Darcy Gets Her Groove Back

 So, my summer is officially over and everyone I am reconnecting with asks "how was your summer?"  I tell them it was great, but when I think back I have a hard time recalling what exactly we did.  After finally upload pictures from 3 different devices, yes I said 3, I realized we did a ton of stuff and had a really great time!  Here are some of our events in no specific order:

 Weddings: Kelly has been like a big sister to Teagan since she was born.  We were so excited to be able to share her day with her.  As you can tell in the picture she is an amazing person and we are so happy for her and Holden!  Brad and I attended to other weddings this summer as well, so there are 3 of our Saturdays there.

 Just hanging around.  I teach about 3 weeks of summer school, so I don't officially start summer until the end of June.  I don't expect anyone to feel sorry for me since I still get about 6 weeks off, but July gets crammed with trips and swim lessons, then its August and birthdays and then back to school.  

 Teagan participated in a golf clinic here in Williamsburg and then 2 tournaments.  She does well and enjoys it so we are excited she wants to do it.  Tate will be right there with her soon enough.  They enjoy going to the driving range on nights I have golf league - there is another activity that I forget about, but am lucky enough to enjoy each week.  It is so good to be able to get out, do something I enjoy (most of the time) and hang out with some great friends while doing it.  Brad and I also golfed in 2 couples tournaments this summer.  Brad played in the Club Championship as well, getting 2nd place and the Pro-Am this past weekend.  

The middle of June marked Linda's birthday.  We always take the kids out to visit and here they are signing "Happy Birthday" to her.  Something we all know she is all smiles about :)  Speaking of time flying by, we can't believe it will be 10 years in December since she left us.  We feel her presence everyday - especially with the kids.  She is definately a huge part of them.

We took our annual Schaefer/Van Zee trip to the Ozarks.  As always it was fun and relaxing while being able to spend some time with everyone.  We were excited to be able to have Jill and her boyfriend Stephan join us this year.  They added to the chaos fun!  Each year it gets less stressful and more relaxing to be in the water.  The kids are becoming better swimmers and understand what they can do to have fun but still be safe.

 Aunt Beth made an appearance a couple of nights this summer.  We don't get to see her as much as we would like, but when she is here she always comes up with something to do with the kids.  This night they were having a jumping and contest, which then turned into Sumo wrestling.  I will spare you those pics :)

 August was filled with about 2 weeks of birthday festivities for the kids.  They each got to choose 1 friend and have a day out.  This is Tate with his buddy Henry.  The enjoyed a morning showing of "The Lorax", lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings, and then playtime at Kent Park.  They had a blast!  I didn't get a picture of Teagan's day, but she had Carlee come along for a manicure/pedicure night complete with supper at Hy-Vee Chinese and then some shopping.  I think they both had a good time.

 We did 2 separate family parties for the kids.  The first was a Friday night at my parent's house.  It was a double duty event since we spent the first hour or so moving some furniture into their new house (post about that sometime in the future)  The second was a Saturday morning in Des Moines with the Schaefer/Van Zee family.  The kids spent time with their cousins Will and Kate while us adults spent a night out.  Then Saturday morning was doughnuts and breakfast pizza.  Now thats a birthday celebration :)

We are gearing up for Hawkeye football season - its right around the corner.  The kids were very lucky to get a birthday gift of jerseys from family friends this year.  And they just happen to have the name and number of our favorite Hawkeye :)

 Last week we took off for St Louis with just the kids.  It was a really great vacation and packed with tons of fun stuff.  Starting with kids meals that turned my entire family in pirates!

 Then a stop in Hannibal, MO at Mark Twain's Caves.  Brad and I both remember going there as kids so we decided we wanted the kids to have the same memories.  They loved it and it was a great addition to the vacation.

 Once in St Louis we went to a Cardinals game - I know, Cubs fans should never walk through those gates, but the stadium is beautiful and we had a great game experience.  So glad we went.

 A visit to the arch and then supper for Teagan's birthday at the Old Spaghetti Factory.

Also a new find (thanks to Gpa and Gma Schaefer & Brett and Jane).  The City Museum.  A collection of tunnels, slides, and everything you can imagine.  The kids had a blast and it was so much fun to watch them explore!  So, thats it - my summer.  I guess you can say we did a couple things :)  I hope to post more about some of these individually.  I am also finishing up my menu planning for August and September while doing calendars for family activities.  This fall looks to be about as eventful as summer.  We wouldn't have it any other way!