Saying Farewell to Another Summer

Wow, it is hard to believe another summer has come and gone. Last summer Mr X was not even able to crawl yet and this summer I can barely keep up with him! For as busy as we have been this summer, it has certainly been a very fun one for all of us. It has been a little while since my last update so I’ll give a recap of what we’ve been up to since May.

At the end of May we spent some time with family in North Carolina. The kids had fun hiking in the Smokies, talking to park rangers and visiting the exhibits.

Continuing on in the alphabet, Isa’s letter T projects involved decorating the capital letter with ‘treasure’ and the lowercase letter with toothpicks.

Isa’s letter U activities involved making pictures of an umbrella in the rain for the capital letter and a unicorn for the lowercase letter.

Another fun project she did was make a caterpillar from an egg carton.

For the letter V she got to do some more painting. For the capital letter she painted a flowers in a letter V "vase" and for the lowercase letter she painted an erupting volcano.

Isa glued wood sticks to a white letter W.

She painted an “X-ray” of her hand for the letter X.

For the letter Y she glued yellow beads and string to a yellow Y.

And finally for the letter Z she painted her version of “zebra stripes” onto the letter.

In early June we attended our first Catholic homeschool graduation. Isa received her first diploma for completing her first year of preschool. Not only did the kids have a wonderful time, but the experience, connections and advice that us parents received was invaluable. The kids made sure they made the experience particularly memorable with their behavior during mom’s speech about Isa’s first year. But hey, they certainly made some memories that we can now laugh about.

In mid-June Isa completed the first part of the summer reading program hosted by our local library. She received a certificate and reading medal.

She also won some other prizes including tickets to the Children’s Museum and South Carolina Aquarium for completing the summer reading program by reading a total of 30 hours this summer. Her favorite prizes of the lot? Her reading medal and the coupon for free McDonalds fries.


One of her summer library projects involved an ocean scene after listening to multiple ocean stories. Mom helped both kids make their own ocean scene. Mr X needed a lot more assistance of course.

Isa's on top, Mr X's on bottom

Another one of her summer library projects involved decorating a “Shield of Friendship”. Mom was particularly thrilled when she traced all the letters on the shield by herself for the first time ever.

And our last summer library project involved making sheep counters. Both kids got in on the action with this one and decorated their own sheep counters.

The kids got a lot more pool time in this summer, not just at home but at Mima’s and Nana’s houses as well. They also enjoyed the sprinkler in the backyard.

In early July we spent some time with the grandparents in Orlando. While down in Florida we visited Dudley Farm near Gainesville. The kids enjoyed seeing the various farm animals and Isa even got to feed the chickens.

Feeding the chickens

Also while in central Florida we went on the Merritt Island Black Point Wildlife Drive. There was a short walking trail part way through the drive which the kids enjoyed stretching their legs on.

In the latter part of July, mom and the kids spent some time in Jacksonville visiting family. The kids had plenty of fun playing with their cousins. While in Jacksonville, Mr X got his first haircut and he did so very well for his first time.

Mr X getting his first haircut.

Driving through Publix sporting his new haircut.

Now that summer is coming to an end we are gearing up for our second year of preschool. We have also enrolled little Miss Isa in her very first tap and ballet dance class which starts in just a few weeks. Mom has also joined a local moms group which means we’ll be getting together for lots more playdates and outings with other moms and similar age kids this year. We’re definitely looking forward to another fun filled and busy school year!


And in closing, I leave you with a few candids.