July was so busy and fun! I’ll get right to it.
4th of July Celebrations
We had a whole weekend of 4th of July fun- and Ryan got to enjoy it all with us!
We started out at the lake for the annual fireworks. We always spend the day there, then watch the fireworks at night. The kids had a blast swimming, paddle boarding, and collecting rocks.
Brody was too hype to take a nap that day, but I knew he would love the fireworks, so we just went with it. He didn’t nap, and he was slap happy! He did want his pacifier because he was tired, but he LOVED the fireworks, and he danced around while watching them and naming all the colors he saw! The big kids enjoyed the fireworks too! This was Evie’s first experience with fireworks as well, and we had no idea what to expect. She definitely didn’t like them, but she did ok if we held her close and reassured her!
We spent the night at the lake house, and woke up to do more lake fun. We took a golf cart to the campgrounds and hung out there for a little while, then we came back for more swimming fun.
We also had a fun boat ride. The kids all had fun, and Evie really liked her first boat ride. She loved the wind blowing her ears!
The next day was the actual 4th, so we joined my family at the Brownsburg parade. The kids loved the snow cones and getting lots of candy from the floats driving by.
The highlight of the parade, however, was Brody’s reaction to the firetrucks. He loves trucks and vehicles of all kinds, so he was PUMPED to see police cars and firetrucks in the parade!
We had an awesome morning with family!
After the parade, we had lunch at my sister’s house. The big kids really wanted to stay and swim at their neighborhood pool, so they stayed and we took Brody back to my parents’ house for a nap. The big kids had a blast swimming with their cousins!
Later in the afternoon, we brought the kids back to my parents’ house for swimming, dinner, and fireworks. Ryan’s parents came to join as well.
Ryan bought a big case of fireworks last year and we only used about half of them then, so we used the rest that evening. The kids loved doing sparklers and watching Ryan light some fireworks in the street. It was a chill, low-key 4th of July, and it was the perfect way to end our busy weekend!
Soccer/Ninja Camp
I recently found out that there are tons of day camps offered in our town during the summer. I was too late to sign the kids up for a lot of them, but I was able to sign them up for a day camp at their gymnastics building. It was a Soccer Ninja camp! I originally just planned on signing up Brax for this camp, but Kinsie thought it sounded fun too so they did it together. They loved it! They played soccer, had Nerf gun wars, did ninja/gymnastics activities, and a craft each day.
One of the crafts was a shark mask. Brody thought it was hilarious! He definitely missed them while they were at camp each day, but they had a lot of fun!
Lake Days
We got to spend another weekend this month at the lake! We enjoyed a boat ride, swimming, and going to the kids’ cousin’s birthday party!
Pool Days
The kids and I came up to my parents’ house about once a week for a swimming day. My sister’s kids would join us whenever they could which always made my kids happy! I never get many pictures of our pool time because I’m usually in the water with Brody, but here are a few!
The Great Outdoors
We had another fun month of lots of outside fun! We finished the month of July at almost 800 hours for the year!
The kids always enjoy finding bugs and critters.
Doing water activities has become one of their favorite things. They love the kiddie pool, spraying each other with the hose, and jumping on the trampoline with the sprinkler!
Brax has been obsessed with sports lately, so he spends a lot of his outside time playing baseball and soccer!
And the kids are still always riding around on their bikes, scooters and power wheels!
And sometimes our outside time is more chill – like drawing with sidewalk chalk, drinking gatorade and just chilling in a fold up chair!
Other Fun at Home
The kids have now started school, but they enjoyed their off time while it lasted. Kinsie is always finding art and craft activities to keep her busy, and the boys enjoyed working out with Ryan and I, and also just lounging around having lazy mornings in bed!
Yaya Day
At one point in the month, Brody had a double ear infection. It was rough on his little body, and he was out of whack for a couple weeks, all while Ryan was working a string of 12 hour shifts. One day, Brody had an especially bad day, which made it a really hard day for me. The next day, my mom decided to come down for the day and help me. Her being here helped SO much. The kids were happier, and I had another adult to take some of the load off of me. I am so grateful for my mama and everything she does for our entire family!
Grandma Day
Ryan’s mom got to have some special time with the kids this month too. She planned a play date at a water park near Megan’s new house with a bunch of their cousins. They had so much fun, and even spent the night.
Fun at the County Fair
One evening, the kids and I were visiting at my parents’ house and my dad asked if we wanted to go to the Hendricks County Fair, so we loaded up right then and there and went! The kids had so much fun!
Brody’s favorite part was definitely the tractors! We can’t wait to take him to the state fair next!
The kids enjoyed riding a few rides at the fair too.
They loved getting to spend some special time with Papa!
Brody’s Partially Vaccinated!
Even though we’ve now had Covid, it was a great feeling to get my baby his first Covid vaccine! He was a champ!
Library Reading Challenge
The kids enjoyed doing the Summer Reading Challenge through the county library this summer. They got prizes during different stages of the challenge, and the final prize for finishing the challenge was to pick out their own book. Brax picked a dinosaur book, Kinsie picked an origami book, and Brody picked out a truck book. All very fitting for them!
Holiday World
Ryan had a few days off the week before the kids started school, so we decided to take the kids to Holiday World! We have never been, but have always heard great things. We stayed in a hotel for 2 nights, and a cottage at Santa’s Cottages for one night (since that is al that was available!)
Traveling with kids is always an adventure!
The original forecast wasn’t very promising, but we decided we would make the most of it regardless. It rained pretty heavily in the morning while we were still at the hotel and eating breakfast, but by the time we got to the park, it slowed down significantly. Then about an hour in, the rain clouds went away and the sun came out! It was a beautiful, perfect day at the park!
The kids loved exploring the different holiday-themed sections of the park!
Brody was about half an inch too short for a lot of the rides, but he loves all the rides that he was able to go on. One of his favorites was the Holidog Express Train!
We all had a lot of fun on the rides at Holiday World! And the kids LOVED the free fountain drinks available everywhere!
After exploring Holiday World for a little while, we ventured over to Splashin’ Safari, the water park connected to the main park. It was amazing! Ryan and I took turns going on water coasters with the big kids, while the other one stayed back at the splash pads for Brody. The areas for little ones like Brody were fantastic – a toddler’s dream. He LOVED all the water slides!
We stayed until close that day and watched the evening fireworks and drone show. It was an amazing day!
We took the next day off from the parks and ventured around town. We were able to check into our cottage, which we absolutely loved!
The heat index was well in the 100s that day, but the kids still loved playing on the playground at the cottages and feeding the fish in the lake.
The cottages also had a Reindeer Express Train that ran every morning. Brody was a BIG fan!
The kids also loved looking around the Christmas Store, the candy shop and the toy store!
We were on the go so much that day that Brody didn’t get his nap. So by dinner time, he was tuckered out!
We went to the parks the next day for one more day, but this time with a good strategy to make sure we did everything we wanted to. When we entered the park, we were greeted by Santa! Brody wanted absolutely nothing to do with him, but Kinsie and Brax enjoyed saying hi!
We spent most of the day at the water park. The kids rode more of the bigger rides and Brody had so much fun in the little kid areas. After a while, we changed into dry clothes and rode more of the Holiday World rides. We stayed until close again, and then drove home that night. It was an awesome note to end our summer vacation on. We definitely want to make it a summer tradition!
Like I said, our month was very busy and lots of fun! The kids have started school back up now, so we’re trying to get back into the swing of our school routines.
Lately with the craziness of life as a mom of 3 kids and a crazy pup, it has been difficult to find the time to do my monthly blogs. I really enjoy doing them, but it is a struggle to make the time. So I may cut down how often I post, maybe every other month or so. We’ll see where life takes us! Thanks for whoever continues to follow our journey!
Here is our 1 Second Everyday for the month of July. Happy end of summer!
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