End of summer.

The weather is cooling. Luke's school will be starting soon. Our first summer in Colorado is coming to a close. There are many reasons to reflect back on what this summer has meant for our growing boys.

PEDAL TO THE METAL: Luke mastered riding his bike without training wheels (and then he mastered many bike stunts soonafter.) Reid is also now pedaling his bike & trike, too! Guess he didn't want Luke to leave him behind.

NEW HOUSE, NEW ROUTINE: In our rental house, the boys played out in the driveway and on our kid-friendly street for hours each day. Now that we've moved, they spend hours in our backyard. Many mornings Luke will wake up and go out for some early morning swing time ... in his pajamas at 8 a.m. At least he puts on his shoes! The boys also love to poke around for bugs in the garden, wrestle in the grass, and play whiffleball.

HERE WE GROW: Over the summer, Reid has begun to communicate and understand more. He now expresses his thoughts and opinions and even jokes around! It's been amazing to watch his personality change these past few months with blossoming independence ... as one of his favorite phrases is "Myself!" ... meaning "Let me do it myself!" (We found that particularly funny when he said that one day while getting his diaper changed. A self-diaper-changing child would be great!) We've also watched Luke grow into a new level of confidence and courage while hanging out with the older elementary aged kids in our old neighborhood. While he was the youngest of the gang, he did his best to hold his own and keep up with the other kids. We've also seen Luke's appetite boom in the last month and every hour results in the familiar echo, "Mom, I'm hungry."

As we look back on Summer '08, we have so many fond memories ... fun times with family, outdoor adventures, and many lessons learned as the boys grow. We are happy to squeeze in a few more summer weeks before Luke starts school but also look forward to the fun that autumn will bring.