As soon as we arrived at the house, we took the pontoon boat out for a ride.
Mark and I both noticed how much more independent the kids were this year. Especially Morgan who is now completely comfortable in the water.
And this little guy is a thrill seeker! He loved having his daddy throw him up in the air.
He also jumped off the Jumping Rock without a moment's hesitation.
Mr. Mike bought sparklers for the kids. Believe it or not, this was another first for them.
And I finally let Morgan roast her own marshmallows using the neighbor's extra long skewers.
The kids couldn't wait to try out their snorkels in the lake. I do not think they were able to see much, but they didn't seem to mind.
We used the wave runners for the first time this year.
Then we attached a tube and took them for a ride.
(Taylor and Morgan)
(Taylor and Charlie)
Don't let these expressions fool you. They had a blast.
Mr. Mike got this adorable dog, which we contemplated bringing home with us.
We stayed until August 3rd- the day before Morgan's birthday. Close enough to celebrate.
We celebrated again when we stopped at Grandma and Grandpa's house on the way home.
She made out with a new scooter and playdoh galore!
Since she had two cakes the day before, we celebrated on her birthday with birthday brownies.
I love this photo because it is the perfect representation of a summer birthday. Blow out the candles and then head to the pool!
She learned a new trick- opening her eyes underwater.
We went to the zoo with the Wells this summer.
Taylor has been taking photos all summer long. It's been so fun to see her interest in photography bloom.
Aunt Julie turned 42 this summer.
Cousin Alison moved out to her own condo and celebrated with a Ladies Night Open House.
We took the kids to a reds game this summer. We started off the night with Skyline downtown.
Finally, we had Morgan's party on August 10th. She wanted a minnie mouse theme so Daddy donned this Mickey costume.
Mom got in on the fun too.
(We changed quickly following this family photo.)
Taylor was so sweet. She had planned many Minnie Mouse themed games for the party. She even managed to stay patient and calm when the boys were too hyper to participate.
(The easiest cakes ever.)
Taylor spent her own money to buy Morgan a play doh kit.
It was about this time in the summer when I got some GREAT NEWS. All summer long, I had told the kids that they were going back to school on August 20th. We got to the point where we had 1.5 weeks left when I found out that they actually didn't start until August 27th. One FULL WEEK more of summer than we had planned!!!
This was a fun day. It was a little chilly (hence the jackets), but the kids wanted to play spies. I kept them busy with missions. It was so sweet how much they all got along and worked together.
(Their Spy Poses)
Jessica and I braved one more Reds Game with all six kids on Wednesday afternoon.
Mark and I actually squeezed in one Date Night in the midst of all this summer fun. We went to a Johnny Cash Tribute Band.
Daddy had a business trip planned in Indianapolis so we decided to tag along for some more adventures. No road trip is complete without home made cookies.
We stayed in a very nice hotel in Downtown Indianapolis. I've mentioned before, but the kids LOVE staying in hotels.
Don't ask me why, but pressing elevator buttons is a very coveted duty.
This hotel had an indoor pool which we got to enjoy all to ourselves.
The main reason we decided to come was because I had heard the the Children's Museum is very exciting and extremely fun.
It certainly lived up to its reputation!
Believe it or not, out of all the interactive exhibits, this was Charlie's favorite.
We also took them to a minor league baseball game in IN.
Followed by more swimming.
I did actually work a bit this summer. Here's Morgan helping me set up my lighting for a studio shoot.
I also took some back-to-school photos of the kids.
Morgan went on a playdate with her godmother, Alison. They had a wonderful time.
Our final adventure this summer was the Whispering Beard Folk Festival.
Mark stayed for two nights helping my Uncle with his J. Damon's Wood Fired Pizza Stand. The kids and I came on Saturday and camped for one night.
Morgan knows how to play cards now. It is so fun to include her in on our games.
It was extremely hot. (Go figure. It had been such a mild summer.) There was a little creek where people waded to beat the heat. Next year, we are bringing our swim suits!
They had a children's station at the festival where the kids made crafts and played games.
I love Taylor's face during this water balloon toss.
Charlie felt left out without a beard so we improvised.
I brought instruments for the kids to make their own music.
They enjoyed dancing to the music too!
Right after sunset, we experienced a HUGE thunder storm. I had never seen lo much lighting in my life. I found myself trapped in our tent with the kids. Luckily, they've never been afraid of thunder storms. We just laid on the air mattress and sand songs from Frozen. They eventually fell asleep and Mark came to relieve me after the rain passed so I could catch some late night music.
Sunday was Funday at the festival and we enjoyed a very relaxing day playing cards, listening to music and enjoying the tiny breeze that blessed us intermittently.
Morgan kept looking at everyone's cards as she was dealing, so Taylor helped her with the temptation.
All weekend long the kids worked on their cartwheels.
Luckily, the crowd was much smaller on Sunday so they had plenty of room to practice.
The very last act was an unscheduled appearance by Langhorne Slim. He usually plays with a band, but this set was solo acoustic. They ended up setting him up under a tree.
It was fantastic! I found him so captivating and loved his songs.
It was the perfect way to end the weekend.
We managed to squeeze in another trip to the pool before school started.
Finally, it was time to get ready for another school year.
Doesn't she look so grown up. She's a big third-grader this year.
And this one is headed for First Grade.
This was my favorite photo of the day.
After they got on the bus, I drove to Jessica's house to capture their first-day-of-school moments.
Then Jessica and I drove to the school for a few more photos. We were not the only parents there. Parents at their school frequently come on the first day of school to join in on the first morning prayer of the school year.
As fun as I am, I know that Morgan missed her brother and sister.
She was very happy to see that big yellow bus returning them to her.
Aunt Jessica invited us to an outdoor concert after the second day of school.
They had a great time dancing and singing with this very entertaining band.
Morgan and I headed to the Wells neighborhood pool to take advantage of it one more time before it closed for the season.
We had a wonderful time. I really treasure my one-on-one time with the kids and this was no exception.
We also hit the YMCA pool once more on Labor Day Weekend.
And there you have it. Just this morning, Mark turned to me and said "we really had a good time this summer." That we did. That we did.
