our most exciting event of the summer was probably Joel's graduation the University of Denver with his Master's Degree in Creative Writing! It has been a long 2.5 years as he's worked on this project, but I know he feels a great sense of accomplishment and I am very proud of him for all of his hard work!

Thanks for reading. It was fun writing. (And Anders is just starting to wake up for the day)