This Morning it was 57 Degrees!

And that means FALL IS COMING!
I love it when the weather is so calm and even that you can spend hours upon hours outside without getting chilly or too hot and sweaty. Early Fall is great! The colder season teases you with its appearances in the early mornings and late evenings, and the stores start to change. Everything turns into Pumpkin Spice - ha! I'm actually not a huge fan of the PSL from Starbucks (sorry, ladies!), but I can definitely get down with some pumpkin spiced baked goods!

But, let's not get ahead of ourselves! Here's how the rest of our summer went:

Damion got a new job at the end of June, working for Sam Houston Jones State Park. He had been working a night job at FedEx during the meantime of looking for this full time job, so we had to quickly adjust to his new day shift schedule. He really loves his job out there! :o)

These things are crazy! They have no fear..
Please don't feed wild animals like this when you're camping!

That's Maggie. She's very friendly!

I took these when I went to have lunch with him at work one day. 

A locust! GET OUT OF HERE WITH THAT.
He saw them a lot this summer. YUCK!

He had to work on July 4th, but he's off pretty early in the afternoons, so we had time to make plans for fireworks. This year, we decided to go to Lake Charles and view the presentation from the top of one of the casino parking decks. What we didn't know is that this was also the plan of 23,443 other families. :o) We got a fairly decent spot to part and waited for the show... and then, there they were! Bright and beautiful in the sky. However, we couldn't only see about 1/4 of the display because we happened to be in a weird position with the casino building, which was blocking our view! Ha! We made our way through the crowds of people to hurry ourselves back to the interstate and find a new spot before the show ended. We came upon a long line of people who simply pulled over to the side of the interstate right by the lake, so we just joined them and watched the remaining display from the car. The good thing about this was that we just had to make a simple u-turn to head back to our town and were able to miss the mass exodus of all those 23,443 others leaving the parking decks!

I mean, that's really the best most people can do with an iphone camera, right? :o)

About a week or so later, Damion's grandmother called us up to see if we would join her for dinner one evening. We hadn't seen her since the week after Memorial Day, so we were all for it! She treated us to a delicious evening at L'Auberge for their buffet. The food there is incredible, and there's SO MUCH OF IT. We left in time to look over the lake as the sun was setting. Super pretty! :o)

Pretty sunset!

Mawmaw Dianna!

It was a little bit windy up there. :o)

At the end of the month, Damion and I took off and headed north to visit my cousin, Roslyn (and hubby, Amir) and sweet baby Armita! I was right; I'm still her favorite cousin. :o) She's super cute and cuddly! I was happy to see her again!

August arrived, and we had reached a real milestone. One that many of you have been following for this whole past year... Damion had reached his Yeard. His beard turned one-year-old. It's a pretty neat feat, if you ask me, and I really like his beard! I know many women don't, but that's okay.. he's all mine. :o) He thought about it for less than a week or so, but finally decided - it was time to let it go. I couldn't believe he was really ready for that. He sat down at the vanity in our bedroom and just went for it! I teared up! Haha.. I was so happy to get to see his sweet face again, but it was THE END OF AN ERA! AH! And then, when he was finished, I cried even more. Ha! He's just so handsome!
Have no fear, beard fans.. he hasn't touched a razor since. We're 6 weeks into beard number 2. We'll see how long this one goes!

August holds another Conley birthday -- Damion's little brother, Dustin. He turned 19, and he had some friends over for a catfish fry. The day before, Damion and Dustin went together to catch all the fish. They really caught some big ones!! We all got to enjoy the fruits (and fishes) of their labor, and some yummy carrot cake for dessert! We ended the night with a family game, which we always love!

Dustin with one of his big catches!

They had to play around in the rain a little bit. :o)

August also meant it was time for school!
My nieces started the 6th and 3rd grades (what???) and my nephew started Kindergarten! So cute!
But, we also have a student in this house! Damion started college! I'm so incredibly proud of him!
We're a few weeks in, and he, of course, has an A average in all his classes so far. :o)
He's got some smarty-britches, that one. <3

What was your summer filled with? We'd love to hear from y'all!