Another Summer, Another School Year

Alas, summer has come to an end. I have to say, it was one of my most enjoyable ones yet. Kicking it off, MIL made a trip up from Texas. She spent the week treating us all to dinners, shopping and, of course, her great company. The timing was perfect since her visit coincided with the Secret City Festival. This meant that we all took in a lot more of it than we would have otherwise. MIL is somewhat of a history buff, so we enjoyed sharing Oak Ridge’s history with her by watching some of Keith McDaniel’s documentaries followed by our own little town tours.

Though finances and DH’s school schedule prevented us from taking a full-fledged vacation this year, we found fun in the sun in a variety of ways. First, we made great use of our deck with a kiddie pool, lawn chairs and a grill. Then we opted for Dollywood/Splash Country season passes. Inch and I had a blast each time we went just wondering around, playing in the water and eating dippin’ dots. TR and DH only made a couple of trips each, but at last calculation, we were up $200 beyond what we’d paid for all of the passes. In between DW/SC trips, Inch and I made our way to the OR city pool. I still had left over tickets from year’s past, so a couple of bucks for some Razzleberry’s ice cream, some sunscreen and towels were all that we needed each time we went.

July 4th weekend was the only extended time off that DH had from school. We decided at the last minute to head down to Gulf Shores, AL for a mini vacation. Hadn’t been there before and didn’t really know what to expect, but we knew we weren’t up for the chaos of the hotspots in FL or the east coast. The trip worked out wonderfully. The crowds weren’t too bad (our condos were less than 25% occupied) and the weather held up nicely. Our condo was on a golf course and offered some great amenities including a pool with a mini-water park, tanning beds, full gym and game rooms. DH and TR both enjoyed all the free golf they could handle while Inch and I just hung out at the pool. We made our way down the strip a few times to enjoy some good seafood and to play in the water on their white sand beaches. Aside from some bothersome jellyfish, a good time was had by all.

TR had a pretty full summer between the mission trip, working at the Children’s Museum and putting in over 150 miles for Cross Country. But he’s excited to start his sophomore year tomorrow. He has always looked forward to the first day of school. That’s reassuring.