Summer 2017

The majority of our summer was spent in Tennessee. It is becoming tradition to spend our summers in the South. It's really nice for all of us. More space to run, cheaper activities, family, friends, free babysitting. It is the best, haha. 

We've been welcomed into a great group of friends down there. Having our friend group has been so nice. The kids have friends already, and we have people who know the area so much better than we do to show us what's happening. I am really grateful for our friends there. 

My bff from church in high school was in town for a visit. The last time we saw each other was on my wedding day, and now we both have three kids. We did not get to spend as much time together as we wanted to, but the time we did get to spend together was wonderful. It was like time has never passed. We picked right up where we left and I had the best time with her and her family. And our kids finally got to meet and play together. It was pretty much something the both of us have been dreaming and talking about since our first babies were born. 

When your bff kids and your kids are bffs. 

Naked brothers on Grandma's deck. 
I have a running partner! Rapha is ready to run. He is really just obsessed with shoes, and puts them on (even my heels!) and scampers off. 

Black berry picking! We enjoyed the fruits of labors the rest of the summer eating our delicious homemade black berry jam. I say our, but my Mom did all the cooking. She is the master chef. 






Cosette asked for a tea part with her friends and their stuffed animals. I delivered. I tried to make it as authentic to a traditional high teas I have attended. It was some crazy fun, literally kids running around screaming crazy fun. 
Our most memorable outing, was meeting Al a 135 year old giant tortoise at Zoo Knoxville. We have an in at the zoo and get all sorts of special perks. It was the coolest experience going behind the rope and getting to meet this gentle giant. He was super sweet and loved getting a lot of attention. Raphael was not a fan, but the rest of us were smitten. 

Al is just like a dog. He likes to be scratched behind his ears, and patted all over his neck. 

Tradition!

Henry and Henry the ferret. 




Rapha in this pic cracks me up. He is sitting in the librarians chair like he is in charge, haha. My Mom calls him the boss baby. I wonder why?
Home Depot building workshop. It was so much fun. And Rapha looking like a Minion was icing on the cake. 


#suburbanlife #walmart

Funny story: My Mom told the kids we were going to Wal-Mart, and Cosette asked "what's Wal-Mart?". Made me laugh so hard when my Mom told me. Poor deprived city kid. 

The googles might be upside down, but the book isn't. He's got the important stuff right. 

The Arboretum held a Butterfly Festival. We had a fun outing with my Dad. Our favorite part was the bug zoo. We got close and personal with giant bugs, and I conquered a fear of cockroaches. I held a hissing cockroach and felt like a beast doing it. 

Brave girl who has become the cockroach whisperer. I will not let them get a dog, so she has asked me not to kill any cockroaches I find, so we can have one for a pet. I have yet to seen one, thank goodness. 



An afternoon at the lake, which Cosette kept referring to as the pond. 


This kid got his first hair cut, and it was hard on my poor momma heart. He did not look like my Rapha, and it took a few days to adjust to it. 

Story time preparing for the eclipse. The area where my parents live got full eclipse. 

With my lovely Grandma. I am so glad my kids have gotten to know her. We love our Baba to the moon and beyond. 

Grandma and Cosette. It is hard to say goodbye. 

Have I mentioned my kids want a dog? Henry's saddest goodbye was to Schnitzel. He loves that dog. 

Group pic with the fam. It was busy summer for them. We were all living together, but did not get to spend as much time as we usually do together.
I got to see all my siblings over the summer, and it was really nice. One of my sisters was pregnant, and now I'm an aunt again. My baby brother was getting ready for college. Another sister was getting ready to start her first job out of her graduate program. My Dad is busy with working on a museum. My Mom was overseeing a new playground instillation at the nursery school. My other brother finished working at a camp in Southern Utah where he built historical log cabins, stared down a bear and lived to tale the tale. My other sister is working at the Zoo. We also got introduced to the Great British Baking Show, and I have realized I am not as good as a cook as I am made out to be. I have so much to learn. 

It is nice that we live "closer" to them now. It made saying good-bye a whole lot easier. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Remote Learning Part 1

The Tooth Fairy and Tons of Pink Tulle

Traveling Half Way around the World