With deep sadness we announce that it’s time to go back to school. The summer has been way too short but oh so much fun! Part of me is ready for the routine the school year brings while another part wishes for the carefree days of playing with my little guy.
We celebrated the end of summer if big ways! Honey and Pops came to visit and we all enjoyed a weekend of relaxing fun. They arrived Friday afternoon just in time for a yummy salmon dinner. We enjoyed dinner and conversation before DT had to go to bed.
On Saturday morning we shared breakfast on the back porch. With the record high temps Dean’s outside time has been severely limited. He enjoyed sharing his few precious outside minutes with his Honey and Pops. After breakfast Carla and I made a mad dash to our local Once Upon a Child. They were going out of business and all of the children’s clothing was 80% off! We managed to score Dean’s entire fall and a good bit of his winter wardrobe in just under an hour. I think we both enjoyed the thrill of the sale and the hunt. We returned home to our boys and lunch with Ms. Sharon, Glenda and Bill. Ronny and Matt inhaled their lunch and headed out to the opening weekend showing of Cowboys and Aliens. They were both excited to be seeing this movie in the most amazing theater in town. After Deans nap we fit in a little bit more shopping before Dinner at Esparzas.
On Sunday Matt and I were eager to share our church home with Ronny and Carla. After a fantastic worship experience we took them into Roanoke for a quick lunch at Twisted Root Burger Company. Carla and Dean played a quick game of connect 4 while Ronny, Matt and I ordered lunch. After lunch our weekend came to a sad close. Matt headed out to work and Ronny and Carla loaded up with DT and set off for Houston. I stayed home and began to dream about school work.
Farewell summer. I have enjoyed the relaxed days, staying up late and taking afternoon naps with Dean. The hours of imagination games, trips to the park, and playing at the pool. I’m already looking forward to summer 2012!
For Christmas Matt gave me a photo session with Meena Jeans. I waited until the spring to schedule the shoot thinking I’d like to get some outdoor shots. Well, thanks to a case of Hand Foot and Mouth we were forced to reschedule. We were finally able have our session a few weeks ago. My vision of an outdoor photo shoot was reframed into an indoor session at home. I am super pleased with the results and can’t wait to print and frame several of these photos.
There are about 130 photos in the set. Just a word of warning…this is very much photo and Hopkins Family overload! Enjoy!
Sisters Week 2011 has begun and we are off to a jam packed start! Lesley, Emma and Morgan arrived on Monday afternoon about 3PM. After giving the kids a little down time we suited up, lathered on a touch of sunscreen, picked up a few pizzas and headed to the pool for dinner and swimming. The kids loved every second of our 2 hours at the pool. A pizza picnic and some energy draining swimming was just what the girls needed after the long drive. Emma was brave enough to jump off the diving board 4 times, Morgan swam the length of the pool with the help of her puddle jumper, and Dean played independently in his puddle jumper for the first time. We stayed until they kicked us out and came home with 3 tired kiddos. Popsicles and outside play ended our fun first day.
Day 2 began with a trip to Going Bonkers in Lewisville. I heard about this amazing indoor playground from a coworker and knew we had to check it out. The kids LOVED it. Morgan and Emma worked themselves into a sweaty, hungry mess by the time we left. They climbed, jumped and slid all over the great play structure for a good hour and a half.
After working up a great hunger I gave Lesley lunch time off to meet up with a sorority sister while I bravely took the kids for lunch and airplane watching. I must say I handled the 3 very well and they enjoyed watching airplanes take off and touch down while munching on Sonic.
After a good break for naps Miranda and Gavin came over and we headed out to the Roanoke fire station. Dean loves all the rescue vehicles and is really into the cartoon “Fireman Sam” right now. He was super excited about the trip to the station. The lieutenant at the fire station was so nice and gave the kids a great tour of the facilities and proudly showed off their fleet of firetrucks and the ambulance. Dean was a afraid of the noisy garage but warmed up to the trucks after a bit. Gavin on the other hand had no fear and was off and climbing as soon as he could claim the front seat in the truck. The kids were awarded with awesome fire hats, stickers and pencils when we left. I would say it was a successful visit!
To top it all off Lesley and I managed to prepare a healthy dinner for all our kiddos. Needless to say we were a little tired by the end of the day. So tired we didn’t even open a bottle of wine. We just went straight to bed!
Two more days of Sister Week are ahead of us. I am looking forward to the jam packed fun! Until Then!
Dean decided to hold an impromptu piano recital for all of our friends who helped unload the U-Haul last weekend. I happened to catch it on tape. Isn’t it a “beautiful song”?
