end of summer.

The last two weeks of summer slipped happily by, as we soaked up lazy mornings in pj’s, reading whatever we wanted, and spending time with friends and family.

Gabe has been begging Judah and Dad to play Risk with him all summer. If you’ve never played before … Risk is a big commitment. So Uncle Eddie and Nate had him over one Saturday afternoon to play Risk and Mario Kart, and he was a very happy boy.

After we returned from our road trip, David’s priority was to sell our last two rental houses, with the help of our fantastic realtor. One of them needed a good bit of work, so he headed over there each day to patch and paint, fix up the bathroom, and replace light fixtures. His dad and Amie helped, and the three of them put in some long, exhausting hours. We’ll be so thankful to not be landlords anymore!

We had a planning meeting for a new year of our cottage school, Classical Village. It was fun to see my friends again and, while our kids played together, we got ourselves organized for classes to begin.

Noah learned to make fried eggs this summer, and eagerly offers to make lunch for anyone who’s interested.

A highlight of my summer is that Gabe became a bookworm! I always knew he could do it! This is thanks largely to his cousin Oliver recommending a few series that he has been loving. It makes me so happy to see him sprawled across his bed or the sofa, reading away.

Of course we headed back to the river. I tell David — often — “I’m just worried about our kids and the snakes.” To which he responds, “And this is coming from the girl who grew up in Orlando, swimming in lakes with alligators and at New Smyrna Beach, swimming in the ocean at the Shark Capital of the World!” Point taken.

We celebrated my friend Beth’s birthday with girl time at Indah.

And on Wednesday morning, we loaded up our backpacks for Classical Village orientation. We have seven new students joining us this year, and are excited to be expanding. The kids current grades are: Noah (3rd), Gabe (4th), Amie (6th), and Judah (8th).

Amie made back-to-school Rocky Road brownies, and a few days later Judah made his famous chocolate chip cookies. Whenever the kids complain about running, David says, “As long as we have multiple bakers in the house, we will keep running.” Good plan!

This past week we also spent a golden afternoon at a friends’ dock at Lake Murray with our nephews. The kids swam and kayaked and played King of the Dock with David for hours. I floated on a pool noodle and read my book in the sun and felt that life was pretty much perfect. The lake never fails to do that.

Noah’s Grandpa calls him a “One man Discovery Channel.” His newest friend? A praying mantis that he keeps on the porch and feeds crickets.

And finally, speaking of my love for the lake, I got a bonus lake day yesterday with some ladies from church. It was lovely.

There was a collective groan in our house last week as summer wound to a close.

But then we went to orientation and started a couple of school subjects together at home Thursday and Friday, just to ease back in. And all of a sudden, it felt really good.

This was a magical summer. But now is the exact right time for it to end, and the right time for normal life to resume.