Summers without Solomon are sad.   Though I always enjoy time with my husband, I feel like part of me is missing when my son is not home.  I miss him so badly.  The summers just drag by.  I praise God that this summer is filled with lots of fun activities for him with rich  travel experiences including a camping/RV/boating trip with his Aunt Julie & Uncle Mark, a trip to the beach in Florida with his grandparents, and a flight to Texas to visit with his Dad, Tobie, and little bro and sis.  Solomon is having a wonderful time and I am blessed to be able to talk to him on the phone every couple of days.  I'll sure be glad when he's home though...it's just not the same with him gone.  Here are a few photos from his summer sent by his Aunt Julie.  

It's hard to believe my son is 10 years old today.  We were blessed to have my in-laws down for the weekend and got to celebrate 2 birthdays together.  Bogie, my father-in-law (74) and Solomon (10) got to blow out candles together!

Bogie got a cool GPS for his Envoy.  We had fun listening to it tell us how to get to Chick Filet.  Modern gadgets never cease to amaze me!   

Here, Solomon begins building the Lego Miners set he got in the mail from his dad.  He ended up getting it finished in the afternoon and has it showcased on his shelves above his bed. 

We opened more presents in the afternoon, the coolest of  which was a knife Dave gave to Solomon.  Really neat!  And, really sharp!   He's been practicing drawing and opening it with one hand.  He's getting pretty smooth already. What a big boy he's grown to be. 

After opening gifts, Solomon did a little guitar recital for us at Dave's request.  He played Amazing Grace, Sing Allelujah to the Lord, Holy Holy Holy, his most recent scale and arpegio exercise, and All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name.  Very nice.  I'm trying to upload the video.  You may be able to see it in my videos if the upload is successful.  

We spent the afternoon at the Kentucky Artisan Center and walking through the shops downtown Berea.  Then, we came home to have cupcakes and ice cream and play some more ladderball.  Bogie is the all-time undefeated champion of ladderball! 

God certainly blessed our visit and celebration. 

We just enjoyed a wonderful trip to Florida.  Our intent for the trip was business...but we managed to squeeze quite a bit of fun in there as well.  The highlight of the trip was a stop in Adel, GA to worship with an awesome little group of believers at Sovereign Grace Baptist Church.  The worship and fellowship were such a blessing, we planned our trip home around worshiping with them again the following Sunday.   Our second stop was in Clearwater, FL where we enjoyed the beautiful water and soft sand (in our blue jeans and sweatshirts).  It was my first time to the beach in cold-weather clothing.  But, it was still much fun!  We really enjoyed an Armed Forces Museum in Largo, FL where we got to be surrounded with firearms equipment and learn some interesting tidbits.  Great time!   

Then, we enjoyed a rainy day at John's Pass...perfect time to dart in and out of the little shops along the boardwalk. 

This was the view out the balcony of our room the last night in Clearwater.  I must say, God painted a gorgeous sky that night!  Thanks to my hubby's long arms, we were able to capture it on film.

We also really enjoyed a dinner cruise on StarLite Majesty.  We got to listen to some great music, eat yummy food, stand out on the freezing bow of the ship and watch the city lights as we cruised by...and watch little old ladies dance to the Macarina and Electric Slide!  Funny! 

Then, it was off to Orlando for the SHOT Show, where we got to meet lots of our distributors for the business and spend some time with a few of our new partners.  Great fun!  Then, a day at Sea World before we headed home.  The highlights of Sea World were the Dolphin Show and the Shamu Show!  (We stayed out of the soak zone!)