Tenbus Tails: I blinked and it's August.

Cue obligatory teacher rant about how quickly the summer is going and how close school starting up again is coming blah blah blah.

My available free time these days is VERY limited as my little 15 month tornado needs attention every.single.second. So I'm just gonna skip a long intro & jump right into recapping what we've been doing lately (ya know for the past month!)

We enjoyed such an exciting visit with the Knoxes!! George & Amanda are expecting their first baby in January and while they were home, they were spreading their happy news. Such a special time for them. Mason really bonded with George this trip (of course being the baby whisperer she is, Mason has been akin to Amanda since, well, practically in utero). Amanda & I even snuck in a girls day. It was a great week or so, and they'll be back at the beginning of August :)

A Rafferty reunion of sorts was enjoyed by many at Glen's Graduation Party at the 1st Class Club in West Point. Notable was that my cousin Laura, her husband John, and kids Carmen & Rylan from Colorado Springs made it out and finally got to meet Mason!!

We spent the 4th of July with John's family at the Eick's house in Wilkes Barre. Mason was chasing Frank & Emma around and got some swimming in. He warmed right up to his godfather and we had a blast watching the kids and eating delicious barbecue.

Shortly after the Knoxes' visit, sadly, my grandfather passed away. He was up visiting us and it was quite clear that he was extremely weak and sick. While I will miss him more than words can say, I am happy that he is reunited with 2 of his sons in heaven and all his loved ones that went before him. He was 87 years old and truly one of my favorite people. He told the best stories, loved to sing, and always put everyone around him in a better mood. Some of my happiest childhood memories are spending time with my grandparents; 4th of July parades in Highland Falls, card games at cousin Helen's, visits at their villa in Florida, they were there for my all of my religious milestones, graduations, and even got to meet and spend time with Mason. Luckily, my grandmother is in pretty great health and hopefully we'll be able to enjoy her for many more years to come.

After celebrating the life of my grandfather and laying him to rest, we had a busy week or so of summer fun. Wednesday we went to Claws & Paws with my friend Danielle, her husband Ed, & their kids Griffin & Kayleigh. We saw lions, tigers, and bears....and giraffes, snakes, jaguars, foxes, and monkeys. We had a nice time. The next few days in a row were EXTREMELY hot so we spent a few days straight over in Narrrowsburg cooling off in Grandma & Grandpa Tenbus' pool.

We had a playdate with Alicia & Kylie at the beginning of this week, and our friend Megan joined us with her daughter Riley. It was a beautiful afternoon. Unfortunately Mason only had a 25 minute nap & was very clingy and tired. He barely got out of my arms :( Hopefully we can get together again before school starts up.

Mason & I stopped over to see his babysitter Pam. It had been a month since he'd seen her and he was pretty cautious about how close he was willing to get. I think he's gotten very spoiled spending a month straight with Mommy & Daddy pretty much every waking hour. He will go to Pam's for a day next week to spend the day with her. I'm sure he will warm right up & get back of the swing of things there.

Summer sure is flying....we are enjoying every day!!