Recap of our July!
One of our must-do summer traditions is Yes Day! It’s a day where the kids get to make the plans and Mommy gets to say a whole bunch of YES!
It’s also not a free-for-all as we have some basic Yes Day ground rules we follow – read ’em here.
I try to really stick to being super easy going all day. Like when Tessie wanted to dress fancy the answer was YES and when we took a group picture and Spear didn’t want to be in it the answer was YES!
We kicked off the day with a stop at the Dollar Store to get snacks and find some fun goodies (like glow sticks for night swimming). Spear wanted a cute dino for his bookbag instead of snacks and the answer was YES!
Next up we visited Chick-Fil-A for breakfast. A few years ago we also made giving back part of our Yes Day tradition and we like to order CFA to be delivered at our local homeless shelter to give the kind volunteers a night off π
Kye taught Spear how to be a gentleman by holding the door open for the ladies π
Each kid wanted TEN chicken minis so it was cheaper to buy a full platter!
Sometimes things just don’t go according to plan…a few days prior to Yes Day my van battery died and Zach got it replaced for free bc it was covered under warranty! I noticed that morning it was making noises again and, sure enough, it died in the CFA parking lot.
A kind CFA employee came out to help us and walked next door to a car place and they kindly came over to jump my van for me. Unfortunately, it still wouldn’t crank.
So thankful it happened when and where it did and on a cooler, overcast day. The kids were AMAZING and so patient. Kye was all about learning how to jump it!
Zach came and we were able to get his truck to keep Yes Day rolling! My van had to get towed and they found out it was an issue with how the battery was installed and it was an easy fix π
Recoil is always a Yes Day must!
Then we met up with cousins for Snopacalypse.
Everyone had some chill time and rest time and then Zach got home from golfing and made home made pizzas (per a Yes Day request!)
The agenda for the night included night swimming and a treehouse sleepover. Sadly it started storming – we tried to wait it out but it didn’t let up so we called it! The big kids had a sleepover but we decided we’d have a Yes Day 2.0 another night.
We did a bit of an extension the following morning – Daddy went swimming AND we played an Escape Room game together as a family.
As soon as we had another free rain-free evening we made “butterbeer milkshakes” and got our night swimming on!
We spent a morning with fellow church friends visiting one of our church members. Mr. Alderman loved the visit so much and the boys all took turns leading a song, including Spear! Spear ran up to him and said “I’m going to be a farmer and drive tractors” Mr Alderman is 87 and still drives 30 min one way to church 3 times a week – he’s truly an inspiration.
Summer is always more fun with friends! Making memories with the Halls, G-Mama and church Youth Group activities! Plus a movie night for book club to watch Where the Crawdads Sing.
The kids all love to participate in church VBSs and Spear loved it too – Tessie even brought along her buddy, Kate for a few mornings.
Britt has LOVED volleyball and we really wanted to give her a chance to work on her skills so she signed up for a volleyball camp at a local school run by friends of ours from college. She did a full week from 9-4 and attended both the beginner and intermediate camps and loved every second.
We have PLENTY of lazy days at home during summer and I love when the kids get creative. They love to create arcades in the playroom with lots of games and prizes and even include very detailed rules for each game and a points system for each.
For example, I had three minutes to find the golden ticket in the ball pit. It was quite an adventure! All in all I ended up with 190 tickets and some sweet prizes and got to watch the puppet show while enjoying “food” from the “diner.”
Kye lost his LAST baby tooth this month. Bittersweet milestone moment.
He and Britt had a sleepover in Britt’s room while Tess and Spear had a sleepover together. He’s also learning to up his responsibilities by handling the yard work!
We also let Kye download Fortnite – we held off a long time on it but he’s only allowed to play it with ONE person (Colt!) and it’s honestly been fantastic for them. They facetime while they play and it’s only strengthened their bond.
Britt has really discovered a talent for organizing so I put her in charge of dispursing ALL the school supplies and organizing it all and she had a BLAST doing it. She also made mini-figs of both herself and Tessie!
Tessie turned 8 this month but she still has the sweetest, softest hands. I hope she’ll hold mine forever and ever!
Tess loves to rescue frogs, play with fidgets, study her Bible, help others and even do a little dressing up too π
She asked to lead me in a Bible study one night before bed. We read two verses, sang 2 songs, and she said the sweetest prayer thanking God for each member of our family and explaining to Him why they are each special to her.
She asked if she could play with makeup and she did it all on her own and rocked it!
On Wednesday nights after Bible Study the boys get up and can lead a song and Spear has started wanting to lead one too. “My God is so Big” is his fav π
Spear is walking in Tess’s former shoes by wanting to wear sweatpants and a sweatshirt in the hottest summer ever.
He has loved to snuggle with his special bear – it was a gift from Mama E’s mom when he was born.
More summer fun moments with my crew – plenty of Sam’s runs, Lego Masters building moments and tons of swimming!
Tessie and Spear had their annual sleepover attempt and, per usual, it didn’t last long!
So happy that kids nights at Zaxby’s are back!
I started purging things – we may not have broken ground yet on our build but the more we can get rid of the smoother the process will be.
Thanks to Belk and their back to school campaign that I was able to be part of the kids got to have fun choosing their back to school outfits and I get to have these cute pics of my kids to cherish π
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