saying goodbye to summer...

We were blessed to spend the day with Memejo on Saturday.  She suggested a trip to Rock City.  She had never been there before but Ashlyn & Landon enthusiastically offered to show her around. 
My mom didn't quite expect the amount of climbing involved but she did pretty well.  Despite being a little timid of heights himself, Landon assisted Memejo at every turn.  He held her hand so that she felt steady, told her the most secure places to step & at one point he even swept away the loose dirt so she wouldn't slip.  This chivalry was unprompted & it made my heart proud.  I have recently been talking to Landon about being a gentleman; holding doors open, allowing ladies to go first, etc.  I know that this is a dying custom in our feminist society but I strongly desire for my son to grow up knowing how to treat women with kindness & selflessness.

Ashlyn, on the other hand, is not the slightest bit scared of heights.  
Landon found the perfect cave - one that was low to the ground. 





See what I mean about the heights?

I kept my climbing to a minimum because my stupid sciatica decided to flare up again.  I still had a ton of fun & it actually feels a bit better to be moving.


We ventured out to Sentinel Rock to show Memejo the view.  Chris sat on a nearby ridge so he could take some pics of us from far away. 





If you look really closely you will see Chris (& his red shirt) sitting on the top of the rock formation on the far left...
He even Face Timed me so that he could be in the shot with us...


Landon was concerned because Memejo got a scratch on her arm from a stray branch & was bleeding...
I took this opportunity to get a picture of them together.  It was only after Memejo put her arm around Landon that he informed her, "I'm really sweaty."
Priceless.

We start school this week.  The schedules have been handed out & school supplies have been purchased.  It's all becoming very real.  I am bit bummed that this marks the end of our summer adventures.  We didn't get around to doing all the fun activities that we put on our list but we still had a lot of fun.  We went camping, celebrated birthdays, rode roller coasters, went swimming, hung out with friends, went to the movies, saw a musical, had the perfect day at the beach, binged on our favorite shows on Netflix & so much more.  I, for one, am ready for the routine again.  I love the low key, lazy summer mornings but sometimes life begs for routine... & quiet mornings for mom once the kids have gone to school.