End of Summer is Nigh!

It's been an okay summer for my family this year. Our annual trip to the Ocean was a great time but, outside of this one get-away weekend there isn't much more to speak of by way of vacations.

The kids though have thoroughly enjoyed summer activities at Auntie's house with their cousins!

Our summer was spent with... well, with the Wall That Took A Summer. Also known as the retaining wall.
From the moment we moved into our house we wanted to do a retaining wall; our back yard is smallish and so the retaining wall seemed to make the most sense in terms of maximizing space for the kids and the dogs and for me! The wall is done, and now the clean up effort ensues. Hauling away dirt and planting new grass is now the order of the day. I know it will be worth it in the end, but WOW... it's taken WAY too long.

Faith is starting pre-kindergarten this year. I cannot believe it. She is getting so big and will be five years old in November. She's an amazing little girl full of vigor and curiosity. I cannot help but swell with pride at each milestone. This year is a little harder, admittedly, because it's hitting me that this is all going way to fast! It seems like just yesterday I brought her home. I better get a handle on my emotions now because it's only going to be harder for me from here on out!

Gracie will be two years old next month! No longer a toddler or a baby... becoming a BIG GIRL! She can count to ten and is working now on her ABC's. She loves her sissy and follows her all around the house doing everything Faith does!

This summer has brought many, many changes. Not only to the litteral landscape of our home, but to the figurative landscape of my life and my family. It's not always easy to embrace the fact that children get older, people change,  move away, and grow in ways that are sometimes hard to understand and sometimes wonderful to behold! But, overall, the changes have been positive and helped everyone in the Steele-Jorgensen household come closer together.