The Bear spent much of the summer bowling with me and her brother, as she didn't do any camps this summer. She did work on her scrapbook, and she spent three weeks in the Poconos with Gma and Gpa. She seemed to miss the family more than usual when she spent her time in the mountains without us. She and her brother spent hour upon hour together this summer, playing in the house, riding bikes together, bowling (high score 147!), you name it. They are so tight. It was a good summer for her, I think she needed a break from the stress that she puts on herself regarding basketball and school. It was good time spent, just kind of hanging out, relaxing, spending time with her family, and preparing for middle school. I can't believe I just wrote that. Claire is in middle school. Wow. Anyway, I know she's nervous, but like most things, she'll knock it out of the park. As O said about Claire, borrowing from an Olympics commercial this summer "When you meet Claire, you better tighten your skates." So true. She had a wonderful time in the Poconos with Gma and Gpa. They spent almost two weeks up there with them, and for the most part, everything went well. I think Claire missed home, she never said that, but she called a lot. We of course missed her too.
The Tornado had a very busy summer, and one I think he really enjoyed. He started by taking a two week swim lesson through the city swim program. He swam laps for about an hour a day, for four weeks. He's excited about preparing for his triathlon in September, and was thrilled to learn the different strokes in class. He had so much fun, he asked to sign up again, so we gave him two more weeks of it. He might not be a lot better than he was when he started, but he's a lot more confident, and that will definitely help him in the race. He bowled a lot (high score 117!) with his sister as mentioned above, along with doing pretty much everything with her. We put up a tent in the living room and they slept in there for about a week and a half. They loved it! A little later in the summer he went to golf camp for a week. He seems to like the game of golf, and was the only guy to hit a "bomb" over the creek - nice job buddy! He spent a week in the Poconos with the rest of us, and soaked up every minute of it. Jumping off "da branch", playing horseshoes, swimming at Blakeslee trail, tubing and jumping off the rope swing into the Lehigh River, jumping off the waterfalls at Hawks Falls, riding rides at Knoebels amusement park, and just hanging in the woods behind the house - simple but great fun! A great way to end the summer.
Then there's O. What a different summer from years past. First, she just SEEMS older. He mannerisms, her actions, what she talks about, all have the feel of a real teenager, which she is! She spent two weeks as a counselor in training at Sanibel Sea School. She was the youngest counselor, so she spent much of the time hanging out with kids that are in high school and even college. She got a lot out of it though, and I think working with a lot of young kids really opened her eyes. She worked out with the high school basketball team in June as well, doing all the drills and scrimmages. She held her own pretty well too, I'm looking forward to having her in the gym permanently. She also spent two weeks in the Poconos with my parents by herself, riding horses, and doing all the other great stuff I mentioned above. She bowled a little too, not nearly as much as the other two kids. She's very excited to start 8th grade, hard to believe her years at SFX are coming to a close.
We didn't go on any unique or different trips this summer, we did spend the one week in the mountains, which was great. We watched the Olympics together quite a bit as a family. That was a lot of fun, watching young people chase their dreams and watching my kids imitate the athletes in and around the house. It was a very special summer. I got to spend a lot of time with the younger two, and some good days with O. And really, that's what makes me happiest...getting to spend time with them, have fun with them, workout with them, do work around the house with them, and play with them, that's what I love the most.
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