Life as it happens with our three beautiful and adopted children, Shayla, Yamira and Manuel: Summer as we know it is over. Back to school!

I can't believe we only have one more day of summer left. So disappointed that summer is coming to a close. We have had a phenomenal summer. I don't want it to end. There is a very small part of me that is grateful that the kids will be back to school so that I can get a few things done here. However, I am really sad that our summer flew by so fast. We did a lot. The last time I checked in, it was mid-July. So what have we been up to? Let's see if I can remember it all.

We went to Comet Pond a few times with various friends. The kids love it there. They swam for hours or built funky stuff in the sand while I chatted with the ladies. We hung out with Lisa and Evan at a new playground I have wanted to visit for some time. That was a lot of fun. We went to the new splash park in Worcester with another mom and her two children. The kids ran through the sprinklers and then played on the new playground. I really liked this splash park because they had nice umbrellas you could sit under. Earlier that day we attended a critter show at the Worcester library. Very cute show. That weekend, Yamira had a play date with her friend Kendall and then that night we celebrated Shayla's birthday with our friends Tom and Shelley and their three kids. We went to an authentic Luau. The kids had a great time dancing and drinking fancy drinks with blinking light ice cubes. I had a fancy drink, but no blinking cube! Bill worked that weekend as well.

On Monday after the weekend, we had our family picture taken as well as pictures of the kids. They came out decent. I am not a fan of being in photos, but Shayla insisted on having a family photo. So I obliged her. Later that afternoon, we packed for our trip to Grand Cascades. We had a wonderful time on vacation. We swam inside and outside at the various pools. We also visited a local coal mine. It was a short getaway, but a great one. That Friday I took the kids to visit Maura and her handsome boys. It was great to see her. Saturday we met my friend Christine at a local state park so the kids could all swim together. There were 7 kids. She had four with her and we had our three. We sat on the beach and chatted while the kids ran in and out of the water. The water was a little cold, so they were more interested in digging in the sand. We then headed home without Ping as she was sleeping over Christine's house. The next day we met Christine and the crew at Heberts Candy Mansion. They were having a huge event that was free for everyone. It was to celebrate first responders, emts, paramedics, firefighters and our military. We spent most of the day there walking around to the different vendors and watching shows.

The last week of July brought a finger printing appointment for me and some time over Shelley's house in the afternoon. Two other friends joined us for the afternoon. The place was hopping with kids! It was a beautiful day out so the kids played in the yard while the mom's sat around the table chatting. On Wednesday, I had an appointment in Boston and then we headed to a place where Ping was taking a horse lesson as part of a gift she received at the Autumn Moon Festival the October before. She was very excited. Made for a long day, but it was worth it. On Thursday we had plans with Lisa and Evan again. We were gong to go to the zoo, but we ended up going to their house instead. The next day we went to Comet with friends.

We started the week off great with visiting our friend Mindy's house and swimming in her new in-ground pool. That night they had VBS, which they love. The next day the kids jumped for an hour at SkyZone with some of their friends while the mom's chatted. I took the kids to the movies on Wednesday. It was so crowded, we had to sit in the front seat. It was fine because Shelley had her little one and she is in a stroller. Great place to park the stroller is the very front. I then took all the kids to the library and back to my house for a play date while Shelley went shopping. That night the kids went to VBS. They all had fun. On Thursday we headed up to Lowell to see the Dino Man and then we went on a trolley ride. It was a toasty day and poor Manny got stung by a bee. Lisa and Evan were able to join us on that little adventure. The next day I had an appointment and we just laid low because we had the last night of VBS and so we didn't want the kids to be exhausted. We had dinner and then watched the little show they worked on all week. It was very cute. On Saturday, we went to Look Park for Shayla's birthday because it rained on her birthday this year. We rode on the train and then we had a picnic. The kids played at the splash park and played at the playground. It is a beautiful park. Very peaceful. The next day, I headed to Sarah's shoppe for a tarot card reading. That was a lot of fun. We actually left at 9 am and headed to the MOS to see a panda movie that was playing. It was an adorable movie. Then we had lunch and went to Walpole where Bill dropped me off so I could visit with Sarah and friends and have a reading. Bill took the kids to the local park.

Monday of that week brought camp for all three kids. The girls went to Girl Scout camp and Manny went to a recreational camp in the next town. It was an insane week. Shayla went by bus every morning at 7:45. Manny had to be at camp for 8:30 and Yamira had to be to camp for 9:00. I drove Yamira and her friend Erica to camp some mornings and Erica's mom drove them some mornings. We thought that driving them daily would be better than them taking the bus with the older kids. However, it was a big commitment on our behalf to get them there every single day. Especially because each day had a different theme. So we were packing for the day plus packing costumes! On Wednesday, I had a fantastic visit with my friends Christine and Stephanie. The best part was that I could enjoy their company without any interruptions as my kids were all at camp! On Thursday I had a few appointments and then we took the kids to the library program's end of summer party. Then Bill dropped me off for dinner with friends and took the kids home. It was a fun night after a very busy day. The next morning after we got all the kids off to where they needed to be, I had breakfast with Renee, Heather and Kirsten. I brought Manny with me that am. He wasn't really digging camp. It was not structured enough for him, so we decided to take him out of camp. So he got to have breakfast with four ladies. I was glad the week was over as it was a busy one. I rather have the kids home, but they really loved camp and are begging to go again. On Saturday, I took the three to the Latin Festival in Worcester. We attend a lot of Asian events, so I wanted Manny and Yamira to enjoy exploring their culture. It was a nice time, but we missed a lot of vendors who were closing when we got there. So the kids enjoyed the dancing and the music. On Sunday we had our 51st Family Reunion. The kids had a ball at that. This year seemed so quiet. It was a nice time, but I don't know who half of these relatives are!

On Monday, I had lunch with my friend Deb. I say lunch, but it was almost lunch and dinner. We sat for hours and caught up on everything. It had been forever since I had seen her last, so we had a lot to chat about. Bill was home with the kids. On Tuesday I had a doctors appointment in Norwood, so that took up most of the day. On Wednesday I took the kids to Comet Pond with a friend and then Shayla had soccer practice. Thursday we didn't do much. I had an appointment at the house in the morning and then we packed for our weekend to Jiminy Peak. We left on Friday to drive to Jiminy Peak. We checked in and went to dinner. Then the kids swam. The next day we had a buffet breakfast and then rode on the mountain coaster, the alpine slide, the eagle zip line, the gigantic swing, the chair lifts as well as other things. The kids went on bouncy houses and inside a really cool zip line structure for their age. We had dinner that night with the group that we were there with which is an adoption group. We then let the kids run around before putting them to bed. They were exhausted, but very wound up. The next day we let the kids swim for an hour or so and then we checked out and headed home. We stopped at a few places along the way.

Here we are back at Monday now. I had an appointment this morning. I then ran some errands and came home. It was hot out today. Shayla had a play date and then she and Bill hit up the grocery store. The kids watched Turbo before bed. As for tomorrow, well I am hoping I just wake up. I am tired and it is late. Despite the boring appointments sprinkled throughout the summer, we really had a ball and made the most of the summer. Reliving it makes me happy because of all of the special moments we had, but I am sad too. Sad it is over. Now comes September, school and soccer!

I hope you had a great summer too. I know it was a hard summer for a few people. The great thing is that it comes every year. So if this wasn't your summer, I hope next year it is! Till next time......

Mama Out!!!!!!!!!!!!!