Lovelies in my Life

 Hi friends! I feel like it's been some time since I've shared everyday pictures of the fam and how we've been spending our days. Now, after a good 5 weeks of summer break, I have loads of them to share. I thought I'd start it off with the Bellin Run, a run that the kids love to participate in to get summer rolling. It's always a beautiful evening, lots of families and energy, cheering parents and sweating kids. Lots of proud moments. Here is our evening in pictures.

And another spectacular day, the Saturday that we celebrated Monty's 7th birthday. We met up at the pool to swim with cousins and friends. And then we sang a very loud Happy Birthday and inhaled a rice crispie treat cake made by my favorite baker in all the land, Heather with Hey Sugar!

 

 

 What a swing!

Ro, you are so incredibly awesome. You are light years beyond what I expect of your age. Strong, independent, smart, brave. At 6 and a half you were given a kid's motorcycle and now you're tucking up your legs and doing tricks that make me squeal and you're asking to do jumps. You're a wild child. You love reading the same chapter books that Parker does even though I try to tempt you with picture books. No way mom, I like the hard books now. You're just so cool. You're good at everything you try and such an incredible talent. God has blessed you with many abilities and I can't wait to see what you do with these gifts. Love you so much little man.

I think we've finally fallen into a really comfortable summer rhythm. Doesn't it always take about a month to get back into the school season and all the changes? So why not the same with summer? But it's good … so good. The boys are all sleeping in till 8:30 or sometimes even 9 in the mornings. Fantastic! On most mornings we get to take it easy but on Tuesdays and Thursdays I wake them up so that we can get to our tennis lessons which begin at 9:15. We spend most of the morning at the park and head home exhausted and hungry. We have piano and drum lessons now too but other than that, we're free to play, explore and relax.

Our list of favorite Green Bay summer spots (other than the pool) are:

City Deck splash pad and Dine on the Deck Wednesdays - the city deck is great for riding scooters and bikes. The kids love riding up and down and through what they call the fish tunnel. The splash pad water is fun on hot days and the river/downtown view is kinda fun. When they have food out on Wednesdays I love getting the fish tacos. Hmmmm!

Farmer's Markets - Saturday mornings are a little easier for me to get to though Wednesdays have a cool, flea market vibe. Elliot and I went last Saturday and loved strolling down Washington St. side by side. We ended up buying the yummiest sugar rolls and a really good egg sandwich. The peony bouquets were gorgeous though I ended up taking home a less expensive mix. Farmer's market flowers are stunning but they tend to die very quickly. Bit of a bummer, so keep in mind. But really, our summer/fall markets are outstanding!

Lunch in the park and Parkees -Not sure if you knew this, but 36 of GB's parks are supervised by parkees, adults who oversee a variety of organized events. Your kids can stay and play at the park with the parkees between 11 & 5pm (and you can leave!). Our older kids are super excited to do this this summer and we have found that allowing them to play at a park close to home feels comfortable and safe for all of us. The parks also provide free lunches everyday to all kids through GB public schools. Really awesome for a picnic at the park. Adult lunches cost about $2.50.

And then there are loads and loads of other things to do. Seriously, so much! We're still getting to all of it but I'll say that we had a blast at Joannes Aquatic Center last year. And we always love Bay Beach, especially that roller coaster and the mini golf. Going on weekdays always helps lessen the crowds. Music in the park is lovely and I'm hoping to try a movie in the park this Friday at dusk. When it rains we'll head to the Children's Museum or a $2 kid's movie on Monday and Wednesday mornings.

And for the adults, well … we love the Taste of Broadway & Art Street events, plus dinners al fresco at some of our fave restaurants. Margaritas and fish tacos. Wait, I already mentioned those! They're my summer dish. S'mores over a fire, summer parties under trees strung with white lights, ice cream for days. The 4th of July! I could go on and on. But those of a few of our favorite summer things.

And travel, ahhhh. The best thing ever. We're heading to Tennessee in July to visit my sister and her fam for a few celebrations. I have a bit of a crush on Nashville right now. :) Love it there.