Goodbye Summer

I love the changing of seasons. It's always a little bittersweet to say goodbye to summer, but I have really been enjoying our new schedule and routine. Before I start blogging about our fun fall activities, I need to catch up and post a review of our August adventures. The last few weeks of summer were HOT and we packed in a bunch of fun family events, most of which involved being in or near the water. Here's the recap...

Days at the beach...

Downtown running through the fountains...

Vacation at Silver Lake...

Day at the zoo with the VanHekken boys

(Carson, Sam, Jackson & Jacob)

Farewell Summer!

Hello Fall...

Sam's 1st Day of 1st Grade

First grade is off to a great start! Yesterday was Sam's first day and he wasn't too excited (due to missing out on play time with his neighborhood friends). He seemed pretty anxious at the bus stop and then when no one sat with him on the bus, I thought my heart was going to break. However, I got my "Sam fix" once I arrived at school at noon. His locker is directly across from my classroom door, so when I heard the 1st graders getting ready for lunch, I peeked out into the hallway and he ran up and gave me a big hug! I could tell he was more comfortable and having a great day. Today after school as we drove home, he admitted that he was a little nervous about 1st grade because he thought the work was going to be a lot harder and he was afraid that some kids might be mean. He seems to love his teacher already and said she made him feel better because she read a book called "First Day Jitters". He said, "Mom, jitters are when you have butterflies in your stomach. So if you want, you can use the word "jitters" from now on because it means the same thing as having butterflies." Okay, thanks Sam. :)

Sam & his buddy Asher

Bye Mom!

Brothers

Beckham Family Pics

We finally got our family pictures taken! I've been wanting to do it for a long time, but I hate getting my picture taken and the thought of picking out outfits for the whole family and getting everyone ready and out the door still smiling makes me really anxious. Well, I finally set the date and everything went off without a hitch! We had a great time with Amanda Potts, our photographer, and she had creative ideas for backgrounds and locations. Carter was his usual wiggly self so getting a good shot with him actually looking at the camera AND smiling was nearly impossible, but here's a few of my favorites.

(Probably more pics to come because Amanda's still editing!)

Millennium Park Fun

Thursday the boys and I ventured to Grand Rapids to Millennium Park to meet Cory and Bruins (Tonia) and all their girls. What a riot! The place was beautiful and had a HUGE splash pad and a beach and swimming lake. The boys had a blast and especially loved the splash pad. I enjoyed just sitting in the sun with my chicas while watching the kids run themselves silly. Good times!