To be honest, never really felt like much of a summer break for us and I’m assuming that is due to our kids ages. Swim team ended in late June and then July was busy with cross-country and kickball practices. We were able to squeeze in a trip to Wisconsin and West Virginia, which are always fun trips to make every summer.
We started off the month making a trip to Lake Geneva to visit the Rago family. We have enjoyed this trip for many years as it usually has no agenda more than hanging out by the pool, letting the kids play and having some good meals off the grill and drinks made by Joe. We enjoyed an addition this year with their firepit. Since we have our own dog now, Sarah was a lot better around their dog which made the trip more enjoyable. I got a chance to get into the pool and throw the kids around as I have in the past, but as they get bigger, it has become more challenging! Our drive home was longer than expected due to a road closure on 65, but we got home as quickly as we could following directions on the phone.
We were off to West Virginia for our annual trip to Bluefield. We left on Thursday and went to Charleston for the night before driving to Bluefield on Friday morning. We stayed at the Bluefield Inn and with all 4 of us in a relatively small room, it was challenging but we survived. Friday evening was a gathering at Bubby’s house, which is the same house that Anna and her siblings grew up. Saturday morning was spent at the batting cages and seeing a newly renovated theater located downtown. After that, we had lunch at Chuck’s house and the kids enjoyed a fantastic slip and slide along with a visit from the police department to meet their dog, Thor. The evening brought more laughter and beers until it started to rain which ended the party. We had a few detours on our way home due to road construction on 70.
Deb enjoyed her birthday this year as she received several new clothing items from Zyia, some she wished for and some items added to the order from Shiloh! We had the Bassetts, Steffeys, Ferrands and Lawton over for a cookout on that Saturday evening and had some laughs and beers. The kids enjoyed playing with Maya and Will in the backyard and even did a little face painting. As expected, Tracy made an awesome cake, which everyone loved!
Sarah’s Things of the Month
Sarah had a busy month. She attended VBS at church with her friends and enjoyed teaching us all the songs when she got home each evening. She attended a week-long basketball game for girls at school, participated in a few cross-country practices and also started kickball. She enjoyed a pool party with her Brownie troop and also went to a birthday party for Alexa & Jorgie.
Allison’s Thing of the Month
Allison went to her first “summer camp” and enjoyed 2 nights at Camp Rancho Framasa. She went with a few friends and came back ready for an entire week next year. Allison also went to the basketball camp at school and squeezed in some cross-country and kickball practices.
A few more items from this month:
- My mom came to visit on her birthday and we had a cookout with the Dodsons, Mark, Kenny & Chris. She stayed for a few more days so I was able to see her over at Beth’s house before we left for WV.
- Tony gathered all of the coaches from Allison’s softball team for an evening of beers and dinner at Half Liter.
- I took the girls putt-putting on an overcast Saturday afternoon.
- We got a new water heater this month along with a new washer and dryer. Not super exciting, but part of life being an adult…spending money on things like that.
- Margaret, our summer nanny, had her last day on 7/30 as she was starting medical school. As she has in the past, she did a great job keeping our kids busy all summer and also taking care of Timber.
- I enjoyed a few beers with Beth one evening at our house and also met up with Jeremy at OrangeTheory and then had some beers at Dare Devil.
