The kids were really excited about fireworks this year, and being at the lake with their cousins provided the perfect opportunity for sparklers, snakes, and smoke bombs.
We also joined the annual fishing derby near Ryan's parent's lake house and J learned to cast by himself!
After the derby, there was a turtle race, and Tink won $20! Her turtle wasn't the fastest, but it walked under a sign of an event sponsor ;)
The "big boy" cousins came home from the lake with us and we had fun swimming, going to the movies, and at Legoland. I'm always impressed by their kindness and patience with my little ones - such good boys!
We spent the following weekend with my family, which HAD to include an evening at Kiddie Park.
R spent some time working during our time away, and one morning, returned to his laptop to find that P had taken over, ear buds and all!
We never miss the opportunity for free lunch at Chick-fil-A on Cow Appreciation Day! We had fun making cow masks and J spent most of the day telling people to "eat more chicken!" P was in love with the cow and spent most of our time in the restaurant waving and calling out to it :)
P's new favorite thing is singing and playing the piano - our future musician???
We spent the last weekend of the month on Ryan's parents' farm, and the kids had a blast picking tomatoes, peaches, and even a watermelon! They also enjoy lots of rides on PaPa's golf cart. I came home with plenty of tomatoes to can and peaches for some pretty great peach butter.

This summer has been strangely cool (no complaints here!), so we haven't spent as much time in the pool as expected. Nonetheless, the kids will get in any time we offer, and the older two are becoming quite the swimmers.
Climbing the rope ladder at Pie Five
P spotted one of these cars and the park and was instantly in love. I searched for weeks to find a used one, and he was not disappointed! The glorious weather makes for some great walks on our neighborhood trail, and this car is just the thing.
We decided to move forward with school over the summer so that we can take a break in the fall, and J is very excited about being part! I found the Letter People at a consignment sale (that Ryan and I remember from kindergarten), and he loves the inflatable people and old-school videos. Tink is very excited about first grade, and is becoming quite the little reader.
Enjoying the sunset with their feet in the pool....
Tink gets dressed on her own most days, and we were surprised to find that we matched one Sunday morning :)
We were excited to spend the morning at Homestead Farms' farm camp, and it was better than expected! The kids got to feed and milk goats, pet a two-week-old kid, plant seeds, pick tomatoes, and gather eggs! P watched from the carrier and enjoyed his time almost as much as the big kids.
As the summer goes on, afternoon naps have become pretty common around here. Every once in awhile, someone sneaks in to cuddle, and I can't say I mind too much...
The last weekend in June, we enjoyed a fantastic fireworks show from our own driveway! Our neighbors host a charity event every year with a pretty spectacular display, and we were excited to have family in town to enjoy it with us.