Friday, August 01, 2008

Hello August!

Today is August 1, which means several important things to me...

* The Summer has gone by way too quickly, and I'm going to miss it! We had some great memories (our trips to the mountains and to Maryland, doing fun things with friends, birthdays and the water park and movies and reading and sleeping late!).

* School is only a week and a half away! The girls are actually excited, especially since they bought a whole pile of new school clothes yesterday! (We were in Goody's and Delaney told the cashier, "I'm excited about school now because of my new clothes. I love shopping!" The cashier just laughed at her and said, "Yep, that's the joy of being a girl." Loved it!) I'm a little bit stressed, as usual, though; mostly because McKenna will be a junior, which means next year she'll be a senior, which then means she'll be in college...which just means life is moving too fast!

* College football is now 29...count them, 29...days away and I am absolutely beside myself with joy over it! Summer is wonderful, but it is a dead sports time to me. Sure, I watch major league baseball (although when the Braves get all sucky on me, like they have this summer, it takes my interest out of it!), I will get hooked on occasional sports stories like the amazing Wimbledon final this year, and thank goodness this year has given me the Olympics to look forward to (although I would have been totally okay with it if they had started back in June instead!)...but really, it is all just fill-in time until football starts up again. I have read football blogs and websites all summer long, grabbing onto any shred of news I could find but now I can get ready for the REAL stuff.

But most importantly (at least, in the world that is Cheryl World)...

* August is the last month in which I will not be 40!!! I turn 40 on August 31, so I guess I've got to enjoy feeling especially young the rest of the month! I've also got a ton of things to do from my list of things I wanted to do before I turned 40, and I want to plan some sort of big birthday bash (Maybe we can have a Virtual Party here on the blog. lol)

How has your Summer gone? What will you miss? What are you looking forward to about August?

And now.... how about a few more pictures from our Maryland trip?

These are some of my favorites that featured the Beach.

The Atlantic Ocean and its shoreline is quite different from our beloved Gulf. It is beautiful in its own way (we especially love the wide beach and the big waves), but we did miss the white sand AND most of all the warm water. The water was FREEZING and I didn't get into it one time, other than walking into it up to my knees.

On the night I got there, Delaney demonstrated the "coolness" of the water for me...

But during the day, the sun was shining and the girls enjoyed the water (they actually body surfed in it a few times, although they came out numb!) and playing in the sand ...


And here are some shots one morning when it was still kinda cool, but the light on the water was just perfect...



I always take this pose, every time we go to the beach (in fact, I have a picture of one when Delaney must have been three and McKenna was just seven). This year, they didn't even whine when I told them it was time for the "traditional hand-holding picture" (I especially love the first one, because Sydney cannot go more than a minute without wanting to be swung around)...



The trip was wonderful and, as we do every time we go to the beach, we make some fabulous memories!

And now...what's on tap for the weekend?

I have had a very busy week so far, hence the lack of many new posts. I've gotten both girls registered for school, had a shopping trip, and worked on an editing/design project I'm trying to get done. This weekend, I really want to relax and enjoy some of our first Saturdays and Sundays in a very long time when there is nothing tangible on the calendar. I may wander to the bookstore to get Breaking Dawn, the new Stephanie Meyer book. And, who knows? Maybe I can get some of these photos ordered, so I can get working on some scrapbook pages and mini albums to preserve all of those memories.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and I will see you all again real soon!

27 comments:

Adrienne said...

LETS GO TO THE BOOKSTORE LOL. I "THINK" Tony will be home so I can go lol. I want to be there to get my BOOK!!!! LOL

Great pics !I've had a great summer. It was really different being home with the kids EVERYDAY but we had a good time. I loved being home and able to enjoy the summer with them!!

Jaelyn showed Delaney all her clothes today and now I think about 4 or 5 kids are in our pool! LOL

Ok, I've rambled enough...I need a NAP! LOL

Auburn Kat said...

The water in the ocean in that area is usually chilly...we always go to Delaware and it's never that warm=)

Monogram Queen said...

Enjoying the pics so much!
I can't believe y'all start school so soon, well it starts here Aug 18 so that's not too far behind you!

Anonymous said...

Great pictures again. I've never been to the Atlantic, so that information is new to me. It is pretty though.

Anonymous said...

WOW and I was worried about school starting in a month's time. We start September 4th here, which is actually early this year.

Haven't done the clothes shopping as of yet, but checked it out today. My dd is actually looking at Limited Too, which is scary as it's very expensive and she's never been into 'those' clothes before. *Insert large sigh here*

Nice pics, as usual. It's funny how very few pics I take of us at the beach since we live about 20 minutes from so many different beaches it isn't funny! The things we take for granted ... you know.

Jacquie

Anonymous said...

Shelby Co starts on THURSDAY. Holy smokes---where did the summer go? Oh I know the answer...THE BALLPARK!!!!! lol
We hit the mall last night...gotta go back today & get a few more things and get all the school supplies...good thing that yesteday was payday!!

Katrin said...

I love the last picture, it should be somewhere, blown up and in a simple black frame with a white passe-partout. Makes me wish I had sisters... :)

Travis Erwin said...

I'm ready for the college football as well but I'm a bit worried about my Huskers.

Cheryl Wray said...

Adrienne--I was going to go last night to the bookstore, but we spent too much time at the concert and then at the outlet mall. Did you go get it?

Kat--We couldn't believe how cold it was!!

Queen--We start Aug. 13. Ugh!

Gin--It is different...but pretty.

Jacquie--Sept. 4 sounds perfect!! I wish... (Yeah, when they start shopping at Limited 2 you start to worry! lol Delaney actually likes Justice better. Do you have those stores around you?)

Rhonda--We are making a trip to the Mall one day next week. We did pretty good avoiding the mall so far!! Yep, softball took up a bunch of our summer too!!

Katrin--I have already thought of that! :-) Gotta get a good frame for it.

Travis--I hope that your Huskers surprise some people.I saw that they were pretty low in the rankings. Kinda similar for my Tide...we could be really good, we could be really bad. I hope it's good!! :-)

Nina Diane said...

love the pics Cheryl! School 2 wks away??? wow....here in Va school does not start until after Labor Day. I'm like you though...can't wait for football. I'm still looking forward to next weekend in NC for our family reunion then a week at the beach starting on Sept 6th.

LZ Blogger said...

Cheryl ~ Oh darn! You had to remind me that summer is almost over... but as I look back on it from your pictures here, it looks like you made some GREAT memories! And, that it what is really important! ~ jb///

Unknown said...

I got my copy of Breaking Dawn! YAY!

I love the pictures of the girls holding hands on the beach! Especially, the one that you changed to sepia. You should blow that one up and frame it.

scrappermimi said...

Enjoy you last few days of summer...looks like you have been busy and having fun!

I went to the midnight release for breaking dawn and has so much fun with my friends.

Happy almost 40!

Anonymous said...

I've really enuoyed all of the pictures you took on vacation. Great job.

Leah said...

Lovin' all the beach pics!

Cheryl Wray said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Dawn Bibbs said...

Hey there! Long time no see/talk to.
Can you believe it's already August? Shoot, it'll be Christmas in a minute!
I'm sad that summer is almost over, as I've had a really fun time hanging out with Jayla. And I'm sad that our family didn't get to go on vacation this year...AGAIN! But I'm excited that my baby is excited about starting 1st grade. I still can't believe it...but I'm happy for her. I'm excited that I didn't have to shop for school clothes this year. She has SO MANY things to wear these first few months of school. So hopefully, she'll be alright for a while. I'm excited that I saved a little money during the Georgia Tax Free Weekend...I did have to buy supplies. And lastly, I'm excited about getting back into a routine.

I love all the pictures you took. Beaches are simply breathtaking. Thanks for sharing. And I'm glad ya'll had a good time.

Cheryl Wray said...

Nina--Yeah, we start on Aug. 13. It just seems to get earlier and earlier every year. Your beach trip sounds wonderful!

LZ--We did make some great memories. :-)

Kathy--I'm getting my copy of Breaking Dawn tomorrow. Yay!!

Mimi--I wanted to go out to the midnight realease party, but we got busy shopping somewhere else and never made it. Yep...40 is right around the corner!

Cheryl Wray said...

Anon--Thanks! I love all my pictures too. Now to scrap them!!

Leah--Thanks!

Dawn--Hey girlfriend! I have missed seeing you here as often, but I know how crazy Summer is! We actaully had tax free weekend in our area this past weekend, which was really nice. The girls have gotten some really cute clothes; I love the styles right now.

hippo chick said...

Rarely am I jealous, but the pictures of Acateague really made me envious. What a wonderful trip you had. I agree with you about the frigid Atlantic. I NEVER go into the water on Eastern beaches. I do, however, love the beach at Panama City Beach, FL. Now THAT's the kind of water I like.

I can't believe your gals are heading back to school already. Here in the northeast, we have a whole month of summer vacation yet. Of course, our kids don't get out of school until the end of June. I guess it all evens out.

I remember back to school shopping with my girls. I always loved it - maybe more then they did.

A book recommendation for you - "Keep Your Mouth Shut and Wear Beige" by Kathleen Gilles Seidel. A charming read.

I'm hoping to post tomorrow.

`Hippo Hugs~
Pam

hippo chick said...

I really do know how to spell. I just read my comment - Assateague. And I'm typing with two hands again, albeit with pain.

P.

Kelly said...

Our school starts the day after labor day. It is so late here. I am sort of sad that summer is drifting away...

Lynilu said...

Cheryl, I was having an internal argument a few days ago about seasons. I'm loving summer, and hate to think it is nearing its end. Yet I also love cool weather and look forward to being "snowed in" which never last more than a day. I guess I just like it all, as every season has it's own delights. :)

I love the "traditional hand-holding picture". My daughter and SIL do a photo calendar each year and that is the final shot on each one with the caption, "See you next year!". To have watched the kids grow each year has been a real delight. The oldest of the 3 just graduated from hi sch, and I know it will be coming to an end one day, sadly. I have all the calendars tucked away. :)

Cheryl Wray said...

Hippo--Good to see you again. I will pop by your blog in a minute and checkout your newest. We LOVED Assateague and I know you would too! It's not too far from you, I don't think? And, yes, I love doing the back-to-school shopping with the girls. They have found the cutest thing this year.

Kelly--Wow, I think that's great that you guys start school so late.

Lynilu--I just LOVE the idea of that same pose in the back of each year's calendar. What a wonderful memento of the years!

Pauline said...

I love the handholding pictures they are some of my favorites!

Anonymous said...

Wow, nice to know that August is busy for someone else too. My hubby's birthday is August 13 and my daughters is August 18. My poor hubby, he get no attention in august because bella's birthday is so close. He's a good sport though. We also registered Bella for preschool. fun, fun, fun!! I love the pictures of the family at the beach especially the 3 girls together.

And happy 4oth birthday. You look grrrreat!!

Edleen said...

Cheryl, your beach photos are just Beautiful!!!

ahh...your girls are growing up yeah. they must be excited with all the new clothes ;)

and you look great! 29 forever and ever!!! (in denial?) hehehe...

Happy August!!!