Saying Goodbye to Summer

I deliberately took the last month off so that we could spend all the time enjoying summer, so now there is a lot to catch up on, including one last glance at our happy, lazy, and wonderful days of summer.

We had a stake BBQ!  There were so many people there, and it was so fun to see everyone again.  With plenty of room to space out and plenty of shade to visit in, this first stake activity that we've had in over a year was a success.  

Adam was excited to try out the dunk tank. 

And Emma wanted to give it a try too!

Leah has happy to throw the ball. 

What a nice way to cool off!

Noah's favorite part was the fire truck!

And Emma loved the live music.  Overall we have one amazing stake!

We also hosted a neighborhood ice cream party!  It was so nice to connect with new friends before school started. We have some really great neighbors, it's just taking a really long time to get to know them. 

We went on a date to the temple- we're so glad it's open again!

And we enjoyed lots of lazily-creative days at home- sometimes playing right over Daddy's office,  

sometimes playing with Oobleck, 

sometimes dressing up, 

and sometimes playing right on top of the pile of outgrown clothes. 

We finally got our sunroom furniture!  

We've already had a party or two out here, and we're looking forward to enjoying it even more when this chewy, thick humidity finally breaks. 

One afternoon we found ourselves in Ankeny, and made a stop at our favorite free lunch place.  This used to be our standard summer life. 

We went to the pool as many times as we could! 

We did all we could to soak up the fun and the sun all summer long.  And with this final descent down the stairs, through the woods and across the bridge, we officially left summer behind and turned our minds toward school. 

I probably say this every summer, but boy this was a really, really good one!

Peace and Gorillas

We carved the last Saturday of the summer out for a trip to the temple!  While Daddy, Leah and Adam headed inside, Noah, Emma and Mommy enjoyed the peace-filled quiet of the waiting room.  When we walking in Emma's eyes got really big and she said, "I'm just so happy in here!  I just feel so happy!" We talked about those wonderful feelings of the Spirit- I'm so glad we were all able to pause and enjoy the peace of the temple. 

And then we zipped over to the zoo!  

Adam looks like he belongs in the zoo when he puts grapes in his mouth.

This trip was for the bugs,  

the butterflies, 

(which apparently Noah is still terrified of)

and the gorillas,  

who are always fascinating and funny to watch. 

We've got a few monkeys of our own around here... 

And we made a few other stops around the zoo, 

Our memories from the last time we had a zoo membership told us that the full trip around the entire zoo was much to far to conquer in one trip.  And while that is true and we still prefer to split up the park and enjoy just a few exhibits each time we visit, this time around we discovered that, as our kids legs have gotten longer, the park has apparently shrunk.  

We were able to loop around the zoo without much effort at all.  Of course, we didn't stop at every animal or exhibit, but we did see everything we wanted, played at the kids naturescape and even helped a young mother with more tired kids than she could push and carry back up the hill when we were ready to head home.  How the time flies and things just keep changing.

What Makes it So Fair?

10. Little Hands on the Farm! 

 This year Leah and I volunteered and boy was it hot!  And fun.  Would you like to know how many eggs a chicken lays every day or why farmers take showers before they visit their pigs?  Leah can tell you!

She has such sweet friends- and they're all taller than me! 

9. A big ol' bucket o' cookies!  Well earned after our 4-hours volunteering shift was over.

8. A funnel cake!  Much to Adam's disappointment, it's not shaped like a funnel cloud.  But it sure tastes great!

7. The air-conditioned buildings- 

where we get (#6) hard-boiled eggs on sticks!

and pay homage to (#5) the corn. 

And see the famous (#4) butter cow. 

And eat more eggs. 

And get some egg tattoos. 

3. The giant slide is possibly the most fun of all!  (We never have ventured over to the fair rides, so this is about as thrilling as it gets for us at the fair.) 

2. The animals!!  

Emma 

and Leah 

and Adam were all brave enough to milk Rosie the cow!

Noah was not really interested in it.  He was too hot! 

But we all loved seeing the baby piggies

and the one-day old baby goats!!

We even grabbed a group shot before we headed up into the sky for 

1. The SkyRider!

It was a perfect- and perfectly HOT day at the fair!

As one shirt read- "This year's fair brought to you by the COVID-19 vaccine."

We were all so glad to enjoy a normal bit of our Iowa summer traditions this year!