How I Spent My Summer Vacation

With Nolan starting school, I think it’s safe to say the summer is over. So without further ado, here are my personal top 10 highlights of the season that was:

1. Silver Lake. As stated before: Best…Vacation…Ever!


2. Kitchen Aid. Probably the best improvement we’ll ever make to our house.


3. The Return of the Brownells. The Brownell family are friends of ours. Marlene and Kris are close friends and Danny is one of Nolan’s best friends. They moved to Pennsylvania last year, but returned to the area this year – thus increasing the summer fun for everyone.


4. Noaln’s Birthday. I think I enjoyed some of his presents as much as him!


5. Day Out With Thomas. This was such a fun event and a great way to celebrate Gotcha Day.


6. “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Price.” This book was a great read. Can’t wait for Potter 7!


7. Tour de Cure. I had a great ride, the family came out to cheer me on and I raised $860 for the American Diabetes Association.


8. The Great Escape. Okay, technically this counts as part of Nolan’s birthday. But our trip to the Great Escape with our friends, the McDonnell family, came almost two weeks before his birthday. So I’m counting it separate here.


9. Backyard Party. We had a fun party at our house with our friends the Brownseys, the Hulls and the Prices. It’s always great to spend time with friends.


10. Yankee Stadium. Even though the Yanks lost to the lowly Tampa Bay Devil Rays, a trip to the stadium is always fun. And what could be better than a road trip with my good buddies Aaron and Noah?

UPDATE: There were some other items I left off the list because I thought they were more from the spring. But it's nagging me that I left them off, so here they are:

• Nolan's End of the Year Pre-School Concert. One of the cutest sights ever. Now on to kindergarten!
• Last Game of Tee-Ball. They were a great group of kids and everyone got a trophy.
• "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith." This came out in May, but I think it was June before we saw it. It was also fun showing the original three movies to Nolan over the course of the summer.

I'm sure there are other things I'm forgetting, but these are the big highlights.

UPDATE #2: I forgot about the circus! We took the kids to the Big Apple Circus in Saratoga Springs on July 4 (which seems like forever ago).