the last gasp ...

It's been a whirlwind these past 2 weeks, racing against the clock as summer ticks down ... first the quick in-and-out trip to Florida for the baptism weekend followed immediately by our annual West Virginia road trip. This road trip happens at the end of each August in that sweet spot of time after camps end and before the school year begins (right after Labor Day for us). Speaking of school, I just glanced at aaaaall of the blog updates I've missed over these past 2 weeks and I can't get over how many of you are already back to school - you guys are back in with both feet and meanwhile I'm in complete denial crisscrossing the northeast corridor to get in one last gasp of summer ...

As you can clearly see from the photo - we definitely weren't close to home this last week! My mother has a house tucked into the hills of West Virginia, about 5 miles over the Virginia/West Virginia border - a 13-hour drive due southwest from here. She leaves Florida to spend the summer months there, but we've also enjoyed a Thanksgiving and even a huge Christmastime family reunion there as well - either way, this place is truly a slice of heaven and always offers us such peace and quiet each August before the roar of the school year begins. The grounds of the beautiful Greenbrier hotel are adjacent to my mother's neighborhood and as an owner there, she has hotel privileges that just can't be beat. It's like the best of both worlds to have all the comforts of home and yet all the perks of the hotel at the the same time! The girls and I get to do all sorts of fun activities that aren't at all like the flavor of home: fishing and horseback riding are the main attractions for my little ladybugs, but there are loads of other options as well ... golf, tennis, bowling, swimming, spa, and great restaurants too. The photos (took 167 in all!) really tell the story better than I can in words ... these are some shots of how we spent our days ...

And here are some shots from around the hotel - absolutely gorgeous! For those with a design itch like I have, it was socialite Dorothy Draper who decorated the hotel back in the 1940's with her signature bold classics that are still as beautiful and timeless today as they were 70 years ago ... her protege Carleton Varney has since taken over as president of Draper's design company and continues to do the Greenbrier's design work to this day ... take a peek ...

We returned on Thursday to a flood of back-to-school activities and errands for the girls, a huge pile of mail, and even bigger pile of emails and voice mails ... it's been a tough re-entry for this ladybug momma, but the weather here in New England continues to be as beautiful as ever, so I really can't complain too much ... and when I look at these wonderful photos of yet another fantastic week spent in this amazing little corner of West Virginia ... well, then I really can't complain at all, can I?! Lucky lucky ladybugs indeed ...

ladybug ladybug ...

what a wonderful week this has been ... i've taken over 100 pictures and the little ladybugs and i have done everything from fishing to facials - it's been true bliss ... but tomorrow we're back to reality when we start our 13-hour drive home - will share as soon as i can, but until then ...

baptism weekend

No time to tell it the way I'd like to - I have only today and tomorrow before heading south to West Virginia - but I couldn't leave without at least a little shout-out for our fabulous weekend back home in Florida. My beautiful niece/goddaughter could not have been any more precious for her big weekend, 12 extra family and friends traveled in for the big day, and it was just plain wonderful all around. So since I'm both short on time and I never did Kim's '10 on 10' project last week, I'll make it work for me now ... can 11 pics on the 15th count?!

changing gears ...

Hard to imagine, but our little ladybugs have officially hung up their sails after an incredible season of growth and accomplishments on the water. Both optis have been pulled off the floats, washed down, sails wrapped, rudders and centerboards rinsed, and everything is back in the garage for the winter ... a very sad day for the manbug! Me, on the other hand, I'm ready ... when I see their little boats back in the garage, it indicates to me that I'm in the home stretch of summer - time to make a run for it and head out of town to spend the last of our free time with my family. This year, things will go a little differently since my brother's beautiful first-born baby, my goddaughter, is being baptized this Sunday in Florida. Tomorrow, the girls and I hop a flight down South to take part in the celebration - and I just can't wait to get a piece of that adorable baby! When we return late Monday night, I'll kick it into overdrive and get ready for our annual end-of-summer road trip to West Virginia (leaving Thursday for the 13-hour drive) - I love road trips because you always find surprises along the way ... like this one:

... and of course regional treasures like this one:

Then once we get to our little slice of heaven in West Virginia, this is what I have to look forward to in our home stretch ... it's a complete change of gears from what the summer is like here at home - a change of pace that we embrace 100% ...

... can't you feel the peace and quiet just looking at last year's photos? Not sure when I'll have time to post again since my turnaround at home is so brief next week ... and I'll be totally unplugged and offline while in West Virginia, so I'm guessing I'll have a lot to say once we return in 2 weeks! Bye for now ...

little bug at the JO's ...

Today we completed the 2nd (and final) of our junior regattas this summer ... the 2-day junior olympics regatta! My littlest ladybug didn't sign up for Junior Race Week with our big bug - but when this smaller regatta opportunity came along later in the season, she decided to go for it! Not only were there 20 fewer boats in the Opti Green fleet this time around, but by now little bug has had a few more weeks of experience under her belt and that confidence makes all the difference ...

She had a blast doing this race with her little sailing posse - these kids have been together since their very first intro class 3 summers ago, so they're thick as thieves ... and this year is their 'senior' year at their junior sailing program (for ages 5-9) - next year they will all graduate into the 'big kid' program for ages 10 and up. As a 'senior', little bug was required to have her own boat this year in order to make the leap from co-skipper to skipper. So what do you think my littlest ladybug named her pint sized sailboat? ...

A ladybug boat for my ladybug girl ... my heart melts ... In any event, she had a great time taking part in this regatta - the wind was perfect, 42 boats in her fleet, and she finished with a very respectable 18th place, so there were lots of smiles and high fives today! What a fitting way to leave her junior sail program ...

past the fulcrum

Every summer, the week of Race Week is our official halfway point - it's like standing on the fulcrum of summer's see saw, the point at which you have just as much summer ahead as you have behind ...

Sadly, when I see that it's now August 7th, I have to admit that we've gone past the fulcrum and our summer is officially fleeting ... boooooo! But while time may be fleeting, at least it's not being wasted - this past week both of my ladybugs enrolled in a one-week session of a local arts camp ... this particular session was entirely about video production ... so the girls spent the week writing, directing, and editing their own stories from scratch.

Yesterday was the final day of the 5-day camp session, so they held a 'film festival' for the parents to come and watch the end results - each child had produced their own 3-5 minute movie, totally impressive for having spent just 5 days at it! Big bug did a very funny Cake Boss spoof (with her sister playing the title role) and little bug made a music video. It was set to a fun song and showed kids getting in and out of a row of tall hallway lockers, but through clever editing it was never the same kid getting out of the same locker - the concept was somewhat like a magic trick with vanishing kids who reappear in different places. Great day, great movies, great kids, great week ...

But today I'm sad as I realize how fleeting the remainder of summer really is - Labor Day weekend is just 4 weeks away ... nooooo! There's still a lot of summer to squeeze in around here: the junior olympics regatta this week, the baptism of my precious baby niece (and goddaughter!) next weekend, then another grueling 4-day regatta for the 'Manbug' (thanks for that fitting nickname for the mister, swooper!), and last but not least a week-long road trip to West Virginia ... and all of this in the next 3 weeks!

So yes, although we're past summer's fulcrum, I'm not ready to look ahead to Fall just yet - September be damned, I'll stick with summer for as long as I can ...

my peeps in blogland ...

Almost a week later and I'm still amazed at how a fellow blogger in my teeny tiny circle here in blogland turned out to be a neighbor living right around the corner - not only that, but she also turned out to be a great person as well. Score one for me! But having swooper come to life, while certainly the biggest surprise, it isn't the only surprise to come out of blogging for me ... the fact that I actually have readers is definitely one more thing I never anticipated. And you all are people who I really enjoy seeing here - and people whose blogs I enjoy following as well. It seems a little crazy that I'm making friends I'll never meet, but here are some examples of why I love my peeps in blogland ...

• I love that after my Lilly Pulitzer jeep post a few weeks ago, Kim from What am I going to be when I grow up? sent me a photo of this amazing Marimekko car that she knew I'd fall in love with:

Was she ever right about how I'd react ... this car is B.A.N.A.N.A.S!! Thank you Kim!!

• I love that out of the blue last week, Kimberly at Yep they're all mine emailed me this phone photo just because she passed it at Trader Joe's and thought of me ... Thank you so much, Kimberly, this made my day!

• I love that Kerri at The Pleasures of my Life! passed a blog award on to me a few weeks ago ... that was a great opportunity to get to know everyone better with the "7 things about you" rule - and also a great chance to get to know other blogs as well via the "pass it on" rule. Thanks, Kerri!
• I love that my first reader ever, Lisa at Lists in my Pocket, has asked me to write a guest post for her 'simplicity series', I feel so honored to be included. But what I love even more is how incredibly patient she has been while I struggle to finish it ... I'm so embarrassed that I have needed extension after extension as I juggle my busy summer schedule and try to think of something that even Martha Stewart would approve of! Thank you so much, Lisa, you won't be sorry!
• I love that Jess from ccbella is someone who also loves the scorching summer temperatures and, prior to the discovery of swooper, she was my closest neighbor-reader, located right in Western Massachusetts.
• I love the feedback that I got from my last post re: real life vs. blog life. It was really reassuring to hear that both Jen and Kerri understand where I'm coming from in wanting to keep them separated. Not only that, but I also learned that Jen from Jen's Ink Pen! is yet another who, like me and Kim, lost her father to cancer - a sad truth, but at the same time it's something deep that we all really understand about one another.
• I love that I can engage in email conversations with readers like Cindy from ...Loving Life's Little Things... Cindy and I are both former teachers who are now full time moms to daughters - she is super approachable and sweet, and we've been trading emails about how to balance it all. She and Steph from Our Life on the Hill live in Illinois, a long way from my life on the New England coast ... it's been really great to get to know them!
• I also love learning about the lives of readers who I have less in common with, such as Mary Katherine from Five Girls the Army and Me and Jen from Denton Sanatorium. Mary Katherine is single handedly home-schooling her 5 amazing daughters, while Jen is the proud mother of an incredible 7 (!) children. Then there are blogs like Kristin's Bringing Pretty Back and Kimberly's Kimberly's Korner. Both of these mommy bloggers have grown children who are starting lo leave the nest ... all four of these women are like the Obi-Wan Kenobi of motherhood (also known as 'Obi-Mom Kenobi') - bravo!

So a big thank you to everybody in my little blog circle of friends ... it's been quite a journey, and you've all made me feel so welcome here ...