last days of summer

Our last couple weeks of summer were spent soaking up as much pool times as we could and knocking off as many things as possible from our Summer Fun list.  As much as I LOVE a routine and love for my house to have the occasional quiet moment, I was yet again not ready for summer to end.  Summer just seems to go faster and faster each year as our days become less about being in the trenches of that exhaustive early parenting and more about exhaustion that comes from enjoying and spending time in play and setting examples for our boys.

On the very last day of summer I let them each pick one special activity to do.  This year Connor chose to go to Game Time, Micah chose to eat Sushi for lunch, and we somehow convinced Logan to choose making a homemade slip and slide.  While the third thing on the list went nowhere close to how I envisioned it going, we had a great last day of summer and said a fond farewell until next year.

 

moooooooo

Even though technically this year Chick Fil A did not require anyone to be in costume to be given their free entree, it never hurts to add a little fun into the experience.  With our cow hats in place we had a nice and cheap meal one summer night eating more chiken.

jekyll island: tidelands nature center and sharktooth island

Zach bought us new kayaks for our anniversary and really wanted to use them at the beach so he packed them on top of the van.  At the last minute he also threw in the boys' fishing poles.  All this means that because we had both things our boys assumed we were going to use them.  

We spent an afternoon at Tidelands Nare Center to do just that and ya'll it was HOT.  Like no breeze, no clouds, just straight July sun streaming down on you HOT!  Logan and I were in a kayak together.  Zach and Connor were in another and Micah was on his own.  As long as I was paddling we were good because we made our own breeze.  Poor Logan, who battled a fever the whole trip, was DONE after about 30 minutes.  He and I rowed back to shore leaving Zach, Micah and Connor fishing.

 Another part of the Tidelands Nature Center was animal exhibits in the blessed air conditioning!  Logi and I spent our waiting time checking out alligators, blow fish, sea turtles, hermit crabs and lots of turtles as well as sitting in the cool building and drinking lots of water!

After our kayaking and fishing adventure Logan announced that he did not want to be outside anymore that day.  That was fine with me because while he rested in the dark hotel room watching a movie I laid on my bed with a cup of tea and my book.  Sweet vacation!

In the meantime Zach, Micah and Connor drove back to the Nature Center and rode their bikes on a trail to Sharktooth Island where they spent an hour or so searching for shells and shark teeth.  They came back with some cool shells and a piece of petrified wood.  Very cool!

jekyll island: driftwood beach

Driftwood Beach was a beautiful place to play.  We got there after dinner right as the sun was starting to set.  It was the best natural playground.  The boys spent the whole time climbing one driftwood tree after another and stopping to spot sand crabs on the way.  

jekyll island: bike trails

There were many things to love about Jekyll, but one of my favorites were the bike trails that took you all over the island.  We rode through the marsh, next to the beach, and into the oldest part of the island where there are tons of gorgeous huge old homes and the Jekyll Island Club Hotel.  

It was HOT!  We took a pre dinner ice cream break halfway through the trip.  It definitely energized us for the homestretch!