Summer is great-

There are so many great things to do in the summer that just aren't there other times of the year. On Friday we had out friends Lori and Max come visit from the Catskills. It's so hard to see them during the school year because of the trip. The kids had a blast just playing with a sprinkler for over an hour in the back yard.

On Saturday, my friend Marlene and I left the world behind and went for a hike. It was the greatest day. We decided to hike Hunter Mountain in the Catskills which is really a ski mountain. We took the gondola to the top and then hiked 2 miles up and over to the peak where there was a fire tower. There was really no view without climbing the fire tower because of all the trees. But once we climbed the tower, it was a beautiful panoramic view. Lots of flies though which we couldn't figure out. So we hiked down to a lookout point to eat our lunch. We were rewarded with a hawk that glided around near us. Then we hiked down and rode the chair lift down. It was terrific.

Nolan has been in baseball camp this week and loving it. His friend Danny is a year under him and usually can't be in things together but this camp combines 5 and 6 year olds. I think he loves doing it with him. Thomas is jealous because he wants to go do something like his big brother. So I'm signing him up at a place called Kids Care Fitness Center this week.

And today Nolan turns 6. He had ice cream and chocolate milk for breakfast. Chris and I decorated until late last night turning our back yard into space for Star Wars. Another great thing about summer is having party in the middle of the week like this. We'll fill you in on how it goes. We're praying for the rain to hold off!