We've had a fun, eventful summer. Here are some highlights.
June:
I spent a week off with Alena enjoying her first summer vacation away from school. We did a little shopping, went to the library and made a trip to the zoo with Tessa.
Later in the month, we took our trip to Minnesota which is detailed on a previous post.
We spent a weekend in Riverside to enjoy Trek Fest. The kids loved the parade and the demo derby and I participated in the first 5K they have ever had. It was a hot weekend so lots of cannon balls into Uncle Jerod's pool were done.
July:
We ventured out with the twins to Yankee Doodle Pops. Alena was with Grandma and Papa for the week so we thought just taking two kids would be a piece of cake. We were wrong! Justin and I had met up with some friends after work for a couple drinks and were maybe a little late picking up the kids. Their teachers thought it would be fun to feed them Skittles. About 30 minutes after we got to the concert, they were bouncing off the wall. We just couldn't figure out what was going on until finally one of them mentioned they had skittles. Needless to say we didn't stay long and skittles have been added to our "do not feed our twins___" list! . Some day I'll see the firework display that is commonly talked about...
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| Maybe one of my favorite pics of these two |
For the 4th, we headed to Madison and had a great time. My brother and sister in law belong to a swim club that is within walking distance from their house. We spent a few hours there every day and Alena even was brave enough to go off the diving board. We spent a little time at the Madison Arboretum and downtown on campus which is beautiful. I could see myself going to school there. Maybe I need another degree. Their neighborhood had a kid's parade and a picnic to celebrate the 4th so on a whim we helped the kids decorate their bikes to ride in the parade.
We didn't see any fireworks in Madison but Justin, Alena and neighbor Regan ventured out the night of the 4th to see some in a nearby town.
A week later we continued the tradition of going back to Grundy Center for Felix Grundy Days. We met Justin's brother, sister in law and 2 youngest there. It's always great when the kids can have cousin time with both sides of the family.
Later in the month we finally made it to an I cubs game and my parents were able to join us. We did dinner out at Fuzzy Tacos, (which I highly recommend), and then enjoyed the beautiful weather at the game. It was perfect and the kids had a blast. As they get older, it's so much easier and more enjoyable to do things.
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| Alena did the Iowa Games again this year-the long jump, 100m and 200m |
Where our house is located, we have access to many small towns. We love giving back to the small towns and hadn't had a chance to eat at the pizza place in Polk City. We met my cousin, her husband and their two kids at Papas Pizzeria one Friday evening. It was great and definitely a place we would go back to. Afterwards we enjoyed the cute park in the middle of the town square and were even greeted by the local policeman who brought stickers to the kids.
Speaking of little towns, we also enjoyed the local ice cream places in Grimes and Madrid.
Alena really wanted to go to Adventureland this summer. Honestly, I could do without theme parks. Which is crazy as we used to travel around the Midwest with two good friends going to every theme park. As I've gotten older my stomach just can't handle it anymore. Knowing the twins would be free since they were 3, we took a chance and we all took a day off work/school and went to the park. We spent 11 hours at that place. A few times I felt like I was going to lose my lunch but all in all we all had a great time. Honestly, I would go just to spend time at the water park. I learned that Alena isn't as daring as I thought, Lauren is more daring than I thought, (and just couldn't understand why she couldn't ride the roller coasters), and Caleb has a stomach much like mine on rides that go around and around.
We love having easy access to two different lakes, Big Creek and Saylorville. We spent numerous weekend afternoons at the beach at Big Creek. One Sunday afternoon we felt adventurous and got my parents boat and went out fishing. We were lucky to find a honey hole and the kids had a great time catching fish after fish after fish. Fishing was such a memorable part of my childhood that I want them to experience that too. Next time, Papa and Grandma need to come along too.
Who doesn't love watching 50-60 hot air balloons fly into the sky on a beautiful evening? We love the Indianola Balloon Festival and enjoyed it this year with our dear friends the Nelsons. To top it off, the Nadas played the evening we were there.
August:
Having season passes to the zoo we spend quite a bit of time there which is perfect. The kids have a great time, regardless as to how many times we have been there. It's always fun to take the cousins with us too and enjoy the special events that happen year round.
You either love the Iowa State Fair or you hate it. I'm a lover. Always have been. Justin is, as are our kids. We always look forward to this time of year. There's something about experiencing something through the eye of a child. This is the perfect place to do that. Although I'm always exhausted by the end of the day, it's always worth it. I would always love an adult only evening at the fair but wouldn't trade my day off with the kiddos there. Little Hands On The Farm, the baby animal farm, playing at the playground, mini donuts, lemonade, enjoying the Bill Riley Talent show while eating lunch, the giant slide, the sky glider....I could go on and on.
Being in high school, I spent many afternoons at the Ledges State Park. I have always loved this place but didn't start venturing back there again until after we had kids. It's a beautiful park, free entertainment and picnics are perfect there.
The downtown farmer's market is incredibly busy. Regardless we usually make a trip there at least once during the summer. I rarely buy produce, flowers or crafts but honestly we usually go for the food. Justin had to jump in the long line for his breakfast burrito, I usually enjoy a breakfast pizza, egg roll and Dutch letter, and the kids loved the live music this year.
I know I've said it a hundred times but we love living by Jester Park. They are planning to build a huge Conservation Center and a few weeks ago had a fundraiser for this. At the last second we decided to go and met a number of neighbors there. It was amazing. They had a night walk where the kids learned about nocturnal animals, a prairie maze, crafts, smores to roast and the biggest bonfire I have ever seen! I am so glad we ventured the 1 mile from our house to enjoy this.
