We had a sleep out in our yard with the big kids, and by we I mean Brandon and Bullet slept in the tent with them, because I still have a fantastic excuse that Violet had to sleep in her crib, thus I had to sleep in the house too. hooray, another year of avoiding tent sleeping for me! When they woke up in the morning, Brandon cooked us breakfast over the fire and everyone loved it. The kids have asked to sleep out in the tent again approximately four hundred and sixty three times since then.
We logged some hours in nature, taking walks and exploring. My parents joined us for a walk with Bullet and Trixie (which is generally an adventure in and of itself). The dogs were so happy to roam free in un-smelled territory and Bullet is always ecstatic to get to swim. It was a great hike (thanks Abba & Chum!)
And walking here behind our house through the woods and cornfields. Jogging with a happy Bully-Boy. Walks with the kids are always a big lower-back workout for me with Violet-too-heavy-for-the-carrier in the carrier up and down the hills. Sometimes with Gemma on my back even because: threenager, my legs are too tired. Thanks to Grey and Caleb for helping her get through it - hah.
We had a farewell summer day with the Fiores, first visiting the Splash Park and playground in Hollidaysburg. It was a little cloudy that day, but the kids still loved it. Then we spent the long afternoon at their house playing until we headed out to the Curve baseball game that night. And luck of all that is lucky (!) they even had fireworks that night. Talk about a send off to summer! It was Violet's first time with fireworks, so as long as I kept repeating "Wow, Yay!" with a huge smile on my face, she held back her tears.
We spent a beautiful day at Delgrosso's amusement park with Mimi (their great grandma), Aunt Eileen and our cousins riding rides and visiting the water park. It was the first time Grey got the guts to ride on an actual big kid ride (thanks to having his brave older cousins Ariel and Gracie beside him) and there was no turning back after that. He rode the Rockstar ride about sixteen times that day, plus a hand full of other must-be-at-least-42inches-tall rides. Violet and Ben had their first taste of kiddie rides and quickly became obsessed. Their little smiles and shouts of pure joy were so infectious. Oh, those two! It was such a fantastic day and I'm so grateful that our kids have such wonderful cousins to grow up with.
We met our cousins Tete, Mallory, and Hunter at the Living Treasures petting zoo to spend the day visiting with the animals and having lunch together. Violet was in awe of all the animals so close to her and was pretty brave about feeding them (ahem, sheep picture below!) The kids love spending time with Mallory and Hunter and their little conversations are always hysterical. Gemmi was thrilled that the guys cleaning the rabbit tent stopped for a minute to let her pet and hold their white bunnies (the animal she requests for a new pet at least once a week). We even got to hear the lion roar a few times (so beautiful and loud!)
We logged some hours in nature, taking walks and exploring. My parents joined us for a walk with Bullet and Trixie (which is generally an adventure in and of itself). The dogs were so happy to roam free in un-smelled territory and Bullet is always ecstatic to get to swim. It was a great hike (thanks Abba & Chum!)
And walking here behind our house through the woods and cornfields. Jogging with a happy Bully-Boy. Walks with the kids are always a big lower-back workout for me with Violet-too-heavy-for-the-carrier in the carrier up and down the hills. Sometimes with Gemma on my back even because: threenager, my legs are too tired. Thanks to Grey and Caleb for helping her get through it - hah.
We tried to get in as many meals outside as possible because something about eating outside feels special. The kids are always more interested in running and playing outside for long into the dark when we eat dinner outside which adds to the feeling of wild and free in the summer. This year we enjoyed breakfast, lunch, and dinner multiple times outside!
We had a farewell summer day with the Fiores, first visiting the Splash Park and playground in Hollidaysburg. It was a little cloudy that day, but the kids still loved it. Then we spent the long afternoon at their house playing until we headed out to the Curve baseball game that night. And luck of all that is lucky (!) they even had fireworks that night. Talk about a send off to summer! It was Violet's first time with fireworks, so as long as I kept repeating "Wow, Yay!" with a huge smile on my face, she held back her tears.
We spent a beautiful day at Delgrosso's amusement park with Mimi (their great grandma), Aunt Eileen and our cousins riding rides and visiting the water park. It was the first time Grey got the guts to ride on an actual big kid ride (thanks to having his brave older cousins Ariel and Gracie beside him) and there was no turning back after that. He rode the Rockstar ride about sixteen times that day, plus a hand full of other must-be-at-least-42inches-tall rides. Violet and Ben had their first taste of kiddie rides and quickly became obsessed. Their little smiles and shouts of pure joy were so infectious. Oh, those two! It was such a fantastic day and I'm so grateful that our kids have such wonderful cousins to grow up with.
We met our cousins Tete, Mallory, and Hunter at the Living Treasures petting zoo to spend the day visiting with the animals and having lunch together. Violet was in awe of all the animals so close to her and was pretty brave about feeding them (ahem, sheep picture below!) The kids love spending time with Mallory and Hunter and their little conversations are always hysterical. Gemmi was thrilled that the guys cleaning the rabbit tent stopped for a minute to let her pet and hold their white bunnies (the animal she requests for a new pet at least once a week). We even got to hear the lion roar a few times (so beautiful and loud!)
We headed out to the local Drive-in movie theater as a family on one chilly Friday night to see AntMan. Violet slept the entire movie, and the kids and I slept for about half of it in the bed of the truck. Brandon was the only one who saw the entire movie, but we tried - hah.
And too officially close out the last bit of summer, we invited our friends and family to spend the last Sunday before school started at the Quemahoming Dam for a picnic lunch and playing. We were lucky to have a beautiful weather day and even live music from a local church that was having their picnic there too. We ran into some friends unexpectedly (hi, Karen and Lincoln!) and I even had a surprise Happy Birthday song and cupcake!
Whew, it was such a great summer and when we got down to those last weeks, we really turned up the fun. It was awesome and I'm so grateful to be able to meet up with some many of our friends and family to make memories that will be lodged in our kids' memories. What a great, great summer. Now, it's time to settle in and slow down and that feels alright with me.
Your house seems so idyllic for raising kids! That grass, those hills!
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