The Summer Wrap Up

Time has definitely gotten away from me this year, but we did have a super fun summer that I want to make sure is documented so that our kids do not look back one day and think that we sat around in the dark starring at each other in the Sumner of 2012.  It was actually full of interesting and notable things, in no particular order:

1. The Pool.  I know I actually mentioned this in a previous blog already but this definitely was the Summer of the Pool.  We spent nearly every weekend and several evenings during the week throughout the entire summer at the pool.  Not only did we have a ton of fun playing in the water and both of the kids really learned how to swim (or at least they learned how not to drown) but it was also ridiculously hot all summer long and the pool was a convenient and fun way to stay cool.  This easily could have been the most miserable summer ever - or at least it would have been the summer that we stayed in the air conditioning all day because we melted every time we stepped outside and it was way too miserable to play.  But instead it was the Summer of the Pool and we feel confident that joining the pool was the best decision (and investment) we've ever made.

2. Bike Riding.   At the end of last summer, Marty decided to teach Elise how to ride her bike without training wheels. Unfortunately, we did not have a ton of time to spend on this, and the bike she was using - one she got for her 3rd birthday - was much too small for her, which made the learning curve pretty tricky (it's not easy to learn to balance when your knees bump the handle bars).  Elise got a new, appropriate sized bike for her birthday this summer and she very quickly learned to ride it.  She has had a blast learning to ride and taking morning bike rides with her dad.  Lucas also got his first bike for his birthday this year, so he too is getting in on the bike riding action (although he is using training wheels).  I think I may have to get a bike for next summer so I am not left out of all of the fun!

3. Lucas decided he hates wearing shirts.  I am not exactly sure when it happened, and maybe it was because of the heat or all of the time at the pool, but whatever the reason, Lucas definitely decided he doesn't want to wear a shirt.  Ever.  Every time I turned around, he'd taken his shirt off, even at completely inappropriate places to be shirtless.  He just suddenly found shirts confining or something.  I was worr-*ied that this was going to be an ongoing battle (like when he decided he hated wearing socks and took them off every time we got in the car, at school, or anywhere else he felt like) but just like the sock drama, he seemed to forget how much he hated shirts by the end of the summer.  Phew.

4. Camps.  Now that Elise is officially a school aged child, this was her first summer that she was not in daycare and we discovered the inconvenience, expense and racket of Summer Camp.  We managed to hobble together a very complicated plan of various summer camps - with different pick up and drop off times that made things somewhat challenging but we were able to manage with the help of family.  Elise attended a Traditional Summer Camp, a Girls Sports Camp and Ice Skating Camp.  She enjoyed all of them but I think we'll probably just go with one and stick with it for the whole summer next year.

5. Maurice Sendak.  My kids have been semi-obsessed with author Maurice Sendak for well over a year now.  They love his books, and they love his name. When we play games, Elise's pretend name is always Makayla and Luke's pretend name is always Maurice Sendak.  Lucas also always calls his cousin Nate Maurice Sendak (and vice versa), which is the highest of compliments.  We even have a video from last summer where we were singing to Maurice Sendak and telling him why he love him so much. So we were all incredibly saddened to learn that the beloved author with the family-favorite name passed away this summer.  I doubt that there was a person who regularly hangs out with Lucas who didn't think of Lucas when they heard about Mr. Sendak's passing.  We love you Maurice Sendak!

6. Olympic Fever.  Oh, yes the Molloy family certainly caught Olympic fever this summer.  The kids loved watching a ton of various sporting events, and got very caught up in the national pride of being with Team USA (for the month of August, they chanted "USA! USA!" every time we passed an American flag. which was very, very often.)  Elise took a particular interest in the girls gymnastics - Gabby Douglas and McKayla Maroney being her new heroes.  Luke liked gymnastics a lot too, but he was the most interested in swimming and diving events.  He developed a little crush on Missy Franklin and is ready to become the next Michael Phelps.  We were incredibly sad when the Olympics came to a close, but thoroughly enjoyed it while it lasted.

7. Kids' first Wedding.  Ok, Elise has actually been to a wedding before back when he was about 10 months old (and yes, that story involves projectile vomiting during the ceremony) but this summer she attended the first wedding she'll actually remember and it was Luke's very first wedding experience (and it did not involve vomiting at all, I am happy to report!).  My cousin Alex got married in Virginia and it was the first family wedding we've had since our kids have been born.  The wedding was so much fun for us and for the kids - a moonbounce! a photobooth! tons of cousins to play with! - I am worried that any wedding they go to in the future will be a huge let down.

8. Beach Vacations/Cousin Bonding.  This deserves it's own post.  So here it is.

So, as you can see, the Molloy family had a fun and exciting summer that seemed to go by much too fast.  But the way things are going, I guess next summer will be here before we know it.