Summer Fun

We are enjoying our summer! I have been teaching a musical theater camp in the mornings for the past couple weeks at the Helena ampitheather under a big circus tent. Most days it has been really nice...the breeze blows, the water flows by, the trains occasionally run and the kids are sweet. A few days have been incredibly hot and humid and the occasional thunderstorm has sent us scrambling. We wrap this weekend with our showcase and although I enjoy it, I will be happy to be finished. :)

Matthew spent much of last week with Memaw and Papa - he says he enjoyed playing with the puppies and watching the baby birds learn how to fly! He began swim lessons this week at Samford again. They swim 45 minutes a day and he is worn out by the time it is over. :) He is also taking violin lessons - he has had one lesson so far. I think he was disappointed to not be playing away after his first 15 minute lesson, but we'll keep at it!

Last weekend, we braved the weather to head to the Alex City Jazz Fest with Uncle Buddy and Aunts "Reesy" and Esther. We really enjoyed the music, especially Amanda Shaw's fiddle! She was great! I had hoped MVP would take notice, but he was awfully busy dancing with anyone and everyone who would stop...

On Saturday, we took Matthew to the water park in Auburn. I think that Matthew is turning into a thrill seeker...he has no fear and wants to go on rides that are significantly beyond his ability level. He certainly has not always been like this, but when we were at Six Flags, he loved the roller coasters and Saturday was begging for the HUGE water slides. Very unlike him....hmmm. Anyway, we had a great time hanging out with Buddy and Teresa and Auntie Esther for the weekend and Matthew told me the other day he wants us to "put a basketball pad in our backyard like Buddy and Reesy have." I told him to go look - he has one. :) He says it isn't the same.

It is Vacation Bible School at First Pres this week - Matthew is a "Funky Monkey" - he has been super excited about that. Andy and I are attending an environmental class "Can I Get Lunch on a Carbon Credit?" Interesting Stuff...

Next week continues swim lessons for us and then we plan to visit Granny Garrett and Cindy in Manchester. We love you all and hope you are well and happy!

Cherith, Andy & Matthew

Beach Recap

Hello Family! I've been so "busy" enjoying my first week of summer break that I haven't updated the blog. I had these great intentions of blogging from Destin so those of you who couldn't make it could keep up with us, but yeah, well, that just didn't happen. :) Here are a few more pics from some of our time together there...see the slide show for more! And if you were there and have digital pics...email me for info on how to upload yours into the site.


The beach wheelchair, although not the easiest thing to maneuver, was great for letting Granny in on the waves and beach action - she told me once she never thought she'd take up surfing! The sun was brutal but armed with the umbrella and plenty of sunscreen we ventured out to play in the surf.
After a while, we had to back the chair up...it was floating away! Come back Granny.....

Matthew loves the ocean and especially loved playing this trip with Patrick, who put him on the boogie board over and over and Brooke, who never tired of carrying pails of water to dump in the sand!




Matthew (and Mom) wanted to play goofy golf, and miraculously we found a place. Although I think Matthew really enjoyed it, he quickly realized that he liked posing with the girls (Sarah, Hannah) more than he liked putting the ball.

When all was said and done, beach visitors were Laurel, Granny, Cindy, Pat, Paula, Brooke, Jane, Papa, Timothy, Maureen, Sarah, Hannah, James, Christy, Andy, Matthew and I. If you weren't there, here are some highlights you missed:


- Sun, sand, and surf!
- Andy's jambalaya
- Laurel's BBQ
- Maureen's pasta salad
- Cindy's hamburgers and shishkabobs
- Cherith's shrimp and grits (yes, Cherith COOKED!)
- Scrabble games
- Crab hunt
- Movie night
- John's sand creations
- Garrett family picture session (remember those...aren't they FUN!!! hint-we did this one BEFORE it was time to leave.)
- Bike rides
- Go cart races
- Mini golf
- Late night ice cream outings
- watching Laurel and Cherith do the SkyRide (bungee drop)


It was great! And you all know how hard it is to mobilize the Garrett force all (or mostly!) in the same direction. So a big KUDOS to Laurel for the mighty amount of effort and incentive it took to make this happen. Way to go cuz!


So....this is going to become an annual event, people. You know you want to be there again if you were there this year and if you weren't, you should have been! :) Plan ahead, be ready...you'll be hearing from us.


~The Grandgirls