A Georgia Girl in Germany

As I type this, the kids are winging their way back to Germany after a month-long visit with Matt, including a stop-over in Iowa to visit Grandma, Grandpa, Great-Grandma Cook, Aunt Chris, Uncle Steve, Madelynn and Aiden. I know they had fun visiting everyone, but they're also ready to no longer be living out of a suitcase (although MacKenzie wasn't thrilled with when I told her that meant she'd actually have to put her clothes away in her dresser instead of leaving them in a pile in her room). I'm ready to give them all huge hugs and kisses when they get off the plane...jet-lagged, tired and all.

These first two photos were taken during an office cookout...all three of the kiddos loved riding the see-saw! Benjamin didn't want to get off, but I got tired after a while and would try to sneak away for adult conversation. But, they managed to pull me back for several encore rides.

The other two photos are simply classic summer enjoyment photos. Zachary's popsicle was gone before I had a chance to snap a photo, but MacKenzie and Benjamin took their time savoring each and every messy drip...hence the necessity of eating them outside! Benjamin managed to have blue, sticky, popsicle drool all over his mouth, hands, arms and legs. He's definitely mastered the "boy" method of making a mess with summer desserts! Fortunately, he still enjoys his baths, so cleaning-up was just as much fun as making the mess.

It's hard to believe that their summer vacation is coming to an end. Zachary has a Cub Scout Twilight Camp next week, and MacKenzie has a Girl Scout camp the following week...then they start back to school on the 28th--5th and 3rd grades, no less! I'm not ready for summer to be completely over, even though it's beginning to feel and look like fall over here. Sigh.

Labels: Benjamin, MacKenzie, Zachary