August!

We had a great month and are all happy to be back to the school routine (for various reasons, depending on who you are)!  We started out the month still recovering from the trip with a couple of fun pool days with some friends, then Anna had a sleepover at Sarah's new house on Saturday the 4th.  On the 5th, Bob and I got to celebrate our 13th anniversary with a yummy dinner at the Mandolin, courtesy of Sawyer's family's generous gift card!  The girls had a fun night with babysitter Kate.  I had neighborhood book club on the 6th, and the girls had their last summer dance classes (Modern for Anna, Ballet for Erin) on the 8th.  Erin started piano on the 9th and was happy to get back into her lessons and practicing.  We had another pool playdate on the morning of the 11th, then headed to Concord that afternoon for a Dierks Bentley concert...super fun!  We also celebrated Grandma A.'s birthday!  We stopped at the Carolina Raptor Center on the way home, which was lots of fun, and Erin got to see her beloved owls. 



Anna and I went gem mining with Caitlin and her mom on Sunday the 12th at a fun place in Apex.

Anna and Laney started their joint voice lesson on Tuesday the 14th which they are enjoying so far and hopefully are not giggling too much during the lesson.  We went to the dance school open house on Wednesday the 15th, had a Bounce U outing on the 16th, and generally enjoyed our last week at home before school started.  Olivia came over to play on Saturday the 18th, and we all went to a boat show at the fairgrounds which was lots of fun for everyone.  We then met Olivia's family for a fun dinner and dessert outing that evening!  Ella's family had a week at the beach, so we got to visit with Ms. Mona each day and help take care of their plants and fish for the week.  Sunday the 19th, we had Liz and David over for a fun brunch, and that afternoon was the long-awaited back-to-school Mass and meet the teacher.  The girls had found out their teachers that past Friday and were happy with everything except for not having Sarah and Olivia in their respective classes.  So far, it has been ok and they've been able to see each other at lunch and recess. 

We got to visit Sawyer and sweet baby Dawson on Monday the 20th - they are all doing well!  Tuesday was the big first day of school.  The girls had a great day and were so happy to see friends again. 



Bob took a day trip to Washington DC for work.  Wednesday was Anna's last tennis lesson for the summer session, and I am a little sad that she's decided to pursue jazz dance instead of tennis for now.  Her first jazz class was Friday the 24th, and we were able to rearrange classes so she's in a class with Sarah, Nina, and Caroline Manning!  So far, jazz seems to be going better than modern this summer.  We had a quiet weekend that weekend, just resting and recovering from the school transition.  We had fun at the pool on Sunday with neighbor friends!

The next week was a full week of school - I had neighborhood Bunco on Tuesday and spent my days getting car stuff done, working out, doing chores, and helping at school.  I also had my first piano lesson on Thursday, which was lots of fun!  Erin thinks it is so funny that we are both taking piano lessons on Thursdays.  That Friday-Monday, we have been on cat duty for Liz and David, so the girls to a taste of how to care for cats. 

Anyway, that was about it for August!  It's been good to get back into school and are slowly approaching the long-awaited cooler days and more outside time.