July 2017

We were so busy this month that I've been dreading writing this post because I know it's going to be full of a million photos. I went through my pictures from this month and picked out only 71 for this post. Yep. 71. So buckle up!

We started July with a trip to MN to see Jordan's grandparents in the cities. I think the last time we saw them was Christmas so another visit was long overdue. Plus, Jordan's aunt was visiting from Greece and the last time we saw her was at our wedding. We had a great time seeing everyone, Noah was especially excited about the brownies that his great-grandma gave him. :) We also stopped at the MN Children's Museum with my mom and Jordan's mom. They recently renovated it and it was so fun to see all the interactive exhibits!

Noah immediately fell in love with his great aunt. I think it helped that she immediately gave him a new book.

Beer, wine, and milk in the hotel restaurant. Cheers to the Parkers!

The "bouncy bed in a tent" was a hit!

Could these guys be any cuter?

Always my baby.

Checking out the MN capitol building!

Family portrait!

Noah loved the water table with Grandma Jo

Surprise! It's a whole wall of pool noodles!

Outside fun!

They had an awesome "car wash" where kids could use water and scrubbers. I think Noah would have spent all day here if I let him. Now I just need to put him to use on our cars.

On the drive back to WI we found a beautiful rest stop that had lots of woods for exploring...

... hooray for unexpected finds on the road!

When we got back from our trip, it was back to summer fun! There is a pool a few miles from us that I've been wanting to check out since Noah was a little baby and we finally went. It has salt water which is really different and it was nice to come home without smelling like chlorine. Noah absolutely loved it. I think we're definitely raising a water baby. We also finally checked out a local doughnut place- Hurts Donut Co. in Middleton- Noah was a fan. No surprises here. I started teaching summer school this month too. I'm teaching a mix of Ceramics 1 and Ceramics 2 students and it's been a pretty fun and laid back class. The extra money for all our trips is nice too!

Everyone out of the pool for a break.

Mom, can we go back in?

An outrageous 4th of July treat

We've had a LOT of rain this month!

Those lazy summer days... 

... let's power up with doughnuts!

One of my favorite things. A bunch of kiddos learning to throw for the first time. So much focus and persistence!

I had a couple amazing colleagues cover a few days of my Ceramics class while the Parkers headed out on our second family trip of the summer to Iowa and Nebraska. My dad's side of my family had been planning this family reunion at my grandparent's ranch for months, and Jordan and Noah had never been to Nebraska before so I was so excited to show them both the dusty, dry, loveliness of the prairie. It worked out that our route also passed right through the town where Jordan's grandma lives in Iowa so we were able to visit with his mom's side of the family too. It was definitely a huge family vacation!

Our first stop was in Newell and Storm Lake. It took us about five hours to get there and the trip was actually pretty great. Noah was happy to read books, nap, and watch a little Daniel Tiger. We got to Jordan's grandma's house and enjoyed visiting with everyone and playing. Our hotel was actually on the lake and had two waterparks - indoor and outdoor. So fancy for rural Iowa! As you saw earlier, Noah is definitely a fan of all things involving water so he was excited to check it out.

And... we're off! Clearly comfort is a priority.

Best helper ever.

I love this pic of Noah and his Grandma Jo.

Yes, we coordinated our outfits. No shame.

I love this pic too!

We got to see so many people we hadn't seen since we got married, and Noah got to meet lots of his relatives! It was such a nice visit with everyone.

On day two, we made it to the ranch which is just outside Valentine, NE. My aunt Kathy and mom organized a giant BBQ for lots of our relatives. I was excited to see my aunts, uncles, and cousins that I also hadn't seen in over five years. There were a whole bunch of Parkers, lots of them that I hadn't even met before.

Ice cream break!

And... he's out. Riding is exhausting!

We finally made it! And Noah immediately wanted to play in my parent's camper. Natalie was the flower girl at our wedding and now she's so grown up and spunky! She immediately took to Noah and was so kind to him. 

I have the best cousins! It was so great to catch up with them.

I think my dad was missing his cowboy hat.

Mom and dad, enjoying the NE sunset.

This is what your car looks like when you drive on a dirt road for miles

I have such good memories of this place from my childhood.

On day three of the trip, we took Noah out into the pasture in the truck to see the cows and windmills. He was so excited for the bumpy drive, and even more excited to ride without a carseat! (Don't worry, I don't think we ever went over 5mph.) We did a lot of practicing of our animal sounds and made sure the cows had plenty of water to drink. That night was another big reunion at the hotel with even more Parkers! Who knew there were so many of us.

Look, Noah... everything the light touches is our kingdom.

Checking out the windmill with Grandpa

Family!

I think I created a new truck advertisement.

Noah clearly loved riding with no restraints. Jordan? Not such a big fan.

Trying to shoot cans off the fence with a BB gun. Trying.

Hot out? Take a dip in the cattle trough.

Noah, trying to convince Tyler to join us. Come in, the water's fine (and just a little dirty!)

I love that I got to bring my husband and son to see the place where I have such fun memories visiting my grandpa and grandma. 

We are so good-looking!

After leaving the ranch, Noah promptly fell asleep in the car so Jordan and I drove around Valentine to see the sights. It took about 15 minutes. And we noticed this gem... Runza? What is this unfamiliar fast food joint? If you can't read it, the sign said "French Dip Burger. Sounds fancy. Tastes fancier." Well, we couldn't pass this place up so we went through the drive-thru and got something called 'Frings' and yep, you guessed it, it was a combo of french fries and onion rings TOGETHER in the same bag. And it was... mediocre. Chalk this up to a new cultural dining experience I guess.

Speaking of cultural experiences... introducing Frio. My dad described it as "like Bud Light, but less fancy." Yep. It's a less-fancy Bud Light. Between the two of us I think Jordan and I drank at least a dozen of these beers on this trip and neither of us ever felt the slightest bit inebriated.

Noah got some good practice sharing his toys with his cousins (well, my cousin's kids.. what relation is that called?) Tyler and Alex. It was adorable to see the little dudes all playing together.

Keith and Ben had an epic game of War going on. I'm pretty sure Ben was the clear winner.

An intense game of Yahtzee was going down. I think Tyler won this one. Kids. They always win.

My dad and uncle Dallas, playing music for everyone. This is my favorite part of family gatherings! 

Of course Noah insisted we had to try out the quality of this hotel pool before we left as well. Those little wet footprints just steal my heart. And when did his feet get so big?!

We have the splashiest kid.

As we headed into the last leg of the trip, we said goodbye to everyone and packed up the car for our next 6+ hour stretch. Our hotel was next to a Sinclair station with a dinosaur out front. I didn't even know Sinclair stations still existed. It was like being in a time warp. We decided to drive as far as we could this day and ended up spending the night just outside Rochester so we'd have a shorter trip home the next day. Noah was a champion traveler again reading lots of books and napping, and Jordan and I played a lot of 20 questions and alphabet games. Yes, we're kind of nerds. But when you've got 20+ hours in the car to fill, you do what you gotta do. And luckily, he's still my favorite travel companion so it wasn't hard to pass the time talking together.

Hello there, dinosaur friend.

We stopped by the cemetery to visit grandma and grandpa before we left.

Another cheers to the Parker family!

My cousin Alison was nice enough to get Noah a cow and tractor toy while we were in NE and they have become his favorite things to play with. He even brought the cow to show everyone at daycare when we got home and it was the hit of his classroom.

My new favorite mug and happy to be home...

A little unsure about this car wash though!

After we got home, we all got back into our normal work-school routines but still found time for more summer adventures. A good friend recommended that we check out the Dane County fair so we visited on a HOT Sunday afternoon. Noah loved seeing all the animals and we just happened to be there when both a dirtbike demonstration and a monkey show were happening! Between watching bikes flip through the air and seeing an actual baboon eat a banana, Noah was completely enthralled. Noah's teachers also arranged a class trip to the zoo this past week so we got to see more animals there too! It was so fun to spend time with his friends and families from daycare in a new place and the weather could not have been more perfect for exploring. 

Feeling pure, sweaty joy over these animals!

Showing off his wings to the chickens.

Mommy, look at this bunny! It's so big! And look at this bunny! It's so fluffy!

Enjoying a little AC while we scope out the next place to visit at the fair.

I tried to convince him to try the ferris wheel but he wasn't going for it. We decided to ride the merry-go-round but then he decided he just wanted to sit on the bench instead of riding an animal. Oh, this kid.

Fun at the zoo with Ms. Laura and friends!

All lined up to check out the rhinoceros. 

Noah and his best pal riding on the merry-go-round. Once again, opting for the bench over riding an animal. One day I'll convince him to be a little more bold!

This has been such an awesome month. Even though I've been a little busy with school, I feel like everything in my life is just really good right now. And I've been able to do a fair amount of prep work for the upcoming school year so I'm hopeful that when my class ends this week, I'll be able to soak up these last weeks of summer without thinking much about school before it's back to the classroom in September.

I didn't do much reading this month (no surprise there, I guess) but I did re-read a couple old fiction books I had around just for fun. I got a new phone this month so I've been having fun trying out the new features. I've also actually been trying to do some more projects around the house like finally switching out the photos that have been up in the same frames for years, or touching up the paint in the places where those nicks and scratches happened from the baby gate... from when there was a baby in the house! We enrolled Noah in a music class which has been a fun, new experience and we've gotten to visit lots of friends this month too.

And finally, the random photos I wanted to include somewhere...

The two monkeys I have in my house!

When you fill the pool and let the water warm in the sun, and your kid just decides to immediately jump in with clothes on. Go with it!

Sometimes you gotta treat yourself.

That grin. And he's wearing swimwear this time!

Yep, just pour that water on me. Thanks, Noah!

I got to meet up with some college friends I hadn't seen in years. And now we all have kids! What happened?!

Yesterday I got to visit with my college roommate, Jacob. We live in the same city and hardly ever see each other! Obviously this needs to change soon!

Whew! Well, I think I might have taken out some pics, and then added more, so who knows if we actually hit 71 photos. Congrats if you made it to the end and see ya next month!