This summer was HARD. H.A.R.D. I totaled my van. I’m still not really driving. We’ve taken some huge financial hits. Yet, you wouldn’t really know that from any of the pictures. My blog tagline is “Making the Best of What Looks Like a Mess”. So in the midst of all of this mess I am choosing to focus on the good times and reflecting on all of the provision that had to happen in order for my kids to have a FANTASTIC summer regardless. Here are some of the highlights from our 2019 summer break-

 

One fun memory is when we had a girls vs boys water balloon fight in the back yard.

Then in June, we went to Texas to spend time with J’s family. It was so great to catch up with everyone. The kids got to be with their grandparents and some of our relatives that we hadn’t seen in years.

 

Ezie even learned how to swim!

 

 

And Z got to go indoor sky diving!!!

Losing our van in Texas was certainly a setback, but the new van is really nice too. My favorite upgrade is keyless entry. I love it! As a mother of four with a cluttered purse, it is always a pain to have my hands full and have to dig my keys out. Not anymore!

We didn’t have a full-blown garden this year but we grew some herbs, berries, tomatoes and the most memorable thing of all… the FRESNO CHILI PEPPERS. We had some really fun times doing chili pepper challenges to see who would be the last to resort to chugging milk. Z claims he was always the winner but I am pretty sure J won every time.

SJ got to do her first alumni camp at Ohio Valley Voices and they had the BEST time. They did everything from biking, to ziplining, going to the zoo, and much much more.

I’ll have to do full blog post about the grandparent adventure that took place in July. The short story is that my parents took the kids and their cousins to City Museum in St. Louis and from what I hear and see from pics. It was epic.

Elle actually stayed with us at home for that adventure. She’ll get to be a part of the action when she gets older. She had her own special times though, like her first haircut!

 

Then in August we did our annual trip to Michigan where my best friend lives.

It was a short trip, but we got to see our friend who was in town from Nashville and we went to the beach everyday. It’s so beautiful there.

 

Last but not least we went camping in Indiana.

We were there with a group from our church and had so much fun cooking around the fire and having great conversation.

We also went hiking and caving and that was super cool. 

Summer 2019 may have had its challenges, but there is no denying we are blessed and we made lots of awesome memories.