We aren’t ready to close the book on summer yet – not by a long shot. August is that squeeze-it-all-in month when we get serious about finishing our summer projects, visiting the hot spots we wanted to check out, and working in all of those summer plans that we made over the winter.
In our household, we took a break from swim team this year, so I decided to take advantage of our newfound early summer freedom by spending some extended time with out-of-town family. We started by visiting the boys’ grandma in Northern Virginia for a few days, then we popped over to the Eastern Shore of Maryland for the week of July Fourth in my hometown, visiting my mom and lots of other family during our time there. After that, we were off to Florida (by car, you know how thrifty I am!), visiting our siblings in Jacksonville and Boca Raton, making great memories, splashing in pools and rivers, and even fishing and catching a huge bass! Some of our adventures (and some amazing sunsets) have shown up on RFM’s Instagram page, so if you don’t follow us, be sure to find us at @rfmtoday to
see what August has in store for us.
One big thing that is happening for us in August gives a whole new meaning to the term “dog days of summer” – we’re getting a puppy! I can hardly believe we’re taking the plunge, after years of thinking about it, weighing the many pros and cons, and hearing the kids beg for one nearly nonstop (I’m not kidding, I’ve thought about this way more than I ever did about having kids!). The boys created a very detailed PowerPoint presentation a couple of years ago, giving us all of the reasons we should get a dog, and of course, promising they would take care of a dog. And yes, every single person I know who has kids and dogs has warned me that the kids never, ever follow through on their promises. It’s definitely disheartening, but we will try to make them stick to their word and work with us to make this pup a well-trained member of the Thompson family. Wish us luck!
This issue is packed full of end of summer inspiration, from sound advice from everyone’s favorite travel writer, Wendy Irvine, for an awesome family trip to Nashville (page 36), to a wonderful profile from Joan Tupponce all about RVA’s own ray of sunshine, CBS 6 meteorologist Nikki-Dee Ray (page 28). Karen gives us some great ideas for making the most of our final weeks of summer (page 14), and John Morgan will crack you up with his ode to the end of swim team season in the Dad Zone (page 66).
Enjoy this issue, and soak up the final weeks of summer!
