July is gone!

July went by incredibly fast... so now here we are, August 1st and I'm finally attempting a recap. Here goes!

Fourth of July weekend:
We spent most of the weekend playing with the Wilson family. We met up on Friday night at the Adel winery for some "refreshments" and entertainment. Ironically, the band playing was named Hot Tamale and the Red Hots. I say ironically because it describes the weather that weekend! July has been a steam bath and this day topped 100. By the time the band started at 7pm, it was actually tolerable and we couldn't have asked for a better night. There were shade canopies and a nice wind picked up to keep us cool. Admittedly, the wineritas helped cool off the adults and the buckets of ice chilled the wine and kiddos (as well as entertaining them).

Saturday morning kicked off the swing-set build on the Wilsons new lot. They are building a new house in Adel and wanted to have the new swing-set ready for the kids before the house is finished. Realizing it was a large project, Jens offered to help out. So, while the guys were building, the girls were playing… err, watching the kids. It turned out to be a gorgeous day, so we decided to make our way to the pool. Camden, Kade, and Mila all LOVED their time at the pool. I learned quickly that Mila is a brave one. She loves to jump right in the water, so you’ve got to keep a close eye on her.

Here’s a fun little picture of the three kiddos during one of the pool breaks:

Next up, Okoboji:

Before the trip up North, Mila spent a few days with Grandma Lori and her cousin Caitlin in Lake View. I can't even tell how spoiled she was by the time we got there! Meanwhile, Jens and I spoiled ourselves: dinner and movie, dinner date with Jess & Todd, movie night in... It was crazy, full movies and dinner without interruption.

Don’t worry, we only had a few days and we snapped right back into parent mode. Well, sort of. We took Caitlin along to Okoboji, so it we were easing back into it! Mila and Caitlin got along great and it was nice to have a helper with us.

We also had a few guest join us for a few days. Cherri and Camden left Kade and dad behind and joined the fun. Among other things, we went mini-golfing at Treasure Village, spent a little time at Barefoot bar, went swimming at the Bridges Bay Resort, and played a Arnold’s Park.

It was a wonderful trip away and relished every minute of it.

See this face? OMG, she couldn't get enough of the carousel. Her jaw was dropped and her hand was waving the entire time!

So that gets us through the first half of the month... but it's well past my bedtime and I think this is a great stopping point. I'll try and update further over the weekend. I've got a ton of family pictures to go through from Grandma Edith's 80th birthday party and then some fun pictures from the balloon festival, so you'll have to check back later!