Farewell to Summer.

Abruptly, as these things usually do, the wildest summer we could recall came to a screeching halt. At 0630 on Monday, August 29, to be exact, when I jumped off the Peloton and dragged the littlest Niemans out of bed for their first day of school in Maryland. (Also, in what felt like decades.) 

They had become accustomed to sleeping much, much later and watching TV in their pajamas. The wailing and gnashing of teeth could be heard for many miles away.

We pulled it off, and our brand new first and second graders are off to a new schoolyear at Millersville Elementary. They have been tough, resilient Army kids this chaotic moving season. Here's to new friends and new adventures!

But first, we settled in. We found a dojang for martial arts and a church we love.

We caught up with old friends 

and found new pools (here, having joyously just passed the swim test we all remember.) 

We explored the new neighborhood and rode our bikes to the beach on weeknights.

And then we had a summer farewell tour/ back-to-school bash for the ages. Including a sunflower festival

and waterfall hikes,

sunset paddles and Dave and Buster's,

gymnastics camp and back-to-school shopping,

bowling and brunch treats.

We capped it all off with a weekend run up to West Point for a camping trip at beautiful Round Pond,

our favorite neighbors' retirement celebration,

and some nostalgic photo reprises.

And now it's fall... y'all. (Found the first red leaf of the year last week at Kilgore!) Not that it feels that way in the muggy mid-Atlantic.

Cheers to a new schoolyear and cooler weather!

Survived Disney. Barely.

It had been the most exhausting couple of months we could imagine, with little downtime, a full DITY (do-it-yourself) move under our belts, and a looming new job/ new school/ new sports/ new friends adjustment. So of course the second we unpacked the last box, we took a relaxing vacation.

Just kidding, we went to Disney. 

In August.

The kids have been begging to go to Disney since they could talk, and at some point I told them we could go when Finley was 7 and Ford was 6... because it seemed like one billion years away. Oops. Nobody told me that time flies when you have little kids. Who are not so little anymore.

Luckily, because Disney has become an insanely complicated morass of reservations you have to set alarms to make and three-leg transportation journeys and insider know-how, my old roomie Rebecca was going this summer with her extended family, and they have been doing this nonsense for 30 years. She told me if I just gave her my credit card she would handle everything. At some point following some truly shocking charges, I deduced that we were either Disney-bound or the victim of grand larceny. I'll refrain from comment as to the more painful of the two. But at least we were one big, happy, overheated family in this together!

At any rate, Tuesday afternoon the Niemans boarded the lucky dogs and road tripped to the Sunshine State, stopping for Cracker Barrel fare and alligator farms. As one does on I-95.

The daunting heat was made slightly more bearable- at least for the time being- by a waterpark hotel.

We settled in, stocked up on snacks and copious amounts of alcohol, and braced ourselves for four days of magic.

And magic it was. Truly. The heat index topped 100 degrees and we didn't have the heart to check the humidity. It was as crowded, complicated, exhausting, and expensive as we had heard. And then some.

But Disney has the market cornered on magic. Ford truly believes he met the real Mickey. And that Chewbacca trained him to sneak up on storm troopers. Who materialized, and confirmed.

The Animal Kingdom safari included the full cast of "The Lion King"

(and we found beer!)

The shows were Broadway-caliber (and at the Frozen sing-along, no kidding, real snow fell during the finale.)

EPCOT positively sparkled, a combination of old Disney and stunning new rides ("Soarin'" was so good Jayne and I insisted that everyone go on it multiple times, and I am not what you would call a ride afficionado) 

and world class dinner shows,

not to mention ridiculous 3D rides and 'round-the-world experiences so realistic I am reevaluating international plane fares.

The highlight of Ford's life, the Star Wars Intergalactic Experience, or whatever it was called, was the stuff dreams are made of 

(F+F got to fly the Millenium Falcon and build their own droids with Dad. Mom could not bring herself to look at the bill.)

The Iron Grandparents really knocked it out of the park on some long (10 miles+!) days.

Beer and ice cream came through in many a pinch.

April and Gunnar came to visit us on a down afternoon at the waterpark (those are mocktails, we swear!)

And Rebecca and I rode in the trunk after a 12 hour day on more than one occasion.

After some long haul driving by Seth while the rest of us literally passed out from Disney overload, we are back home and vowing never to do this again. But it sure was a wild ride! (Maybe only a tired and halfhearted pun intended.) 

This goofball was happy to get the band back together anyway...