Back to School

Who knew at 23 I'd still be talking about going back to school. Don't worry, I will be continuing to do so for at least another year and a half. I am, definitely, the eternal student. While I'm dramatically bitter about going back to school and spending MORE money on MORE notebooks and MORE parking passes, I'm just going to let go of that for a few minutes to be thankful and reminiscent of the wonderful summer I had with Maylene and Jason.

We went to Knoebels. I wasn't really surprised at all that May didn't even hesitate to get on some pretty scary (to me) rides. But then again, I'm a wimp. And I used to throw up in the car on the way to amusement parks before we even got there. That really happened.


We went to the beach. Man, I wish we lived by the ocean. I'm thoroughly convinced I'd be a better person if we did. I'd be happier, at least. There's just no way you can't be when there's a constant ocean breeze telling you to chill out and relax, life's not that bad. I have the attention span of a goldfish--I need that constant reminder.

We went on picnics. What's better than eating food with the people that you love? Answer: absolutely nothing at all. Picnics are my favorite. We enjoyed some beautiful days with blue skies above us and green grass beneath our picnic blanket.

We went to the pool and had swimming lessons. Watching May improve at swimming this summer was one of the biggest highlights for me. Especially since she can already swim better than I can. The sad thing is that I'm hardly even exaggerating. I think that swimming is such an important skill to have and I'm so thankful that my mom got lessons for the girls. Being around water with small children can be pretty terrifying and stressful.

May went to the movie theater for her 1st (and 2nd and 3rd) time! Her favorite out of Monsters University, Despicable Me 2 and Planes was Despicable Me 2, quite fitting! And now she's obsessed with minions. We all loved Monsters University, though. Planes.. not so much. It was no Cars.

One of the best things that I did this summer was becoming a Pinterest addict. First of all, it gave me something to sit and stare at/scroll through while I was at work every week. And more importantly, it gave us SO many great recipes and crafts to try. Some failed miserably and some tasted absolutely gross. The Calming Jar worked for two days, by the way. But we also found lots of really tasty and fun things that we'll be making again and again.

Now that I'm getting (even more) depressed about summer being over, I will share what I saved for last. My Grandma Howey always said, "best for last!" But that was more fitting back when I was the youngest child.

Anyway. Our top ten favorite ice cream/froyo joints this summer:
1. Bruster's (Sunset would have been first had it been open, but Bruster's is a very close second)
2. Cups and Cones in OBX
3.Eder's
4.Sweet Frog
5. Ben and Jerry's snuggled up on our couch
6. The Old Mill at Knoebels
7. Sky High
8. Dairy Queen
9. Swirly's
10. Burger King.. they were 50 cents!