Here we go with the pictures and updates from the last half of the month. I think this part was even busier than the first, or I took more pictures at least!
On July 16th, the girls and I walked over to the Bradford Creek Greenway. I love that it’s within walking distance of our neighborhood (just on the other side of the school). Walking on the greenway is just relaxing and a nice little getaway into nature :)
Throwing rocks into the creek is always a must-do when we walk on the greenway!
This was Abigail’s first time to participate. She enjoyed it! As soon as she threw a rock in, she wanted me to hurry and find her another one :)
There is a horse farm that borders the greenway close to Mill Road. The girls always enjoy seeing the horses, but the horses aren’t usually standing this close to the fence. Brooklyn and Savannah asked to go near the fence to see them, and I told them they could. I had no idea that the top of the fence was an electric fence. Brooklyn touched it and got shocked. She got really upset and didn’t understand what had happened at first. There weren’t any signs posted, but I don’t think she’ll forget and accidentally make that mistake again. Lesson learned the hard way! :(
Brooklyn is trying to learn how to tie her shoes. Apparently Mrs. Patterson told her that in first grade, the teachers won’t help you tie your shoes. It has been a frustrating process! She understands what to do, but has trouble doing the last step and gets really upset. And I get frustrated when she gets frustrated. She has tried a couple of different methods, and finally tied this shoe all by herself for the first time. School starts back soon, so we are trying to master it before the first day!
Brooklyn and Savannah like to play church, and on this particular day, they were holding hands and singing songs from Bible class. It was sweet! :)
We got this Hungry Little Caterpillar gallery wall hung in the playroom this month. I bought the canvas in the center from someone on Facebook Marketplace. The smaller frames are actually pages cut out of the book we had that was falling apart. It was hard to get a good picture of it without a glare, but it really turned out cute!
When Abigail sees one of her big sisters reading, she decides that she needs to read too! :)
An update on Brooklyn’s garden – her plants really grew well throughout the month of July! From left to right, she was growing potatoes, cucumbers, and tomatoes. We were starting to see a few green tomatoes, but no cucumbers yet by this point.
She is a proud little gardener! :)
On July 19th, we met the Lovelesses at the Richard Showers Center splash pad. It was their first time, and we’d hadn’t been since last summer. We got there right when they opened, and it was nice to beat the crowds and snag a table under the pavilion.
It didn’t take long before everyone was soaking wet and having a blast!
Abigail didn’t want to get out there in the middle of the splash pad, but she did manage to get a little wet in the small fountains :)
This bucket slowly fills up with water until it tips over and dumps it all out. So fun!!
Definitely our favorite splash pad in town!
The kids all worked up an appetite after having so much fun. We had a great morning!
On July 20th, there was a magic show at the Madison Library. I thought it sounded like something the girls would enjoy, so we decided to check it out. We got there right when it started, so we didn’t get to sit very close to the front. Brooklyn thought the magic tricks were really cool, but most of the show went right over Savannah’s head (and Abigail had no interest at all in sitting still). Oh well!
This girl is always wearing someone else’s shoes!
See what I mean? :)
Drawing and coloring time
Brooklyn wasn’t able to ride her bike or scooter all summer after she broke her arm, but she managed to convince me that riding the tricycle was acceptable ;) The main reason for not riding her bike or scooter was the risk of falling on her arm. There’s no way you can fall off a tricycle, right? Leave it to Brooklyn to figure out a way. She had Savannah pushing her all around the patio as fast as they could go, and of course she tipped over. She is always looking for ways to test the limits, that’s for sure.
Cutie!
On July 23rd, we went to the pop-up fountains at Bridge Street with Sarah and her girls. She has 4 girls, and we have a lot in common. We always enjoy getting together, and it was great to see them during summer break.
It took Abigail a while to warm up to the water, but she finally got brave enough to fill up her plastic cup in the water and dump it all over herself!
We didn’t stay too long, but we had a great time!
All that fun was enough to wear Brooklyn out. She was asleep completely under her blanket…with only a foot sticking out :)
“Hi, I’m Mommy!” I guess I always wear a hat and carry a mop ;)
On July 24th, Alisha and the boys came over to swim at our neighborhood pool. It was a fun morning!
Brooklyn was thrilled to grow her very first cucumber! It turned out to be the only one that she was able to pick because the plant didn’t do well in the late summer heat (probably due to our lack of gardening skill more than the heat if we’re being honest). But Brooklyn was excited about her little cucumber! She ate it for a snack one afternoon with ranch dressing :)
Abigail decided to mow our concrete backyard ;)
11:04 AM and ready for lunch – she even got the bread out of the pantry for her sandwich!
We took the kids to the Athens Kiddie Carnival on July 26th. It was CROWDED, possibly the most crowded I’ve ever seen it. We met the Hoods there, but we arrived before they did, and so we hopped in line for the Ferris wheel.
The Hoods arrived, and the kids decided to ride the scrambler next. Savannah was holding on for dear life ;)
No smiles on this ride. I don’t think it’s her favorite, although she told us it was “GOOD” after she got off….haha
Brooklyn and Nathan were having a blast!
Next, they all rode the rollercoaster! Abigail still hadn’t gotten out of the stroller yet at this point, but she was perfectly happy to just sit and watch :)
I think Savannah finally cracked a smile on this one, and Brooklyn was having fun just being silly the whole time. I think she’s getting old enough that these rides aren’t really thrilling anymore, but she still enjoys them for now. It will be sad when she doesn’t want to ride them anymore!
Next up were the rocket ships – this was our first time to ride them since the ride had been rebuilt.
After that, we decided to stop for a quick snack break. Cotton candy is always a favorite!
Abigail couldn’t get enough of it and tried to stuff huge pieces in her mouth!
It didn’t take long before the whole bag was completely gone :)
The train was Abigail’s first thing to ride!
She seemed a little unsure of the whole thing, but never cried ;)
Brooklyn was making silly faces at us every time they came around…
While I took the big girls to the bathroom, Travis took Abigail on the carousel–her first time on that ride too!
Next, I took Brooklyn, Savannah, and Nathan over to the little swings…
…while Abigail and Gabriel rode the cars :)
She just sat there for a few minutes and then finally figured out that she could turn the steering wheel while she was riding :)
Brooklyn, Nathan, and Gabriel rode the big kid swings after that…
…and Brooklyn and Savannah rode the parachutes afterward.
I think this is the first year that we managed to have at least one of the girls ride go on single ride. We had to wait in line for a while, but we got it done. It helped that we stayed until they closed at 9:30…normally we don’t last that long! Abigail rode 3 rides – the train, cars, and carousel. Savannah rode everything but the cars and big swings. And Brooklyn rode everything but the cars. I think she is finally starting to get too big for the baby rides…sniff. Savannah said every ride was “good” after she got off, but it was hard to tell from her expressions while riding whether she really liked them all or not ;) I think she definitely liked the rollercoaster and parachutes! Brooklyn had a blast and was making silly faces all night long. We always enjoy going with the Hoods!
We ended the night with snow cones!
Once Abigail got over the initial shock of the cold taste, she loved it!
All six of the kids!
Their silliness rubs off on each other :)
The next day, July 27th, we hosted a Bible times lunch for all of the kids in the K-1 class at KSR. This was my first time to teach the Bible times lessons, and I really enjoyed it and learned as much as the kids did. The teacher during that session usually hosts a lunch where the kids get to try different foods that people ate back in Bible times, so I wanted to continue that tradition. It was a lot of fun!
I printed out little “menus” for each child and gave them stickers for every food they tried. Things on the menu: figs, almonds, dates, flat bread, grapes, watermelon…
…pistachios, lentil stew, cucumbers, grape juice, and olives. Lots of foods that kids don’t normally eat! ;)
We were missing Ellie, Natalie, and Alexander, but I was glad that Nathan, Mason, and Miles were able to come. Savannah was excited to get to be a big kid for the day too!
Everybody tried several foods, but some were braver than others ;) Savannah surprised me and tried every single thing. So did Brooklyn, but that wasn’t quite as surprising since she’s generally a great eater. I think everyone enjoyed it even if some of the foods were different than what they were used to eating.
After lunch, the kids all went upstairs to play, and then they had Oreos for dessert (definitely not a Bible times food….shhhh) before it was time for everyone to go. It was a fun morning!
On July 28th, Paw and Rae Rae came to pick up Brooklyn and Savannah and take them to the lake for a couple of days for “summer camp” :) I don’t know who was more excited…the girls or their mommy and daddy…ha. Day #1 included playing Uno with Paw,
decorating cupcakes,
and doing sparklers after dark.
Sounds like a pretty great first day to me!
Back at home, Abigail was so excited to be an only child that she had to do a somersault to celebrate!
Day #2 at summer camp started off with Disney cartoons…
…and muffins and Poptarts for breakfast!
Doesn’t this sound like every kid’s dream vacation?? :)
After some morning swim time and lunch, they went to the movie theater in Cullman to see the new Lion King movie!
Brooklyn and Savannah love the original Lion King, so it was no surprise that they liked the new movie too!
That evening after supper, they headed to a new bakery in Arley to get ice cream…
A yummy way to end a day of fun!
That day at home, Abigail and I went to Kohl’s, and she was so thrilled about it that she fell asleep in the stroller…haha. It made trying on clothes easier at least.
Happy at snack time!
Carefree and loving life while she had Mommy all to herself ;)
On July 29th, Brooklyn and Savannah had some more swim time and fun at the lake before Abigail and I met them in Cullman that afternoon. They were less than thrilled to be coming home with us! We appreciated Paw and Rae Rae for hosting “summer camp” – special memories for sure!
We ended the month with some fun at the neighborhood playground with friends!
Brooklyn was showing off her homemade kite to everyone. I can’t believe it has lasted since February (and even went to the beach) without getting torn up!
Quotes and Notes from Late July:
- 7/18/19 – Brooklyn: “When Woo Woo (our cat, Gabby) ‘passes by’, can we get a puppy??”
- Abigail loves to point at pictures of Travis and me on the nightstand and exclaim, “Mommy! Daddy! Mommy! Daddy!”
- 7/22/19 – Abigail is getting her other 3 eye teeth (tooth #14, 15, and 16). Two teeth on top and one on the bottom left.
- 7/22/19 – Abigail loves to say “Hi, Daddy!” When I try to get her to say “Hi, Mommy!”, she’ll say “Hi, Ma-Daddy!” :)
- 7/27/19 – Last night, Brooklyn was all upset that she couldn’t tie her shoes. She was yelling and crying, saying “I hate tying shoes! I just want to throw my shoes out the window or..…put them in the fire!”
- 7/28/19 – We had ham for lunch at Cici’s house today. After lunch, Brooklyn came running in and tattling: “Savannah was about to touch the raw pig!” All this time, we had no idea we were eating raw pig ;)
- 7/28/19 – Brooklyn and Savannah left today for Paw and Rae Rae camp at the lake house. They are coming back Tuesday afternoon. They couldn’t wait to go because “Paw and Rae Rae’s rules are easy”….haha
- 7/31/19 – Abigail was learning about the days of creation in Bible class tonight. Her teacher gave all the kids a bite of apple because they were talking about plants and trees that God made. Abigail came out of class, and I could tell she still had the apple in her mouth. She is really bad about keeping food in her mouth for a long time, especially things like apple, chicken, or anything that requires a lot of chewing. Sometimes, I just make her spit it all out because she stores it like a chipmunk for 30 minutes or longer!
Onto the month of August now! Thanks for reading!
