I wanted to take a moment to document our summer and reflect on my gratitude for a wonderful few months.

Way back in May, Ryan had to travel to Hawaii for work. We purchased my airline ticket out of pocket and I enjoyed a week on Oahu with my sweetheart. I wrote about it here and also here.

So many rainbows…

Pearl Harbor.

Thanks to my parents for keeping our kids for the time we were in Hawaii. On my way back from Chattanooga, we were able to stop in Canton and see the cousins.

Back in Augusta, we spent some fun time with friends.

And just like that, we were loading up and headed to our next stop, Williamsburg with Ryan’s parents. I wrote about that trip here.

Immediately following Williamsburg, Ryan and Thomas went to Trail Life camp for a week. It was a big time for the guys! They hiked Table Rock and loved it.

While they were gone, I hosted a Camp Claire for my nieces and nephew. We had a great time!

When we were all in town, we worshipped with our Fort Gordon E3 service!

Mae had soccer conditioning and Thomas had baseball practice.

The girls went to VBS at Grace and invited a friend to join us.

We hosted some old friends who are new in town.

We had orthodontic appointments…

Ryan attended his battalion ball alone because I had food poisoning. (Boo!)

Ryan had a retreat in Hilton Head. This is my absolute favorite place on Earth. We enjoyed a nice few days at Sonesta.

And we treated ourselves to some chocolate treats…

We spent a few Friday nights at the driving range hitting some buckets of golf balls.

We saw The BFG!

We hosted Ryan’s brother, sister-in-law, and niece for the 4th of July.

We spent some mornings at the local park working on our Ninja Courses.

The two older kids finally got their military ID cards.

It hasn’t been published yet, but I was interviewed on Stronger Families Oxygen 365’s video podcast. What an honor. I had to have an official headshot. I made due with my good camera and my eight-year-old photographer. =)

We made another trip to Atlanta. We visited the Atlanta History Museum.

While in the area, we spent a few days filling up our Cousin-Love-Tank!

From there it was back to Chattanooga for a few days. There’s nothing like a good visit with your childhood besties and their kiddos!

We celebrated a huge milestone and cheered on my dad who retired from Regions Bank after 30 years of service.

From there, it was up to Cleveland for a few days to visit with my in-laws and drop off our kiddos while Ryan and I attended our denominational General Assembly.

Nashville didn’t disappoint!

Ryan and one of his preaching heroes and most respected men of faith, Dr. Tony Evans.

After checking us out of the hotel I had some time to kill before Ryan’s final session ended. I drove to 12South and visited Reese Witherspoon’s store, Draper James. They serve you sweet tea while you shop. (Precious!) Some cute things there but WAAAAAAY out of my price range.

Meanwhile, back at Nana and Granddaddy’s house, the fish were biting. The ice cream was churning and the good times were rolling!

After our week in Nashville we made one last run for the beach.

Every year my extended family on my dad’s side spend the same week at the same condo in Fort Myers Beach. The sun and fun are great, but it is the family time that we love. It’s my aunts, uncles, cousins, and now our kids (“cous-lings”).

One of the mornings Ryan golfed with my cousins, I took the kids to the Edison/Ford Estate. It was super cool!

I had worked throughout the spring and summer (when we were home) to have everything ready for day one of school upon our return from the beach.

We kicked off our sixth year of homeschooling on August 1st.

Finally, one of the biggest highlights of the summer for Ryan and me, was celebrating our FIFTEENTH wedding anniversary. Fifteen, I tell you!

We enjoyed a wonderful meal and date night at Frog Hollow Tavern. So great! We *really* celebrated in Hawaii but wanted to mark the event on the day of our actual anniversary too.

In SUMMary (see what I did there?) We had a fantastic summer season! We soaked up lots of family time, extended family time, and friend time. We travelled, relaxed, lounged, and saw the sights. Summer is a time that really resets my heart and mind; it recharges my batteries for the op-tempo of the school year. Twenty-sixteen will go on record as one of our best. Next summer it will be time to move again and I am especially grateful for every moment we had this summer being near our families. #woodfamsummerfun2016