Summer Livin'

When we aren't at the beach, our summer looks pretty low-key.  Generally, we do lots of playing around the house or at the library or playground in the mornings, and then lots of splashing at the pool in the afternoons.  In between all that playing, there are lots of snacks.  Or as Evelyn likes to holler when she is hungry, "NACK!" 

 One of Ev's favorite summer-time treats is fresh fruit with yogurt dip.  This is not only tasty, but is a great opportunity to lick your fingers.

  See this sweet munchkin trying to stick her foot in her mouth while Ev tries to make a break for it?  Her name is Emma, and she (and her parents) go to church with us.  When we had supper together last week, they gifted Evelyn with a pair of purple sunglasses AND a yellow kazoo...

 ...which have rarely left Evelyn's face/hands since then.  She has them in the car, she has them in the house, and she has them at the pool.  Love it!

Beach! (Part I)

Greetings, long-lost friends.  We have been out and about and on the move this summer, and I haven't taken any time to update our blog.  So here we are.  Grab a chair, pour yourself a glass of sweet tea (or coffee or wine, depending on your mood and climate), and get ready to look at some beach pictures.  Lots of beach pictures, actually.

After we returned from our early June roadtrip, Dave headed to NYC for a week-long teacher workshop, and Evelyn and I held down the fort in Nashville.  I taught some SAT prep classes, Evelyn took some swim lessons, we played at the library and the park and the pool, and we desperately missed Dave:)  Anyways, after a series of flight delays and an overnight stay in a D.C. airport, Dave finally made it back home to us in Nashvegas, and we picked him up at the airport with a packed car and headed straight down I-65 towards Florida. 

For the last year or so, my mom had been planning a two-week-long beach vacation for the Cummings family to celebrate my dad's 60th birthday.  She rented a couple condos on St. George Island (where we grew up going to the beach), and all of us took off from our various locales on the appointed day (June 23) and headed toward Dothan, AL, where we were to spend the night before driving the rest of the way to Florida to begin our glorious beach vacation.  However, you've heard about "the best-laid plans," right?  To make a long story short, a tropical storm slowed us down, and we ended up on St. George six days later than planned.  In the meantime, though, we spent some quality family time in a couple charming towns along the coast near St. George Island:

The three pictures above are in Port St. Joe, FL, where Evelyn first glimpsed the ocean.  A little stormy, but still beautiful!  The rain and the wind kept us out of the water, but we threw on jackets and did lots of walking, swinging, and rock-hunting instead:)

Then, it was on to Cape San Blas, where we all moved into a beach house together for a couple days and headed outside for some time on the sand, at last:

 See these two cousins playing next to each other so contentedly?  This scene did not take place often, but we enjoyed it while it lasted.

 Mmmm...snacks on the beach are the best.

Happy birthday, D!  Evelyn sure does love her grandfather, and was delighted to celebrate his birthday by spending the day on the beach with him:)

OK, more pictures to come soon, folks.  Have a great weekend!