And That's A Wrap!

What a great summer! It definitely went by too fast. 

I usually spend a good amount of time planning activities, making goals and buying crafts before summer vacation hits. This year, I didn't do any of that and I think this has been one of the easiest summers so far! The kids just played with each other and came up with some great ways to spend their days. At the beginning of summer, the girls did nothing but play with Legos. I'm always amazed at the things they create and it's so much fun watching them build and play. Kyle found ways to play with them but after a few weeks of nothing but Legos, I would often hear him say, "Why do you guys ALWAYS play with Legos?" He was definitely ready to move on to something else. 

The highlight of the summer, as always, is swimming. We house sat and dog sat for friends who have pools, we went to swimming parties and we swam with friends at their houses. We definitely got a lot of swim time in. At the beginning of the summer, Makena got rid of her swim vest and started swimming almost immediately. Her swimming came a long way over the summer months. Kyle spent a little bit of time this summer in the water without a floatie and even with his head under water (thanks to the girls for letting him wear their goggles and for waving to him in the water!). He will definitely learn to swim next year. 

Here are some more highlights of our summer vacation

We met some of Makena's friends to paint pottery

Cow Appreciation Day

We celebrated the 4th of July with friends

Makena wanted to learn how to make coffee for me!

We got to meet some firefighters at Dairy Queen. Who knew firemen eat ice cream too?!

Lazy days

Getting Kyle ready for PreK in the Fall

Best friends playing at The Tubes

Enjoying a warm summer night with friends and water balloons

Karis was so excited to find the kid version of my devotional at the bookstore.  We did our devotionals together each night. 

Hanging out with these goofballs who don't know how to drink out of a water fountain. They were soaked and left a big puddle of water at the water fountain!

I'm definitely going to miss these days together. School starts tomorrow!

Vacation Bible School

One of the kids' favorite things this summer was attending Vacation Bible School. They attended two different ones. The first one was at a Methodist church where we typically go for an Easter egg hunt. Our friends were sending their kids to this VBS and asked if we would send our kids so they could be in the same group. We ended up seeing a lot of people we know from school or church.

The kids didn't know what to expect and were a bit nervous, but they ended up LOVING it. Kyle cried when I dropped him off the first day. I ended up staying with him for awhile, but he still wasn't comfortable when I left him. I thought he probably wouldn't go back the rest of the week. When I picked him up, he was so excited and said, "I love it! I love it! I want to come back every time!!" The kids talked about this VBS for the rest of the summer.

The second VBS the kids attended was at our friends' church. She has been the director for the past three years. It was fun to be a part of her church and see all of her hard work!

 

The Start of Summer!

The kids' favorite thing to do in the summer is swim. Our friends' down the street went out of town for a week and gave us a key to their house. It was the perfect way to start our summer vacation. We spent five straight days in the pool, took a one day break, and then we were back in the pool. On a  couple of those days, we were there for about five hours which included a poolside dinner. 

 

I grew up in our backyard pool and spent my summers swimming in it. I loved watching the girls play together and doing similar things that my sister and I did. 

Kyle got used to being in the pool without a floatie. Hopefully next summer, he'll learn how to swim.  

Makena took her beloved life vest off and started swimming instantly. A week in a pool by ourselves has been the perfect time for her to strengthen her skills. Makena doesn't like it when I take pictures of her, so she'll stick out her tongue or make a silly face. It doesn't bother me. I still take pictures of her!  

Karis, on the other hand, loves when I take pictures of her. 

This guy is hit or miss with pictures. Today was a good day!

 

When Daddy joins us, he jumps off the diving board with the kids. Or in this case, gets pushed off.

 

The girls love when Daddy throws them across the pool. Kyle likes when Daddy catches him at the bottom of the slide. 

Daddy may have let him go under to get him used to it. He's still working on that. 

  

Wrapping Up Our Summer

Summer went by fast! We had a great summer doing a little bit of everything. The first part of the summer was busy with playdates, activities and traveling. The second half was more relaxed and we spent a lot of time at home (playing well together!). The kids have grown so much closer to each other. Here are some pictures we took this month. 

Enjoying a birthday party with swimming, dinner and snow cones

We went to a couple birthday parties for Makena's friends. 

Daddy met us for lunch at Chik-fil-a

Lazy mornings on the couch watching TV

The girls mainly played with their Legos but every once in awhile they broke away and played with other things

Silliness at home

This is the way Kyle kept me from turning the TV off one day. He put the remote really high up so I couldn't reach it

A train ride at the mall

Back to school shopping

Dinner out -- pho and then slushies right after for dessert. Yum!

Taking care of little brother

There was no sleeping in this summer for this little guy. He typically woke up around 6:45 am every morning. The only other one awake at that hour is the dog. 

We swam several times at Miss Lindsay's house. We got to hang out with her the day before she left for school 

 We created a new craft area in the back hall for the kids

Karis is always hoping for mail. You could probably guess that on most days she is sad because Daddy gets all the mail. I told her to make a mailbox and then she and Makena could make mail for each other. She loved the idea so I helped them make their mailboxes. They spent the rest of the day (and the next couple of days) writing love letters to each other. It was super sweet! Kyle wanted in on the action too, so we made a mailbox for him and he received a few pieces of mail too!

Here are just a few cards Karis received from Makena

Here are a few cards Makena received from Karis

We got a swingset for our backyard! Most days were too hot to play outside but the kids were able to squeeze in some time in the early mornings.

We are looking forward to a little cooler temps. We are all a little happy and a little sad that school is starting next week!