Magical Weekend

Our sweet Maggie was in a play last weekend! It was Aladdin Jr. and there were 3 performances, 2 on Saturday and 1 on Sunday. The play was a culmination of a two week camp that was ALL DAY EVERY DAY. But Maggie LOVED every minute of it. And it showed! The play was adorable and she really did shine! Now she plans on auditioning for another play this fall. Who know we might have an actress in the family. She definitely has a flare for drama! She has been singing all the songs from the play and doing the dances too! IT was a wonderful end of summer event for the whole family!

She has left the nest!

We moved our oldest daughter, Kate, into her college dorm yesterday! It was exciting and a little sad (for the family left behind). Her sisters were definitely a little sad after saying goodbye. I was too, of course, but also excited about her new chapter she is beginning!! The move in went very well. Her room is adorable and the roommates and suitemates all seem to be great girls. We had to stage the move in into 2 waves because Maggie is in a play this weekend and had dress rehearsal and couldn't leave until 3:30pm. Harper, Kate and Lilly left about noon and had everything moved in, unpacked and sorted by the time I got there! Yipee for me so all I had to do was "fluff" the room a bit. We went to dinner with the roommate, her parents and the 2 suitemates and their parents. That was really fun! Everyone got to know each other and we all seemed to have a lot in common! After a 5 minute walk back to the girls' dorm and some picture taking we left. I kept wanting to call or text my girl and find out what was going on but I didn't. It is almost noon the following day I haven't heard from her yet. . . I miss my baby already!!

Camping with Maggie

We found ourselves with 2 big sisters gone and 1 Maggie who was dying to go camping. This had been a goal of hers last summer and we never could go. SO... on a Tuesday at 4 we left the city in search of cooler temperatures and a fun overnight camping adventure. We traveled only 40 minutes away to Hanging Rock State Park. There we found campsite #32 and pitched the tent. Already Maggie was claiming this to be the "best camping trip EVER". Off to a good start, we then decide to go hiking up to Hanging Rock. It was about 1.3 miles one way, up hill and should take about 40 minutes. The hike was nice but HOT!!! Even at 6:30 pm! It got quite a bit steeper as we neared the summit but was a fun outing. The dogs were exhausted at the top and we were all sweaty! But the view was AMAZING!! We hung out for a while then headed back down and to the campsite. Maggie got to experience a pay phone for the first time since there was no cell service here. We cooked a yummy steak dinner with hobo packets of beer soaked potatoes, carrots, fire toasted bread and brie and ended with s'mores, of course! We were in the tent by 11 and asleep by 12. Then up by 6 am! We then started the fire and began making breakfast. Eggs, hashbrowns, bacon and toast. Packed up camp by 8 and went on a short hike to the waterfalls. It was a great, quick camping trip. Maggie said it was "epic"!

Graduation

I cannot believe it has been one month since my Katie graduated from high school. Life was so crazy then and I could not find the time to blog. But the good news is that graduation was a really nice ceremony, Katie enjoyed it and the family dinner beforehand was delicious and fun! After the ceremony, Katie then went to an after party from 11-3 am! Yikes! glad I did not have to wait up for her. But she did wake me up to tell me all about it at 1 am and again when she got home at 3:30 am. So glad she had a blast with her friends. They went to the beach the next day and she has been busy ever since!!! Looks like we will move her into her dorm on August 19th, and she returns from camp on August 18th! She really is leaving home and it feels like she already has. I feel that she is ready and will make the transition to college easily. Katie (who will be going by Kate, now) is very excited about college life and can't wait to get there. Good luck sweet girl!!

Anna Maria Island, Florida

The drive was LONG ( and I got a speeding ticket on the way down) but once we got there it was beautiful. The Gulf was a gorgeous light blue and nice and cool! The weather was lovely too. Hot, sunny with only one day of rain. We enjoyed our family, sleeping late, running together daily, and a fun forth of July. Unfortunately, Katie had to fly home early to be at work at camp. The rest of us drove home on Saturday (again long and Harper got a speeding ticket this time). It might be cheaper for us to fly!

Yummy Breakfast Times Three

Harper and I have been watching Treme - the HBO series that is about post-Katrina New Orleans. We got a hankering for some Cafe Du Monde coffee and beignets. So on Sunday we made coffee and beignets! Maggie at first said that she did not "eat" beignets but quickly changed her mind after the first bite. She ate SIX! It was a delicious breakfast after a 5 mile trail run! I made them again on Monday for Lilly's birthday breakfast and again on Tuesday. We will now take a break, for at least a few months, before indulging in this high fat, but oh, so sweet french delicacy.

Lilly's Birthday!

Happy 15th Birthday to my sweet Lilly! It was day of sleeping late, going to the DMV to get a learner's permit and a family lunch so the birthday girl could hang with friends that night. All plans started off pretty well until we got to the DMV. We only allowed about 45 minutes to get the permit before meeting everyone for lunch. There was a massive line that just continued to grow so we stayed. We ended up waiting for one and half hours but she PASSED!!!!! We ended up meeting everyone at 1:40 (instead of 12:30) at Sticks and Stones. It was a good lunch but a little rushed since everyone else had eaten. Anyway, Lilly drove Maggie and I around the neighborhood after lunch and before her friends came over. I think she will be an excellent driver, but right now she is a little reluctant to leave the neighborhood. Lilly went to dinner at Tex and Shirley's and then for ice cream at Ben and Jerry's. I think she had a good birthday!