Our Fourth of July was plum full of lots of excitement. Aside from being able to spend that holiday with family and friends, we also packed our week in SD with as much fun as we could. Here are the highlights from the week...
Swimming
With the weather being as nice as it was, we got plenty of opportunities to get outside and do some swimming. One morning, Uncle blew up the swimming pool in the backyard and the cousins had fun splashing around...
On another afternoon, the girls desperately wanted to go to Wild Water West. It is a HUGE water park complex with a wave pool, lazy river, lots of water slides, and so much more!
So Auntie, Quinn, Sullivan and I headed to the water park and had ourselves a blast! I wish that I would have taken more pictures, but my phone was all packed up and away from the water.
Two Peas in a Pod
Crew and Sullivan are two peas in a pod. Both love electronics and watching movies on the iphone. They were caught on numerous occasions looking like this...
Or this...
They were super quiet and laser focused on whatever it was they were watching.
Bouncy House and Car driving
Auntie and Uncle had the bouncy house rented for the whole weekend. So the kids spent lots of time playing in the bounce house. Judson had asked me to go down the slide with him - so I happily obliged!
The cars also got plenty of miles put on them while we were at Auntie and Uncle's house...
Zoo
Another great adventure was the zoo with Nana...
We walked around, took in the sights, and fed the goats and cows!
It was a beautiful afternoon and a great way to spend the day with Nana.
Cooking
Quinn was a good helper on the Fourth of July. She wanted to help get the food put together for the gathering. Here she is with Grandma Jane, learning how to use a garlic press.
Crew also wanted in on the action. Here he is "making eggs" with his mom.
What a great helper!
Movie
Sadly no pictures were taken, but Quinn, Sullivan and I went to the movie Inside Out with Nana. It was a wonderfully cute movie for children. If you haven't seen it, it is worth going!
Slip 'N Slide
Anything with water fascinates Quinn and Sullivan. So when Nana and Papa agreed to turn on the hose and hook up their Slip 'N Slide, the girls were all on board! They had a great time sliding in the backyard and even had a furry friend join in on the action...!
Aside from Murphy, Uncle Eric also joined in on the fun!
Scheels
On an afternoon when Judson and Elsa were at camp, and Auntie was off at work, Uncle Matt and I took the remaining little ones to Scheels to look around and have some fun. The kids enjoyed bowling....
And after bowling, they wanted to ride the ferris wheel.
It was never my intent to ride the ferris wheel. I am not much more things that go high in the sky. But because a little cutie needed an adult to ride with her, I got my arm twisted into accompanying her! Sullivan (my six year old child) was super sweet - she was coaching me when it was okay to open my eyes and breath again!
Shopping
Anyone who knows me really well knows that I am not much of a shopper. The opposite is truw of my sister... and my oldest daughter, whom must have caught the shopping bug from her Auntie. Sullivan is so-so about shopping, but never passes up the opportunity to get something new! So one afternoon, Auntie, Crew, Quinn, Sullivan, Grandma Jane and I headed to the mall to shop our hearts out. Judson and Elsa were gone at camp this day as well - so they were not able to join us.
While the girls were all about looking for clothes and earrings, and everything else girly, Crew was just as content to "ride" on the cars and different vehicles in the mall. And when I say "ride" I really mean mostly sit on them! But when all the shopping was done and he had done an excellent job shopping, he got to choose one of the vehicles to actually ride.
All of the kids piled in - a packed car for sure!!!
Fashion Show
After a day filled with shopping - the girls wanted to show off the new clothes that they got! So late one night after the little ones had gone to bed, the basement turned into a live runway - with blankets serving as the runway and music in the background.
Uncle Matt was even entered into the fashion show - as he showed off the sport new watch that Auntie had gotten him!
Dog Walking
We spent many afternoons walking Murphy to the park. Quinn and Sullivan LOVED throwing the ball to Murphy and watching him chase it. Long gone are the days that Duff is able or willing to do that - so watching Murph do it was a real treat!
Friend Playing
We were able to spend an evening with our dear friends, the Hansbergers. It is also so great to see them and catch up on life. While there may be months that separate us physically, they are the type of friends that you pick up with right where you left off. We are blessed for the girls' amazing friendship.
Acting goofy together doesn't take long for the four of them to do!
Challenge Courses
Each night when Elsa, Judson and Crew had made their way to bed, Auntie and Uncle would create "challenges" for the girls. They consisted of doing cartwheels, bear crawls, burpees, lunges, etc while being timed. The girls LOVED doing the 'challenges" and begged to do them each night.
It was definitely a highlight of each night and something for the girls to look forward to - many memories made!
This was a FABULOUS trip back to SD... a great way to spend time with the ones we love. While are forever grateful for everyone allowing us to invade their lives for over a week, we are equally grateful for the many wonderful memories made for us all!
