Time flies when you're having fun!

It has been one crazy busy Summer. We have had so much fun with the kids and have had lots of adventures. I am so glad we bought the RV a few years back. We have definitely gotten use out of it this year. We would not have been able to do half the things we do due to the cost. It allows us to avoid eating out with 7 people, paying for 2 hotel rooms and we don't have to fly. 7 plane tickets for 7 people = unaffordable.

We had a checklist of things to do this Summer and I think we completed it just in time for School to start up again on Thursday.
My husband created this list:

Fun stuff for our Life:

Camping at the Beach
Weekend in Vermont or Maine (we did BOTH! and we actually spent an entire week in Vermont and saw the Canadian Border)
Kite Festival
PawSox Game
CoCo Key Water Park
Beach
Drew's Birthday Camping (Tent camping weekend with Dad)
Westport River Boat Ride
Martha's Vineyard (We didn't make it here BUT we took a 4 hour round trip boat tour to an Island in Maine so it counts!)

We actually went on a few more trips in the RV and were able to park overnight legally for free and had a blast.

We have owned our business now for 5 years and this was the first Summer we had our employee work every other Saturday for us. She always works on Sunday's so this gave us an entire weekend off all Summer long. It was by far the best Summer we have had. The kids were so well behaved and made everything very enjoyable.

Life isn't always easy with a fiesty 2 year old and a 14 year old with Cerebral Palsy but we make the most of it. We just carry on with our lives even if it takes a lot of work. The older girls are able to help out with the younger kids and we all pitch in to have a great time.

We have a lot of changes going on in this house. Brendan starts High School this year, yup the 9th grade! Makayla heads off to Middle School and Drew starts Kindergarten. I have been spending the last few weeks shopping for all of their supplies and clothe and we are just about all set. Everyone is always growing so everyone needed new clothes and shoes. Luckily we still try and shop at consignment stores, Savers and I am always watching for good sales to combine with coupons. We did stop at a shoe store to get everyone new sneakers and it cost $270! You can not start the school year without a pair of brand new sneakers but I am not sure I got the best deals. A bit pricey for my liking.

We realized how much money the RV saves in food while in Maine for the weekend. Since we can pack all the drinks, snacks, coffee and meals we need we save a ton! We decided to take the kids out to dinner since we NEVER go out and it cost over $100 and we just went to a little diner! 7 people just makes eating out completely unaffordable. Lesson Learned!

This Summer we have been able to park for free at Park in Rides, $5 a night in Maine and we found a great luxery campground in Vermont with 2 pools for half the amount we normally spend on our weekly Summer camping trip. We find adventures a long the way visiting our country side which cost nothing and makes amazing memories.

One day we will travel cross country to CA but we need a good 2 weeks off from work so we will probably have to wait a few years. It will also be better when Lily is a bit older. She wants out of her car seat about 4 hours into a trip. For now we will continue to enjoy our experiences and plan on heading South over the next year.


We just had a few weeks of down time and now 3 sports start up again. We have Cheer, Soccer and Softball which will take up our weekends again for many months. We are enjoying watching our children grow and learn and partake in things. It keeps us always running around but they are only kids once!

Check out our other pictures I posted!