Burke Lake

With the summer winding down and thoughts of school beginning to cloud our minds we have decided to do as much as possible in this last week of freedom. Yesterday we spent the majority of the day at Burke Lake National Park with friends. We had a picnic lunch, played miniature golf, rode the train twice, rode the carousel once, had ice cream and took a hike. It was wonderful and the weather was beautiful, especially in the shade. The family we spent the day with has two children, however one is 16 and has a very busy schedule so it is nice to get together with them and their daughter who is Jakob's age. They enjoy each other's company and get a long so well. I get to talk to the mom whom I think is awesome and Jakob gets to spend time with a friend doing the fun things 7 year-olds enjoy. This family has truly been a blessing to us and we cherish this time the Air Force, our service, and the Army, their service, have given to us. We will most likely move around the same time, 2014, and hope the kids will stay good friends. It is always fun for me to look forward and think of how Jakob's relationships will change as he ages. "Will he still want to hang around with this "girl" friend when he is 10 or 11?" "Will she still think it's fun to do things with this 10 year-old boy?" I know I can't predict anything, but I do enjoy watching his relationships grow and change. I pray he continues to be a strong leader and an empathetic friend. I know he is kind, but will he always choose that path when it's a harder one? I hope so. Wow, there I go off on a tangent...

Back on track:   Today was Daddy Day. George is packing up and heading to Savannah for GV training for the month of September and today is the last full day the two will have together for awhile. This morning they went fishing and caught a few small ones. This afternoon they headed to the library to return a book and turn in Jakob's summer reading list. Then it was haircuts and a trip to the bookstore. George came up with an idea to make the next month a little easier on Jakob. He wants to read books with Jakob every night using Skype. So they picked out 4 books and got two copies of each so they can both read to each other during George's trip. I think it was a wonderful idea and Jakob is super excited. We are very lucky to have such a wonderful man in our lives.

Next week will be a water park and a trip to Baltimore for a children's museum. We want to make sure we end the summer with a bang.