June 2021 (+ One Week of July) Roundup

Blog date entry is July 2021, but the real date is August 2023 😬😬😬  

Just a little bit behind.... Now that 3 kids are in school and I'll have a bit more time, I'm going to make a valiant push to catch up on two years of posts because even though hardly anyone blogs anymore, this is a valuable archive for our family to help us remember the good times, hard times, and everything in between. Let get started!

One of our first summer activities of the year was a zoo day. Sophie enjoys school, but misses a lot of adventures with her brothers while gone all day, so we were happy to have her with us again!

We were wrapping up our dinner prayer when Charlie suddenly put up his finger and blurted out "Remember to bless us to be kind!"

Very messy craft at the Discovery Center

New way to wear a mask

Charlie and Rossi, good buddies since birth

Tried a new splash pad with friends. Davey climbed a little too high and got stuck, and our red janitor buckets from Dollar Tree are always a hit

Fun dino excavation activity at the library, first time back since covid!

So excited to have access to real tools

Girls Night with our sweet friend Erika

Charlie was waaaay overdue for a diaper change

Happy Father's Day to our favorite dad! We've thrown a lot at Dave over the years and he has yet to let us down (although Griffin is not sure he fully trusts that statement)

The older kids joined me for a very hot shift at the food bank. Davey was a master at ripping open the plastic on cases of canned beans and Sophie helped load boxes on the conveyor line. Afterwards we went to DQ for a cool treat

Discover Center with friends

Griffin came out while I was husking corn and stole one off the plate. He was disappointed to find that it didn't taste great raw

Charlie was mad and ran away to the end of the court. This is about as rebellious as a Charlie can get

We got tickets to the reptile expo, knowing Sophie would have the best time seeing and holding all the critters. She dreams of having her own snake some day!

Griffin's 15 month check - 21 lbs (22%), 31 inches (44%) , 4 teeth and STILL BLONDE!!

Cleaning up some scruffy summer hair

Someone drew lips on scary frog with sidewalk chalk :)

We said "have fun swimming in heaven" to our Betta fish Diamond

June Video Clips

Remembering Diamond Video

Pool Days on Repeat

Our pool season got off to a late start this year because Amarillo was unseasonably cool for several days at the end of May/beginning of June. In fact, we had days that didn't reach 70° (so weird for Texas) so the pool didn't even open on Memorial Day when it was supposed to. Once it did warm up though, we made sure to visit often. You can't beat swimming as an activity for kids - it both makes them happy and tired at the same time. Win! 

The water was a little chilly on our first visit, but the kids were too excited to care

Davey never got up the courage to try the slow, safe waterslide last year and this year he almost balked again, but decided to go and then loved it

My happy Charlie all snug in his new yellow beach towel

Griffin is always a bit of challenge wherever we go. The pool was no exception because he is now very mobile, but also completely unware of danger and too small still to fit in a puddle jumper. I had to watch him like a hawk at all times. Once he climbed up on a lawn chair and his legs fell through. He was stuck and just kept shuffling from side to side. It was actually nice to have him contained and safe while I packed up all our swim stuff. This chair is hired as my new pool babysitter!

Swim rings would also keep him contained for a short while. For how good he is at climbing, these were tricky for him to escape because he couldn't step over, but they would flip up and make him feel nervous if he tried to crawl out.

Sometimes the fun and the sun wear you out

These girls are the best of friends and are always up to something silly

Enjoying the fountains

It did not take Griffin long to figure out that the drinks with straws were desirable and that he wanted one of his own

This snorkel was too big for Charlie, but he had fun playing with it anyway

We always go through so many snacks during swim season. It makes this kids crazy hungry!

These truly are the best days. Long live summer!!

Red, White & Blah - 4th of July 2021

Our 4th of July was a little different this year because I came down with a bad case of mastitis a couple days right before the holiday weekend. I woke up on Friday and immediately knew something was wrong. I was supposed to take the kids to Lubbock for a day trip, but I cancelled that I made a virtual urgent care appointment instead. Even after starting antibiotics, I still felt awful for the next 36 hours.

It was a rough day and I don't think I did much more than throw some food at the kids and tell them to watch tv. Luckily, it was the weekend so Dave was able to take over parenting for the remainder of the weekend after he got home from work on Friday. Sadly, we ended up missing the 4th of July parade and firework show on Saturday, but I did feel well enough Sunday evening for the neighborhood block party. 

Davey made some bad choices that led to him staying home from the party with Dave, but I took the other kids out to meet friends at the park. There was a catered dinner, lots of booths giving away free samples (Sophie and Emery collected many treasures), and the wildly popular self-serve snow cone truck. It was a fun night and I'm glad we were able to get a little celebrating in this year. Hopefully next year we'll get to see fireworks again!

I took the traditional 4th of July picture of the kids in front of the house in their patriotic wear before sending them off to church with Dave. Then I took a nice nap.

The kids all had so much fun adding syrups all on their own

Sophie and Emery with their promo glasses, towels, and snow cones

Charlie and Griffin were so messy by the end of the night! Just looking at the photo of Griffin eating snow cone with his hands makes me feel sticky.

All Signed Up for Summer Camp!

Last year we did not participate in any summer camps, but this year we signed up for four! The original plan was just one or two, but then different (free) opportunities came our way and all on weeks that were available so we took full advantage. They happened over four consecutive weeks, but most only went until noon, so we still had plenty of time for other summer activities, like swimming at Town Club and playing with friends. 

Week One: Camp Discovery: This was a free camp available to all Amarillo District elementary students (except not kindergarten, grrr). It actually went through all of June, but we only registered for the Ocean Explorer theme week. Her friend Emery went with her. At first Sophie thought she might be able to rescue turtles or swim with dolphins, but then I reminded her we live thousands of miles away from the actual ocean so she probably wouldn't have any encounters that exciting. There were still crafts and ocean activities, and on the last day she went for a hike at Wildcat Bluff. It was in the 90s, but I loaded up a camel back with lots of ice and snacks and she had a great time. 

Week Two: Vacation Bible Camp, Destination Dig: VBS is also free and Sophie and Davey were both able to go, hooray! Sophie did bible camp a few years ago and loved all the activities and songs. Davey was less enthusiastic, but did like it better as the week went on. It was an archeology theme and they spent the week uncovering the story of Christ's life. Halfway through the week there was a big family party, complete with dinner, tons of bounce houses, and snow cones. First Baptist Church sure knows how to be welcoming! I'm sure the kids would love to be Baptist if we let them.

This was Davey after I picked him on on the first day. When I asked him how things went he told me, "The said I was going to love it. Well, I didn't."

Happy kids at the VBS party

Charlie was so sweet with his friend Rossi. She didn't like the loud music, so Charlie fed her snow cone with a straw while she covered her ears :)

Week Three: GT Camp - I took no photos of this week, but it was a camp for Gifted & Talented students through the school district and Sophie was invited to attend. She wasn't sold on the idea of going to "school" camp, but her friend Halle was also there, which made her more willing to go. They spent the week doing different puzzles and challenges, and even if she didn't love it, I'm glad she went. 

Week Four: AC Kids Camps - Our final week of camp was one the kids had really been looking forward to. Amarillo College hosts kids camps every summer and sent home a big catalog of all sorts of fun sounding things to sign up for. I told the big kids they could go for one week and they had a fun time pouring over all the options. Sophie chose Cookies, Candies and Cupcakes and loved every minute. Each day she would make several different fun desserts and then eat them! Davey chose Dragon Scales & Ninja Tales, which turned out to be a flop. They did nothing awesome and mostly read stories and made lame crafts. It was especially hard to make his camp sound exciting compared to Sophie's. Next year I think we will try Lego camp instead. 

Sophie with a "beach party" cupcake and Davey with his Yeti craft, which I actually thought was pretty adorable