July

The month started off with the 4th of July. My cousin, Sarah, was back in town with her kids, so we attended a family get together, which was great. I didn't take pics there, but my mom and cousin did and hopefully I will get a hold of them soon to post. The boys had so much fun hanging out with their second cousins and watching fireworks. For the actual 4th, we stayed in our neighborhood. There was a block party. We ate a ton of food and hung outside most of the day.

We made another couple of trips to the zoo this month. It was really crowded, but we still had fun. The boys probably had the most fun playing on the old, unused train.
This weekend we made a trip to Schramm State Park to see a snake exhibit. They were showing species of snakes that are in Nebraska. While there, we also walked through the aquarium, which showcases Nebraska fish. No, they aren't red with big N's on them. After the aquarium, we went on a walk and fed the fish. Then we hiked on a trail for a couple of miles. On the walk, the boys found lots of snails and named them all Gary in honor of Spongebob's 10th birthday this weekend. We also walked over a suspension bridge. It is a really nice park and we plan to go back.

One of the snails named Gary.


Snail Races


This whole weekend we have been lucky enough to have really great weather. The boys have been outside non-stop and we put the tent up today, so that they could pretend camp. Right away they lined their snacks, markers and paper up against the side of the tent. These are their most important items! This is the tent that Doug and I got for our wedding almost 9 years ago. It has never been out of the box until today. I guess we aren't really big on camping! ha ha.

I wish I was able to capture here all the fun we've had this summer. We have stayed up late so many nights having drinks with the neighbors while the kids run around catching fireflies. We've slept in late. I have been able to read a few books, do a lot of running and spinning and take a lot of naps. We've been to several area waterparks, parks, the zoo, Great Wolf Lodge and the Children's Museum, just to name a few. We've also spent quite a few days at Nana and Papa's house playing outside and hanging out with them. We've gone for walks, to the library, had swim lessons and baseball, grilled out and all around just hung out. I am so happy and lucky to have the summers to spend with my kids. It couldn't make me happier.