Summer 2009

A quiet house on a Sunday morning and a large cup of coffee makes for the perfect time to give some attention to my VERY neglected blog!

We have had a really fun and full summer. This was really the first summer that Meredith had a lot of different camps and such and she had a blast. First was swimming lessons at Meredith College, which were probably the lowest on the success scale, but still a good activity for her. I think we may invest in one on one lessons next summer.

Then we were off to Edisto Island, SC with Chris' family over the 4th of July. I believe that was the last time I blogged. Very nice, very HOT trip. Edisto is not far from Charleston, but it is quite remote out in the low country of SC. Let's put it this way, there is one Piggly Wiggly that must have been built in the 50s and hasn't been touched since! It was a very different place to go, but I quite enjoyed it!

Next up was dance camp for a week. I have to admit I was nervous about putting Meredith in a leotard since this whole potty training thing is not 100% yet. Amazingly, she never had an accident and ended up having a really good time. Chris was the taxi this summer since he was out of school and he said whenever he picked her up, she was all sweaty and seemed to have had a lot of fun. (It is also funny to see what her hair looked like! Chris still swears he can't get his fingers in her little hair bands! She looked a little ratty, but hey, she was in one piece!) We enrolled her in a class this fall called 'Hollywood Kids'. It's a combo of ballet and tap. She really wants to wear the 'loud shoes' for dance, so this way we can figure out if she likes tap or ballet better or has a more natural aptitude to one.

Then Meredith went to a preschool camp for two weeks. The fun part of this one is that my mom teaches at this preschool every summer and taught there full time until she started at The Fransiscan School. Mom wasn't her teacher, but was there to be a familiar face. Another family tie that we didn't know when we enrolled her was that my brother-in-law, Joey, ended up teaching their music all summer! So, Meredith had a lot of people watching out for her :) The actual preschool experience was just fabulous. Meredith really fit in well with her little class and she seemed to do well with more structure and a true classroom. (She also never had an accident, which was always on my mind!)

The whole preschool thing really made Chris and I realize that we need to make a change in her childcare, at least for Pre-K. My major frustration with the whole preschool thing is that most of these great affordable church programs are only half day programs. If you want a full time preschool, it is going to cost an arm and a leg at one of these franchise type places. Don't get me wrong, her current provider is wonderful and she has learned a lot there, but she is a daycare, not a preschool. She also has a range of ages with her and Meredith seems to be one of the oldest now. So, we are in a quandry as to what to do right now. I think we may just leave it alone for a little longer and take out a loan (ha!) to get her into a good all day preschool the year before Kindergarten!

Then we went to Nags Head with my entire family! There were a few issues with the house we stayed in, like no AC the first night and some plumbing problems, but all in all we had a wonderful time. Meredith and my niece Jessie were two peas in a pod and they wore eachother out every day. I had never been to Nags Head and really loved it. We also took a day trip up to Hatteras to see the light house and took the ferry over to Ocracoke Island. We ended up getting poured on and spent way too long waiting on the ferry, but it was still a neat experience. I'd definitely like to go back to Nags Head in the future!

So, that brings us pretty much to current. Chris has gone back to school and Meredith is back to daycare full time. I worked all summer, but of course our vacations are focused in the summer since Chris teaches, so I also feel a little sad about the end of summer. It also seems that the summer cold has hit all of us, so it really caps off the summer!

Well, the house is no longer quiet and my coffee is gone, so I guess it's time to close. Hopefully I will be better about updating, but sometimes when I get so behind, it makes it worse because I know it will take longer to update!