Terrible Blogger

Once again I sit here in dismay at my lack of blogging this year.  So many intentions to do it more often, but life has been allowed to get in the way and distract me.  I did not blog about our summer vacations as I had hoped.  And now, school has started back and the first day of school was also unaccounted for. 

Summer is loving the 2nd grade despite being initially disappointed when she found out her teacher and who was NOT in her class.  She got none of the people she really wanted in her class, but like 1st grade, the two 2nd grade classes spend a lot of time together.

She is taking dance again this year, but has moved from ballet and tap to hip-hop and jazz.  Her friend Abby is taking the class with her, and sometimes they get to have play dates on Thursday before class.  Abby is the only friend from school that she really sees outside of school.  However, Friday she found out that her friend Callahan was going to the same movie that her dad was taking her to that night.  So, I set up a date for them to meet him and his family at the movies to see Free Birds.  She wore her Lana's Love shirt which was much too big when she got it almost 4 years ago and who did she run into at the movies other than one of the main volunteers for Lana's Love--Holly Shull.  What a coincidence!!  She has grown into the shirt now; I wish she would stop growing so fast!!!  Before I know it she will be wearing my clothes!  LOL We are so lucky to have been associated with that charity since shortly after she was diagnosed with cancer 4.5 years ago.  Just last weekend, we went to Disney on Ice compliments of that charity and in September we were lucky to get to go to Lake Winnie with them too.  I can't say enough of the great things this charity does for families who children have been affected by cancer.  And, I can never say how thankful I am to have a healthy little girl to raise.  What a blessing!

Summer got a great report card from her teacher and one comment the teacher made was that Summer "is a teacher's dream."  She does not seem to struggle much in school and especially loves music, computer and art.  She is a pretty good reader and impressed my aunt and cousin a few weeks ago when she read to them as we drove to Florida for a cruise.  We celebrated my cousin Alex's and my birthday while we escaped the everyday worries in reality.  There were 4 different water slides on our cruise ship which she loved.  They were the highlight on the boat, along with dance parties by the pool.  Summer really wanted to go cave tubing and zip lining so we decided to do that at our stop in Belize.  She was amazed as we floated through the cave with lights on our heads and looked up at all of the beautiful rock formations.  She has been collecting rocks for a few years and this was right up her ally.  Zip lining was like icing on the cake.  Other highlights for Summer were the day we spent at Cozumel at Ocean Beach Club.  We kayaked and took a ride on a catamaran in the ocean.  We swam out to inflatables and jumped, climbed and slid on them.  There were swings at the beach bar, and she really enjoyed those.  She also got to hold a big iguana and a few Macaws there.  My aunt splurged and got her a henna tattoo of a dragon fly.  In Mahogany Bay and Costa Maya, we built sand castles and collected shells. 

I am being beckoned to play a game before bedtime.  I hope to continue to catch up on all the important things I never want to forget later this week.