Where did summer go?

Well August is just about over and I'm really wondering where on earth our summer went. It's been blistering hot in most of the country all summer, and then it started flooding in the midwest. We have had an incredibly cool and mild summer, which I really haven't minded so much since I haven't had a chance to get out and enjoy it very much. The wonder of living in Seattle.
The funny thing is, we've had 2 weddings this summer. That may not sound that strange, but considering the last wedding I went to was probably 5 years ago, 2 in one summer was actually pretty extreme for us. We went to our last wedding last weekend and it was SO beautiful. It was a "destination wedding" out on the Washington Coast so we turned it into our mini-summer family vacation. Mom, Dad, Great Lil, and the four of us all spent 4 days in 2 cabins at Kalaloch Lodge.
Absolutely beautiful. We were totally off the grid all four days - we had no tv, cell, or computer service and it was perfect that way. All we had to worry about was running out of clothes because they were all wet/full of sand.
It was about as close to camping as we get as a family and it was great. They had a little Mercantile to buy the essentials for us, and a gift shop to buy the "essentials" for the kids.
It once again renewed our wish to live on the coast, but also reminded us that we were city kids and may not take to living out there full time too well. We'll have to see how that goes.
We also got some exciting news last week. Milo ended up being accepted into the private school we had applied to at the beginning of the year. There weren't any new spots opening up until just a few days ago in Pre-K - it's amazing it didn't happen until now. The crushing part, however, is that we realized we couldn't afford it after all. That's an appropriate word to describe how I felt about that - CRUSHED. To be working full-time and still not be able to send him to the school we absolutely fell in love with really hits a sore spot for me. SMate has talked me off the ledge, though, reminding me that there are, indeed, good schools that he might be able to get into and we'll just have to start working on more family "experiences" instead of things - and maybe we'll get another shot at the school later.
I'll likely do a seperate post tomorrow about schools. I'm actually really not a fan of private schools at all. I'm a huge proponent of public school and actually seen the diversity of the world around us BEFORE you enter college (or in some cases - get a job after college). We just have some particularly difficult issues where we live and this particular private school has a motto that speaks right to my heart, my gut, and more importantly, my mind... "Giddens School provides an academically excellent curriculum enriched with a commitment to critical thinking and social responsibility. Staff and families create a community that nourishes diversity, sense of self, and love of learning."
We need to win the lottery....
:o)

Happy Monday - enjoy summer while you still can....