End of Summer Blues

Our last month of summer has predictably flown by.  We've done a little of this and that.

Gray got an introduction to band with a week of camp at school.  He loved it and was able to play some songs by the end, though I can't say those first few days of practice were music to anyone's ears.  :) 

 Julia started a new dance class.  She did not want me to watch, but I did anyway and Allie sure enjoyed bebopping to some Taylor Swift.  This is not your classical ballet class.  She loves it and we're happy to get her moving.

 We did a little back to school tutoring with Kids' Night Out.  Allie was thrilled to finally get to experience her own "camp" after just transporting her siblings all summer.  She was anxious for me to hurry and "drop her off" the moment we arrived.

 We started the kids painting a section of the loft this month.  They all approached it very differently and have enjoyed it for the most part.  Hoping to finish this week.

 There was some playing around the house too.  Allie loves having her siblings around.  I went to the grocery store for a couple things and came back to the older 3 having built her her own house from magnatiles.

 Matt got to go away with friends for a few days and we were starting to get stir crazy at home.  Thankfully we had a party to go to and enjoyed catching up with our adoption friends and seeing how everyone has grown.

 It's never the wrong time to wear a Christmas vest.  Never. 

 We had some check ups.  Allie was not feeling this part.  She just stared and would not react to the beeps.  I think the room reminded her too much of all her blood draws.  She perked right up in the exam room and chattered away, laughing with her pediatrician about any and everything.  I could barely get a word in.  While the doctor went over with Julia the correct way to wipe after using the bathroom, Allie commented, "That disgusting."  And she thought it was hilarious to sit there without clothes on.

 Matt and I just got back from our anniversary beach trip.  Gray got to do lots of fun things with my parents while we were gone and the others had their own fun with Matt's parents.  Joshua particularly enjoyed a rec center camp that took him all over the place for skating, water slides, go carts, movies, etc.

We did not get many pictures at Emerald Isle and it took several takes to get this one right with our hands showing 15 and not 51 years of marriage.  :)  We had the best time reading books on the beach, biking around, going to play putt putt and to the movies, going out to dinner, and hanging out at the beach house.  So relaxing and wonderful to just be us for a few days.  I had forgotten what that was like.  And while I missed the kids, coming back home to everyone and all our responsibilities has been a bit of a transition!  My preschool job is starting back up again and we're busy getting the kids ready to start school next week.  Like it or not, summer is done and here comes a new school year!

Pre-beach Weekend

We had a fun couple of days leading up to our beach trip.  First, we had KNO middle and high school kids over for a game night...ping pong, air hockey, corn hole, and cupcake decorating.  It was a sweet group and we had a great time.

 Next, I got to go out with friends to celebrate a birthday with a fun cooking class.  The food was great and company was even better.

 Saturday we spent hanging out with Jeannie and fam and getting ready for the big beach trip.

Julia made her much-anticipated beach/Jeannie birthday cake.  Jeannie helped decorate.

Sunday we all headed to church to celebrate Allie's baptism.  The service was so good-- wonderful and meaningful sermon and sweet time shared together with our family and small church family.  We came back home for lunch, cake, and belated birthday gifts for Allie.  We had saved her cake from the weekend before and when we brought it out she wanted to be sung to again.  I told her to call everyone over and she shouted, "Eh-body!  Sing it!"  She loved her special baptism day.  She can't yet understand it (though she did say once that Jesus was going to put water on her), but we look forward to the day when this demonstration of God's promises and love becomes foundational and personal to her.

 She loved this dress that Mama made for her.  

Roper Family Beach Trip 2018

 We just got back from Emerald Isle today.  A week ago, my parents and the Moores joined us for Allie's baptism (more on that later) and then we all headed down to Matt's parents' beach house for the week, with the Leightons joining us a few days later.  I was slightly apprehensive about this trip at the start...I mean, 18 people (10 of which are kids) in one house with a weather forecast of storms all week-- what could go wrong?

 Well we did have a few bumps--we did have a couple kids with colds, some of the group had trouble sleeping at times (Matt L slept in his car one night!), there were occasional sibling arguing, and once we got caught on the beach in a full out storm and had to run the couple blocks home in the rain, thunder, and lightning with all the kids and gear.  But overall, it was just the best trip and I'm so glad everyone made the effort to be there!

It was our first vacation with my whole family since Gray was 2.  We all see each other several times a year for special occasions, but we are usually only all in the same place at the same time for a few hours.

 Our beach days were interesting.  As previously mentioned, the forecast was rain/storms every day so we had to take what we could get when we could get it.  Often we'd only be out a short time here and there, but the kids took full advantage of the sand and the waves.  Along with the weather, we had some seriously terrible riptides and couldn't go far out at all.  Life guards told us they had pulled 50 people out of the water on the Emerald Isle stretch of beach that week and we constantly heard sirens as rescue vehicles headed out to help.  Part of our group even witnessed a big rescue in which the workers said that while they were out there, they thought they might not even get back to shore themselves.  Our last day at the beach we got the longest time without rain and since Allie was occupied with her cousins, I even got to sit and read my book!

We got to know the island a little bit, walking down to Wings or to eat.  Our last night we went to eat and then got ice cream, which the kids had been wanting to do all week.

Allie loved getting to be with the big girls, who doted on her as they listened to music, danced, and talked.  The boys really got into playing Rook, which does have a bit of a learning curve so we're not sure exactly what version they were following sometimes, but they felt very grown up and wanted to play every night.

 One night we went on the beach to shoot little plastic light up helicopters.  They didn't work super well because of the crazy wind, but the boys still had a great time with them.  The girls just wanted to walk and talk.

We took one day to visit Aunt Kathy at the Sound.  The kids went crabbing and kayaking, which they loved.  A few of our braver kids enjoyed swimming in the water as well, which I remember doing a lot as a kid when we would come visit my grandmother.

 Another night we did "Cupcake Wars", which was a lot of fun.  We paired the 18 of us up and had each team draw out a category that would be the subject of their cupcake decorating.  We had a lot of creativity out there, but ultimately Carly and my Matt were voted the winners.  It was great to get each of us bonding with family members we might not normally get as much time with.

 The grownups had so much fun each night staying up and playing games together--Compatibility, Wise and Otherwise, Awkward Family Photos, cards.  The kids berated us a few times for keeping them up with our loud laughing, but that didn't deter us too much.  Two players in particular, who shall not be named, had the most fun I've ever seen (or heard might be the better word) playing Rook when we did a tournament one night.  Don't think it had anything to do with what they were drinking either.

Everything just went really well--even feeding all these people.  We cooked at home some and went out to eat several times, finding good food with no wait and close to the beach house.  We also enjoyed a putt putt night with the kids.

 The cousins loved their extended time together and got along beautifully.  By the end of the trip, it was so fun to see the older boys and girls hanging out together and talking non-stop, really getting to know each other, whereas they usually just share a "hi" and "bye" and go off to play separately.

The days sure did fly by and it's hard to believe we're already back home, gearing up for our last month of summer.  I'm so thankful we got to take this trip and I know these are memories we will keep with us for a long time.