July Fun

We have been enjoying our summer!  It really feels like we are just now getting used to the fact that it is summer!  Even though we have been out of school for months it still took a while for me to really feel like it was summer.  I guess there was no clear cut line from one to another, but regardless we are loving our relaxing summer days and nights.  We have a lot of pool time since it has also warmed up quick.  Nothing like the July heat to make the pool feel like a bathtub.  Bryce had his preschool camp and the next week Cohen had auxiliary camp for the middle school.  Bryce also recently had his kindergarten assessment test at the school so while we are still loving our summer time the kids have had a little contact with school activities.  I'm not sure how we will ever adjust to an alarm and getting back into a routine!  For now we will continue to enjoy our summer time!  Here's a little bit of what we have been doing!

Pool time is the best time!  Weekends we can all just go out there in the afternoon and stay!  Its even more fun having neighbors to play with!

chicken fight winners

flying Bryce

This little nugget turned 11 months old on the 7th!  I think I'm just in shock how fast these months keep ticking by.   She now has 3 teeth-2 on the bottom and one on top.  The top one is not one of the front 2 though so it is so funny to see her little smile.  You can tell she's going to have several break through all at once.  She is pulling up on everything and now gets brave and lets go and will stand for a few seconds.  Once she realizes what she is doing she will sit down.  I know for me I want to sit her down every time she starts to go.  I'm not quite ready to have her walking and more mobile than she already is!

 

Since it is summer its time to have the kids do some fun summer things...shell beans!  Trying to make sure they know what real fun is!  Lydia and I also made blackberry jelly!  I mean I felt my inner pioneer woman come alive for a day or 2 there. 

 Dawn and I usually walk almost every morning.  This particular morning she wasn't able to go so I tried recruiting another partner...needless to say Dawn need not feel threatened.  We made it to the coffee shop and had to stop for treats!

Kate has loved fishing this summer.  We've all gone together and some nights Kelly has taken just her.  She LOVES it.  For her birthday she had asked for fishing supplies and a tackle box which she got.  Since then she spends a lot of her time organizing her box and loves to go fishing.  One night she even went to Anderson with me to go to Academy to buy a fun new bait.  She is serious about her fishing!

There's such a relaxing feeling about summer nights.  The small things you do that make the best memories.  Ellington personally loves to get wagon rides and stroller rides any time she can!

You can count on us to keep the Chick-Fil-A drive thru hot too!  

So I had a pretty big celebration this month.  A certain "BIG" birthday.  My sweet family made my day super special all day long.  I loved it.  Cohen made me one of my favorite desserts.  I love that she likes to cook.  They made me feel so special.  

 

Our annual "slide" picture with Pop!

Ellington took her first truck ride...even though you can't see her in this picture

One Blessed girl!

My little chef making sure I have a good bday dessert!

SUZY!

Our summer days wouldn't be complete without some trips to the Vintage Cup.  We had never really been there until quarantine started.  That's also when my new found love of iced coffee started and the Vintage Cup has the BEST iced white chocolate mochas!  

Ellington got an early birthday gift from Grannie, Papa, Aunt Vicki, and Aunt Danette...a water table!  She loves it so much!

 Cohen was really on her Daddy to make her a slip and slide last weekend so he did and even Ellington took a turn on it!

She loved it!

 Cohen has always loved a slip and slide...here's a little flashback! 

 

 Summer is by far my favorite time of the year.  I can't believe we are really winding down to it.  Or at least as of now we are.   It makes me so sad but we are going to soak up what time we have left!  Making sweet memories is the best!

A Final Goodbye to Preschool

The first full week of July Bryce got to go back to preschool and have a final week of school-FINALLY.  I LOVED that First Friends chose to do this because it gave the kids a chance to be back together one more time with their friends in their class, and it gave this Mama a feeling of closure.  I know Bryce has no clue what he missed those last 2 months of school (thank goodness) but for me it was that last little bit of fun before entering "big" school where things just change.  It made me so sad.  On Thursday of the week the class even had their graduation.  Bryce loved his week back at school.  Towards the end of the week he was a little harder to get up each morning but he loved getting to go back and just have fun and see his friends.  It also gave me a glimpse of how hard its going to be to get back to school with an alarm.  Even after 5 months off I will not be ready for that! 

The last time Mrs. Amy put him in the car at car pool pick up!

Thursday night's graduation was so sweet.  We heard them all sing their favorite songs and they had a slideshow of pictures throughout the year.  They got their "diplomas" and Mrs. Amy told a little fun fact about each one.  For Bryce it was how he was the "weatherman" in the class always keeping an eye on the radar or wanting her to keep an eye on it.  Bryce has a fear of storms that he obsesses over! He gets very worried about the possibility of a tornado!  I was so glad these kids got their own little graduation.

Bryce just looked up and started waving bye bye when the graduation was ending.  We're not sure where he got that from!

I took Bryce to see Denny's new "stone" as he called it afterwards.  I know he would have been there watching him graduate if he had been here!

The graduate picked Cracker Barrel to eat at!

Friday was the "last day of school" and the day the kids had looked forward to.  They were so excited because Kona Ice was coming and they had a waterslide!  They had the best time!

I still can't believe my little boy is finished with preschool.  I wish so bad I could freeze him and keep him little.  He is the definition of awesome!

LES Here they come!

A trip down memory lane...ok now I'll just cry!