New School Year

So I think we started a new tradition this year that I really enjoyed and hope to do again.  I took each kid out to the restaurant of their choice and then school supply shopping.  It was so fun to spend time individually with each of them- something that we haven't done enough of! 

Kate was first up and chose WENDY'S!  She's a big fan of the spicy chicken nuggets!

Scott went next and chose Hot Box pizza!  Great choice! 

Natalie chose a restaurant that she's never been to- Olive Garden!  So fun!

                                                

Can't believe we have a 3rd grader, 6th grader, and 7th grader!

After the first day of school Kate said, "School isn't as bad as I thought it would be."  (We'll take that as a positive!)

Garage Sales, Escalators, & Llamas

When the school supplies start going out at the stores, we all feel the pinch to cram in the last bit of fun that summer has to offer.

Jon & I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary!

The girls and I went to some garage sales and came home with some essential finds!:)

How many times can you go up and down the escalator before you draw unwanted attention to yourself?!

Pool party!

Carol arranged for the kids to meet the neighbor's llama!  We had walked past this llama for years, and the kids were so excited to finally meet it up close.  Cocoa was a little shy, but the kids still loved her.  They're trying to convince me that Scout could use a friend in our backyard.  Ummm....no. 

July Memories

On July 1st, my grandma passed away.  She was a month shy of 92.  This was a great picture taken with some of her great grandkids on the day before her death. We look forward to seeing her again someday in Heaven!

The girls have been doing a lot of reading and baking!  Below they are attempting a round stacked cake for the first time using the skills that they've learned on Kids Baking Championship.  It was...very sweet as they were very liberal with the frosting!:)

Throughout the summer, Mike & Carol invited the kids over for "Hero Lessons" each week.  The kids learned about Lewis & Clark, Teddy Roosevelt, Benjamin Franklin, and Harriet Tubman just to name a few. 

For this lesson, they took us to the George Rogers Clark Memorial. We also stopped by Sandborn to see where they grew up.  I think we all learned a lot!

Silly girls!

The kids also went on a trip to the Cincinnati Zoo with my parents.  Hands down, their favorite animal was the HIPPO!

I found Scott researching how much it would cost to buy a hippo!  Thankfully, it's out of his price range!!

Utah- Day 5

Our last day in Utah was spent at Arches National Park.

Balanced Rock

Double Arch

And finally...I'm including this picture for the kids.  We stopped at a McDonald's, and these were parked in the next lot.  The kids thought they were so funny and begged Jon to drive over for a picture.  Later, as we were talking about the trip highlights on our way home, one goofball said that "seeing the bouncing bears" was their favorite part.  ??!!   Who knew?!

All in all, we had a great vacation.  Pools were open!  No masks were required! The weather was beautiful!  The parks and sites were incredible! And if that weren't enough- there were bouncing bears!  It was our first trip to Utah, but definitely won't be our last.  

 

After a week with Scout, my dad has resolved not to get a dog.  These yearly dog-sitting weeks keep him confident in his decision.  However, Scout received excellent care and was probably given more attention than we give her when we are at home.  

 

The reunion is always sweet.  Scout jumped into Scott's bed (bad dog!) on the night we got home and did not want to budge.  It was like her way of saying, "Don't leave me again!" 

And of course, what would reunions be without slobbery kisses?!:) 

Utah- Day 4- Afternoon

 

I think we may all agree that our Hummer Ride experience was our favorite part of the trip.  A kid described it as a long roller coaster ride off the tracks! 

We had an adventurous tour guide who had me shrieking and gasping a couple of times.  I was so thankful that we had done this AFTER the day we did our self-guided off-roading or Jon would have gotten some crazy ideas! 

Our guide, who seemed very daring, kept telling us to be very careful when he posed us for these pictures.  He didn't have to tell me twice.  My legs were shaking as we stood too close to the edge for my liking.  But- he did get some good shots! 

WWWWEEEEEEEEEE!!!

We ended the day by checking out the Colorado River.  Fun day!