The kids set off on the first day of school today. Ollie was a a little nervous and Charlotte was excited to jump back in. They both had a great day and we celebrated with Graeter’s ice cream and pizza afterwards. Can’t wait to see how these kids grow this year.
July 2019
We love the month of July. It starts with one of our favorite holidays of the year, is filled with swim lessons at Coney Island and the summer is always in full swing by the time July hits. Here is how we have spent July:
A couple of days with Aunt Paula hitting the Kentucky Science Center and Nashville.
Fourth of July weekend was spent in our usual spot. First, swimming at Coney Island and then enjoying the Cincinnati Pops at Riverbend. This year we had storms and spent our time at Coney playing Uno under an umbrella. The storms blew over when it was time to head over to Riverbend and we had a great night of music, fireworks, and friends. Later that weekend we had an impromptu picnic with sparklers, smores and of course a visit to the Nature Center.
We took an adults only trip to Brookville Indiana for a day of canoeing and kayaking with some of our besties. We camped in cabins, stayed up way too late and had some great food and fun.
The very next evening we took the kids and Miss Laura on another canoeing adventure. It started off with ice cream at Sonic and a hike at the nature center. The hike began at dusk with a hike and ended up with a canoe trip in the pond under the moonlit sky. The kids had never been hiking so late or so dark. We found some critters and had a great time together being out late in nature.
Charlotte and Oliver began their third summer of swimming lessons. Charlotte was a confident swimmer last year, so she got to learn some new skills and work on her strokes and her endurance. Oliver was the most improved over last year and is ended up the lessons jumping off diving boards, swimming in the deep end and loving his new found freedom of being able to swim wherever he likes.
We had a fun day at Coney Island with Gibby, Aunt Rachel, Ben, Hunter & Aunt Paula too.
To celebrate our 15th anniversary we took an amazing trip to Dominican Republic for 6 days and 5 nights of relaxation in paradise. The resort was beautiful. We laid on the beach. We ate way too much and really got some good time away to unwind. Can’t wait to go back again at some point down the road.
While we were off on our trip, Charlotte attended summer camp for the first time with her friend Lucy. It was two nights away and she had a great time. Here’s to more great July’s in the future!
OBX 2019
We had a great time at the beach last week in Rodanthe, NC. The kiddos got to spend time with their cousins and Grandpa and Tiki.
We spent our days at the pool and hot tub. Charlotte is still a complete fish from last summer and Ollie practiced swimming and got pretty confident in the pool.
Of course we spent some time down at the beach digging, collecting shells, playing in the water, trying to catch little critters, playing frisbee and just keeping busy like kids do at the beach.
As with any beach trip we also took time for games, crafting, putt putt, and a fun new water park we have wanted to try for a couple of years. The week also happened to land on National Donut Day and so we made the 60 minute round trip drive at 6am to get the best donuts in the Outer Banks, The Orange Blossom!
And of course we had to get a beach photos of the kids. It is fun to see them taken at the same spot from years past!
We hope you get to see the ocean this summer. It is as dreamy as always!
Soccer and the last days of school
After a rocky season as a 3 year old, Ollie expressed interest in giving soccer another try. He grew so much over the course of their short 2 month season and it was so great to see Melissa and Grandpa Rick coach the team side by side. We saw an aggressive and determined side of Ollie we’ve never seen before and he can’t wait to play again in the Fall.
Charlotte wrapped up 2nd grade like a champ and Ollie graduated Kindergarten with flying colors. Both kids had great years and they are both looking forward to a fun summer.
Easter wrap up
We had a great Easter this year. We took our annual trip to the Bass Pro Shop for a picture with the easter bunny. Dyed eggs and built peep houses (that was a new thing for us). The easter bunny treated us well and we got to spend time with all of the grandparents and cousins. We hope you had a great Easter too!
