We Are Back!

It is almost officially autumn, our favorite time of year! I am back to the blog after taking off part of the spring and the summer, which I had not initially planned on, but it was nice really enjoy our summer together!

Alex finished up pre-K, in June, which she greatly enjoyed. Alex participated in camps this summer, which she also enjoyed! During this spring we did strawberry picking together, which we all loved! We celebrated Father’s Day together! Alex, Victory, and I went to Mackinac Island with my parents, and we we had a great time together staying on the island together, even little Victory loved it! We spent some time with my parents in Michigan as well. Alex had some of her friends over for child-friendly fireworks for the Fourth of July, which she loved; and we made our annual trip to Pennsylvania to procure the fireworks, which Doug always spearheads! Alex continued her horse riding lessons, and we are changing stables, this fall, and we look forward to Alex learning even more, and possibly doing competitions! We celebrated Alex’s fifth birthday with a family birthday celebration, along with a trip to Dutch Wonderland! (Alex’s favorite ride is still the Frog Hopper!) We took our annual family vacation to Rehoboth Beach, which we loved, including Victory, who loved walking on Dewey Beach every evening! Funland was also a hit this summer with Alex! My parents came to visit us just prior to school resuming. We enjoyed time at the pool, and Alex can swim freestyle all on her own now! We enjoyed dinners out together, which included Victory! We recently enjoyed the Anne Arundel County State Fair, and Alex had a great time with a friend, and she enjoyed getting her face painted! Alex enjoyed parties and play dates with her friends throughout the summer! Victory is doing well; and she has two new vets — one in Maryland and one in Michigan, and we are so happy to have these great vets! I spent the summer finishing up my manuscript for the publisher for my book and getting everything turned into the publisher in final form, which is now being copyedited! Now, I am working on the next phase of shepherding this book out into the world next fall! This summer, Doug received a promotion and he began a new leadership position at work; and Alex is now in Kindergarten, which is difficult to believe! She loves her teacher, class, and school — we are very fortunate! A snapshot from this time away from the blog is shown below!

We look forward to apple picking this fall; our annual trip to the pumpkin patch with our beloved Victory; celebrating Victory’s birthday together with a special cake this year; a trip to Lexington, Kentucky; celebrating our 15 year wedding anniversary, and we just celebrated 19 years together this month, which is crazy how quickly the time goes by! And, of course, we look forward to Halloween, especially Alex! And, Alex and Victory already have their coordinating costumes ready!

Happy Fall!