Year of Summer Comes to an End

So, obviously I have been a bad bad blogger the entire summer. But, I find myself staring my last day of summer vacation in the face, and there are a couple of noteworthy happenings to write about. (Also, it was do this or fold some laundry. Easy choice.)
I think I last left my blog around Memorial Day, and since then Addison turned one!  Although the day in and day out can feel like forever, the year really did fly by. We were lucky enough to have a great photographer at her party who was nice enough to pull out his fancy camera and take some shots.

birthday photographs courtesy of will mcdonald

Needless to say, the birthday cake was a big hit, and we had a wonderful time with friends and family.
Moving on...let's see....we hit the beach at least once or twice a week.  Mike took off from work every Friday, and we headed down to our favorite spot on 59th street early early in the morning.  Moms with toddlers know that this is absolutely the best time of day.  Once the beach is full of people it is one long chase from blanket to blanket as your little one tries to steal the exact same toys that you brought from every unwilling child on the sand. Whew...I get tired just thinking about it.

I try to tell my kids how lucky they are to be at the beach so much, but living so close they are definitely getting spoiled. I remember our family's annual drive to the beach each summer that would seemingly take hours upon hours in a hot car. One or two days were all that we ever got, and I'm pretty sure I remember being terrified to go anywhere near the water until I was seven or eight.  Quite the opposite of my six year old who would ride her boogie board across the Atlantic if I let her.
We had some fun "field trips" as well.  One day was spent at the Crayola factory in Easton, Pa where the kids made all kinds of pictures and crafts. Addison stayed true to her m.o. and ran from table to table eager to rip paper and throw crayons as far as she could.

A little pricey, and probably better for a school field trip, but we had a good time.
AND speaking of pricey, we hit up the Philadelphia Zoo last week. My goodness. Every year I get a free teacher pass, and at the end of every summer I'm disappointed that I didn't take the kids. So, this summer I broke the cardinal rule of parenting and PROMISED the kids that we would go to the Phila Zoo, and of course they held me to it.  Like I said in my facebook update, "The zoo always sounds like a great idea...and it really is...for like the first twenty minutes."  Well, maybe the first hour and a half.  It was fun to watch Noah run from place to place looking at all of the snakes and crocodiles in the reptile house. And it was fun to watch the kids getting such a kick out of the gorilla's "naked butt!" snicker snicker.  And it was nothing but fun to watch Addison squeal with delight when she saw the zebras. But, after the first hour or so, legs start to get, "so tired that they are going to fall off" (yes, really.), and little boys begin to get sooo hot that they, "neeeeed ice cream to cool off."  And, it's pretty much downhill from there.  My advice...Cape May Zoo.  A little smaller, a little more manageable, and you won't go home completely broke!

 I know we did so much more, and if I sat here long enough I could recount the trips to the boardwalk, trips out on the boat fishing and crabbing, and just general summer fun which we had a lot of.  But, this blog is getting way too long, and somehow my kids have snuck back out of bed and are cheering the Phillies on in the next room. So it seems that my Year of Summer has finally and quickly come to a close.  I'd like to think that I will keep up with this blog, but I'm guessing that I won't. It was a really good year. Yep, that's all.