Summer is almost over and this little girl is already 6 months old! She continues to be the sweetest, most laid-back baby and is constantly fought over by her siblings.
Ricardo was gone for 2 weeks in May for military duty. The kids finished up school while he was gone and they were really well behaved during that time while I was parenting solo. They made me breakfast in bed a few times! (super happy that OJ didn't spill while they carried it upstairs on a tray!)
Ana's first time at the pool, for a friend's birthday party.
Lots of lazy mornings hanging out in bed. Ana has been an okay sleeper, with some great nights and some terrible ones mixed in. Russell still reigns #1 as best baby sleeper of all time.
We went to our cousins' house and saw their new, tiny ponies.
We also somehow managed to have a baby shower for a friend of mine at my house while Ricardo was gone. My parents came and took the kids out during the party to help me which was so nice. That night they also took the boys to a baseball game and they had a blast.
After Ricardo came back we were able to take a fun trip up to Washington DC to see my sister and her family.
Clowning around at the airport.
Park with cousins after we flew in. The weather was so beautiful the whole time we were there.
On Saturday we did some fun sightseeing around DC. We enjoyed the Museum of Natural History.
Botanical gardens.
We were able to take our kids through the Washington DC Temple open house which was really nice. They just completed a huge renovation project and anyone was welcome to walk through it before it was dedicated again. We used to travel here often when we lived in Philly so it was fun to come back with our kids.
BFF cousins.
Hanging out with sleepy dad after a long day.
Post-church picnic on Sunday.
Ricardo had to fly home Sunday night to get back to work so we squeezed in a hike before he left.
We had some friends from Washington state who happened to be in town too, it was great to see them!
More quality cousin time:
After Ricardo left, my mom and a good family friend flew in so they could see the temple too, and they were kind enough to fly home with me and the kids a few days later. My sister and her family took us all on a DC tour and we saw a lot! We rode around on a double-decker bus and the kids had a blast.
Caroline liked the Washington Monument because she thought it was a giant pencil.
Thomas was super excited about the Jefferson Memorial for obvious reasons. :)
The National Zoo was also lots of fun!
Fun times back home this summer included a day at Legoland with our good pals.
Fun waterskiing show!
.heic)
The day ended courtesy of a classic Florida thunderstorm.
I took the kids up to Jacksonville in June for a few days to see some old friends. We had a great time!
July was more mellow and we stuck around town. Still found some excitement though!
Building a chicken coop for our new chicks.
Coordinating patriotic outfits for church on July 4th weekend.
We had a fun church breakfast and bike parade on the 4th!
We had an awesome 4th of July BBQ at a friend's house and did fireworks off their dock. It was a bit of a rainy 4th of July but the kids still squeezed in some pool time and other fun.
Other random July antics:
Ringing the doorbell and hiding in boxes. Apparently, I ordered a lot of things this summer and not a single box was left unturned for a project or costume of some kind.
Knight costume:
Countless forts. They often constructed one on the days I was working and they were home all day with a babysitter.
Reading to Ana...
Ricardo ordered a lot of dirt for our garden and the kids loved playing in it while Ricardo and our nephew helped move it to the right place.
Their cousin came over and they constructed a pretty intricate moat system out of their dirt pile. I'm sure plenty of neighbors driving by were confused-but the kids were occupied outside for several hours so I call that a win.
A few fun beach days:
Pooped out of her swimsuit en route to the beach so this is what we get:
Ana started eating food, and the other kids are loving it.
Caroline had to get her blood drawn, she was quite offended by the whole experience.
New pet gecko
Ana's first time on the swings.
We had one last hurrah for the summer in South Carolina at our good friends' parent's beautiful lake house. They were so kind to invite us and we had a blast.
We split up the drive there and stayed in Georgia. My kids think sleeping in a hotel is the coolest thing ever.
On our way, we visited a national park in Georgia which consists of very old Native American mounds that they built for ceremonial and religious purposes. We learned a lot!
On Sunday we went to church and enjoyed a fun hike afterward to a waterfall.
The kids all enjoyed playing in the waterfall and got soaked.
Sunday night game night.
The next few days were spent almost entirely in the water, the kids were in there ALL day kayaking, swimming, boating etc. The water was beautiful, warm, and alligator free! We couldn't believe how perfect it was.
Dog walking party.
Ana enjoyed some nice boat naps:
When we came back Caroline got to attend "princess camp" for a day, it was a really cute camp put on by some teenage girls we know from church. Caroline loved it!
We also had some great friends from Miami who now live in California come see us as soon as we came back from vacation (we also came back to a broken air conditioner which is always fun in Florida in the summer! But we survived!) It was so fun for all the kids to play well together and catch up with our great friends! We were friends before we had kids, which was a somewhat foreign concept for my kids to hear. :)
We hit the beach with them the next day too and it was a gorgeous day!
Whew, finally caught up on our summer! We are now caught up in the whirlwind of back-to-school madness...for 3 kids this year!
Comments
Post a Comment