Other Philly Summer Things

We did some other fun things this summer, including going on Russell's first camping trip. We went to this beautiful park near our house with some church friends and had a great time! Ricardo made us some delicious chicken and we enjoyed smores and good conversation. We didn't realize it would be cold when we woke up and we were ironically the only ones who didn't bring sweaters!

This little boy loves summer and being outside. He would be happy to play in the yard all day long. We've spent many days a the park and he thinks being sprayed by the garden hose is the best thing ever. When we need a break we will go inside and read books, which he still loves. He's learning how to pose for the camera too.

Some mornings he is in the mood for cuddling and he will come lay with us and give us kisses. Most times it's off to the races, but I like these kinds of days:

At the end of July we had some visitors: Ricardo's parents and some of our nieces and nephews. Ricardo's dad is having some dental work done at Temple so he brought the crew with him and we got the outside of our house painted (mostly thanks to Ricardo's mom, she is amazing). They did a great job and Russell had fun hanging out with his cousins. We went to a fun park here called the Smith Playground which is huge and has a big wooden slide that the kids slide down in potato sacks. We also went to Rita's (custard/italian ice shop) every day they were here. No joke. That + playing monopoly with me every night led to the kids telling me one day that this was "the best vacation ever." Ok, it was probably 95% due to Rita's, but I was still touched. :)

Smith Playground for babies:

 

Smith playground for big kids:

 Russell and Lucy on the swings. He didn't love it as much as she did.

Ricardo's sister drove up at the end of the week with her two littlest kids so it was a pretty full house at that point. Russell was super jealous of her baby Emmeline. He really likes being the center of attention! But overall he had fun with the full house and so did we.

Right before we left for Florida I had a little baby shower at my house for my friend Shawna. Alisha was my co-host and we had a great time planning and throwing the shower. It was actually not stressful at all! We had a great turnout and we are so excited for Shawna's baby girl coming soon. I wish we took more (some) pictures of the people there, but oh well. Photo credits to Alisha!