We know it's a little early, but with the days getting shorter and the air a little crisper, we just couldn't wait to decorate for Autumn. Paul crafted this little pumpkin guy out of left over lining.
He now holds court above all the rest of the pumpkins decorating our armoir.
Okay, so on to our Summer Summary. In early June we took a quickie vacation with Eric, Alex, Emma and Liam to Williamsburg, where we enjoyed a day riding thrilling rides at Busch Gardens and another day getting wet at Water Country USA. Emma got to ride all the big rides with Grandpaul, showing no fear.
The 4th of July we strolled a few miles west to horse country (Great Meadow) to enjoy mountain views, skydivers, helocopter parades, bands, food and festivities, culminating in fabulous fireworks. You can see that Liam and Grandpaul are mesmerized!
We added a new member to our family (garden family that is). Bucky protects our garden from the many fearless, ravenous and unbelievably rude deer that ate our azalias (every one) down to the ground last winter. Paul brought him to life to protect our first vegetable garden for the Va Johnsons. Notice his fabulous tassle hair. Thanks to Bucky we have harvested tomatoes, green beans, squash, broccoli, canteloup, jalepenos and bell peppers.
Another project that kept us from lazing around by the pool (ha) was our deck. We still have a little work to do as you will notice that the last step is a big one.
The end of July, Mike, Stephanie and Carter came for visit.
We enjoyed a day at the pool - Carter loved trying to grab the water geysers that shoot up in the kiddie pool - but they kept disappearing between his fingers.
Nana loved taking some time to relax with Carter so Mike and Steph could enjoy some fun on the water slides.
For Taylor (August 5) and Gavin's (September 8) birthdays this year, we made them treasure boxes, filled with lots of fun toys. They both requested sharks, which Paul enjoyed bringing to life on the front of each box.
For Paul's birthday (August 7), Nancy tried to keep with tradition and do something different. Paul had been eyeing garden statues, but a store-bought one just wouldn't do. So she designed this one and we shaped it out of wood and mesh and covered it with morter. The "Garden Dance" now surprises visitors as it is tucked away in the garden just outside our bedroom window.
Eric, Alex, Emma and Liam after a Sunday dinner visit.
Paul, louging in his favorite spot - the yard.
Oh, and this is another creation this summer - Paul took some left-over fabric and stitched a planting bag to hang from a tree. He filled it with dirt and put holes all over, filled with impatiens, it adds some bright color on the side of a tree in our front yard.
Finally - in anticipation of Christmas - Paul is working on this Santa that he made from Sculpy. Does he ever rest?
It's been an amazing 5 years (or for those of you keeping up with our fantasy life - 31 years). I've traveled more, loved more and laughed more in the last 5 years than at any other time in my life. Our gift to each other this year is a Caribbean cruise, scheduled for late October. But to celebrate the day, we started with a visit to the Washington DC Temple, a tradition we began several years ago. We go to the temple often and it's always special, but being there on the anniversary of the day we were sealed together for eternity brought back many incredible memories.
We then drove north to Baltimore to check out the parking situation at the outer harbor (To prepare for our cruise). We spent the rest of the day at the Inner Harbor, just a few miles away. We discovered the fun and "charm" of the Inner Harbor a few years ago, when on a whim we decided to get away during a late winter day. After spending the day there exploring, we had felt like we were returning from a much longer vacation. It was so invigorating!
The Inner Harbor has been renovated over the last 40 years and now includes an eclectic mix of charming historic buildings blended with shiny contemporary architecture and maritime exhibits, including the aquarium. It is quaint, yet exciting and brimming with visitors, joggers, and employees of nearby businesses. All are there to shop, eat, relax to the music in the air and the peaceful watefront. We enjoyed having lunch in a restaurant overlooking the habor. I felt like I was already on our cruise.
Here we are in the mouth of a giant shark - one of the exhibits in the aquarium.
If their "Tuesday Afternoons" commercial doesn't get you, then maybe seeing Nemo here might. There were many colorful and interesting fish to see in each exhibit ranging from river to bay to ocean. We enjoyed the sharks and look downs and even puffer fish as they swam circles around us. Check out the aquarium at www. aqua.org
This is the entrance to the Australia Wild Extremes exhibit where waterfalls tumble down red rock, banana palms and eucalyptus grow from the crevices. Lizards hide in grottoes and parrots and other birds - including the kookabura flit about. We really enjoyed the variety of this and especially the rainforest exhibit.
I didn't take this picture, but wish I did. This is the view as we strolled the perimeter of the harbor. We didn't have time to go on one of the boat rides offered there. You can rent either a traditional paddle boat or a dragon boat, like these. We look forward to doing that on our next visit.
