We started our summer by attending our very first Colonial ball in Winston-Salem, NC. Along with our friends the Heritages, we spent many evenings leading up to the big event trying to memorize 20 dances. Many of the dances were new and, much to my delight(!), several were more challenging than we are used to.
The fun we had that evening was worth all of the hard work.
We painted (ah, we did get to the painting!) the kitchen blue and decorated it in soft blue and green. Don't you just love freshly starched linen?!
On Memorial Day, our family played golf together at our very own Black Creek Golf Course. This was the first time we've golfed as a family.
Okay, so we didn't all play. Mom and Molly Elizabeth just came along to drive the carts...
At the beginning of June, we had a small English Country Dance at the Fresh Air Home on Tybee Island. The beachy setting was perfect for an informal summer dance, where I taught our Savannah friends some of the more advanced dances we learned for the ball in Winston-Salem.
This year it was Grandaddy's turn to host the Sisco family reunion (he is one of 12 children). His children and grandchildren pitched in to help him pull together a weekend in Chattanooga packed with great fellowship, lots of yummy food, and a fabulous family history lesson. Above: Granddad and most of his children and grandchildren
The Sisco Gang. I think we had around 75 attending this year.
Mom and Dad celebrated their 31st anniversary on June 21st. We helped them celebrate by serving dinner for two on the veranda.
Our whole family joined our church's youth mission trip to Live Oak, FL, where we did construction on two houses and built a playground for a local church. Daddy worked on building the playground (which was huge!). Mama and Molly Elizabeth painted, Benjamin and Andrew hung Hardie-board siding, and Clay led the soffit crew (the stuff that goes under the eaves of a house). Susan Liana led the vinyl siding crew on the house pictured above. 
Our week long camping trip to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park with the Hobson family was tons of fun! We usually camp in Cades Cove, but this year we switched it up a little and went to Cosby. During the week we did some hiking, went tubing, played lots of games, visited Cataloochee, ate a lot of food, didn't take many showers, and had an all around wonderful time.
We started camping with the Hobson family in 1999. At that time we had a combined total of 10 kids. We've now grown to 15!
A few days after our camping trip, we painted the girls's room a coral pink.
We also painted the dining room and lots of white trim (thanks to Granddaddy!) this summer.
Mom and Dad have worked hard in the garden, and we've enjoyed many meals that have included our very own produce. Peppers and squash have been particularly plentiful, because the deer don't care for them.
Clay has been our traveler this summer. So far he has spent a week in New Hampshire staffing a TeenPact Survival class, and a week at World View Academy. He leaves Sunday for three more weeks, staffing TeenPact Survival classes in Montana and Alaska. Molly Elizabeth has worked two weeks at our church's day camp, and right now we are enjoying our friend from Texas, Courtney Hebert, who is visiting us for a week.
It might not have been the relaxing summer we expected, but, so far, it has been a good one. It isn't quite over yet...maybe we'll still get around to stripping that furniture.
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