I was hoping to stay current with my blog and get this post done as soon as summer was over, but I got pregnant! So my priorities changed a little. Sleep became more important than blogging. ;)
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| Sleep is pretty important to Atlas too. ;) |
We had a really fun summer! I think it's more fun to look back through the memories and blog now than it would have been right after the summer. It makes me appreciate every season even more. When I think of the memories we are making right now and see them next to the experiences we had through the last season it helps me see how different and equally special each season of life is. I never want to take this unique time of life when my kids are little for granted.
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| Washing the car is so much fun! |
We started our summer off with attending the birthday party of Jane's favorite park friend, Nathan. The party was at Old McDonald's Farm. I LOVED that place when I was Jane's age. I still love it now! Jane and Atlas really loved seeing the animals and Jane was so excited to get to feed them too!
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| Love that happy face!! |
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| Had to make sure those were real ducks! |
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| Goats!! |
Old McDonald's farm is a pretty big place so most of the kids at the party didn't end up at the same place at the same time. So somehow I missed getting a picture of Jane and Nathan together that day. Also the battery on my iPod touch that I use to take pictures died on me halfway though the party.
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| Jane seems to have no fear when it comes to horses! |
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| Choo Choo! |
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| My little fish |
There was no doubt that Jane's favorite part of the day were the horses! Jane ADORED the pony rides. She wanted to go again and again! I tried to see if Atlas wanted to ride, but when I got him close to the horse he just cried. So he didn't go. They both enjoyed the train ride! We all sat down for pizza, cake and presents and Jane took a quick swim with her friends before we had to leave.
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| Jane loved talking to me through the tubes |
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| Busy boy |
I remember this playground actually! Atlas liked going up and down all the stairs and ramps. I planned to go back to Old McDonald's some time in the fall when it had cooled off some, but it never happened. I got pregnant and time really started flying by me! Maybe next year we'll make back out there.
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| Water!! |
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| Yeah, he's in love. |
A new splash pad opened this summer about 15 minutes away! We had to go check it out with our friends. It did not disappoint! Atlas was enamored. As soon as he saw it he started walking towards it before I could even get his swimsuit on! ;)
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| Water Powers! |
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| She loved it too. |
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| This was his face almost the whole time we were there |
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| Flower shower! |
Jane was just as excited about the splash pad. Both of my kiddos love water so I was pretty sure it would be a hit. We had a lot of fun with the McNair's throughout the summer! They were our summer buddies for sure! We still get to hang out a good amount now, but not like during the summer when we neither of us had as much of a busy schedule.
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| Such a great way to cool off! |
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| Jane pretended to use her water power some more. |
We also checked out a smaller splash pad just 5 minutes away that I had no idea about until this summer. It was fun, but not nearly as cool. It didn't hold the kids attention quite as long either. They still enjoyed themselves quite a bit!
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| Face full of water! |
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| Ta da! |
We also decided to visit the local country club splash pad when they had a free to the public swim day. When we first arrived they were having a electricity issue and the pool area was closed. Then we had to try to decide if should stay or just forget it. We stuck around long enough in the car and they were able to open pretty soon. It was cool, but the chemical levels in the water were way off! It was so bad it was making our eyes burn pretty terribly. So the kids were upset about their eyes hurting almost the whole time. :(
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| Yay more water! |
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| That water was coming down pretty hard! |
There was a lazy river, a big slide and a couple of pools to swim in. But we were all too miserable to stay. So needless to say, we left pretty quick. I still managed to get a couple cute pics before the burning set in. ;)
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| Friends! |
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| Marmee is such a good sport! |
Jane was so busy I couldn't get a clear picture. Videos were the way to go. Unfortunately I can't get videos to load right on Blogger, so a few blurry pictures will have to do. Jane had a blast with Nathan and Lucas! Since we had an all day pass and because Jane loved it so much, we decided to go back later in the day with my mom. That way we could have an adult per kid and Jane could have some more time to play. We really need to go back soon!
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| Cooling off in the shade with a snow cone! |
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| Listening to the live music! |
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| It's hard to tell from this picture, but Jane was dancing! |
On July 4th the kiddos, my mom and I headed to Town Center for a 4th of July festival. It had live music, a mobile zoo, lots of food and other vendors. We stayed for just a little while because it was so dang hot. ;) Also there wasn't a whole lot for littles to do. Jane did enjoy petting the animals the zoo brought to the festival. I have never seen her afraid of an animal before.
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| Mexican Lizard |
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| Baby Alligator |
After we got home Sam fired up the grill! Gotta have some grilled food on the 4th of July. :) The kids and puppy played in the backyard while we waited for the yummy food to cook. It was on that day that Sam helped me realize that I needed to cut down on my social media time. I have tried to reduce since then, but I still have some work to do to cut back some more. It's too easy to let it steal all your time away from the people who are right in front of you! I am trying to find the balance between using in a positive way and not allowing it to become too distracting.
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| This is the dream! |
After a delicious dinner I decided to take Jane to the town fireworks show. What I didn't realize, and apparently neither did the rest of the town, was the launch site was moved and the fireworks were a lot farther away than they have been compared to all of the previous shows in the town. Also there was a long delay from when we were all told the show was supposed to start and when it actually started. Jane and I hung out and had some quality time just the two of us on the back of the car. I was 5 minutes from giving up and heading home, but they finally started after about 45 min of waiting. Even though they were farther away than I was expecting we could still see them and Jane really enjoyed it. So it was still a success.
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| Dark and grainy pics of us waiting for the fireworks to start |
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| She is so much fun. |
I think I'll stop here since it's a good halfway point in our summer. There's just too much summer fun to fit into one blog post! ;) Writing about the summer really makes me miss it, but one thing I am not missing is the heat!! I think it was something about having kids that has made me love every season of the year equally.
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| Playing in the rain! |
Ecclesiastes 3:1
To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven.
Psalm 74:16-17
The day is Yours, the night also is Yours;
You have prepared the light and the sun.
You have set all the borders of the earth;
You have made summer and winter.
