As per usual I am behind in my blogging so I will do one big post on our summer. I really wish that blogger would get their app back working again. It made blogging so much easier for me. So this summer we were filled with lots of things. From camping to my 40th birthday in Nashville (separate post) to geocaching. We got out of school late so we had a short filled summer break. Here is the run down...
Of course, we were camping and boating. Boating this year was a bit rough because we had a lot of rain and the lake was at flood stage June and July so our beaches we normally go to were under water. So we floated in the open water a bunch. Not exactly what the kids enjoyed but we managed to still have a good time.
This year camping, Eli figured out how to pedal and ride his bike. He rode and rode his bike every evening. He loved it!
John Deere had sponsored event at the Iowa cubs game so we went. Although we are not baseball fans we went. It is in Des Moines so we got a hotel and I think that is what the kids liked the most, I think. At the game they had a splash pad for the kids to play in that is pretty much where they were the entire game. I am not sure I watched any of the game, which was ok with me because again, we are not fans of baseball. It was great family night.
We signed Eli up for swim lessons and this is THE ONLY one he has gone too. The second lesson he would NOT get into the pool and cried. Then the 3rd dad got him in for about 10 minutes and the 4th he screamed the entire way to them, screamed more when I tried to get him out and was literally so upset. I have never seen him act that way before, so needless to say we went home and we have not returned. I do not know what his problem is because he LOVES swimming and the water. In fact, I think he was even above this level of swim lessons. Oh well, I only preschool goes better than swim lessons, although he will HAVE to go.
We managed to get a few hikes in which the kids loved. Eli likes getting muddy and the girls like the adventure.
Birthdays were celebrated and I attempted a tiered cake. It turned out and thank goodness Jody likes cake because there was a of it.
And birthdays....we welcomed Eleanor Ann into the world this July. The girls completely fell in love and asked me for a baby sister and then pulled out all their baby stuff and played babies. Josie loves holding her, feeding her and is basically wanting to babysit. For the record, I will not be having another baby :)
John Deere in Ottumwa had a sponsored night at The Beach here so we had the entire facility rented out for JD employees and families. It was really nice, no lines, not many people and beautiful weather. The girls braved up and went down the water slides with some encouragement. This pretty much where they spent the rest of the night--on the water slides. Eli really wanted to go but obviously he wasn't big enough for the slides but we did find one he was able to go down on a smaller scale.
We didn't make as many trips to the pool as I would have liked but Eli's nap really makes getting to the pool difficult. Next year he won't be taking a nap so we should be there a lot more.
Snack art was hit. I tried to break up the usual snack getting and made the girls "create" their snack.
Four our anniversary in April I bought Joey tickets to his favorite band, Zack Brown Band. His concert was this August at the state fair. It was such a good concert. So glad we got to go.
I tired some geocaching with the kids while camping and we found one! It was in this ammo box. We signed our names and added a little trinket and put it back for the next person to find. I think the kids could really into this as it's like a scavenger hunt on a grander scale.
The girls were able to attend the state fair with clover kids 4-h and I was able to chaperone as well. We had a great, long day seeing all the things (no rides) at the state fair. One of things they did was make this bees nest to put up at home so we can increase the pollinating bees around. We learned what bees do and how they are endangered. We hung this bees nest in a little wooded area near our house. Hopefully bees find it. OF course there were lots of John Deere tractors around ;)
We have filled our summer vacation with lots of memories and family times and now come Monday, I go back to work. The girls will be in first grade and Eli will be in 3yo preschool. How can this be, already????
