Our End of Summer Fun

So here's our crazy long post about what else we've been up to after our Utah trip.

The Monday we got back was Pepper and Morgan's last day of gymnastics. They were excited to have one more chance to play. Hopefully, they'll get to do it again soon.

Pepper loved her teacher and had a lot of fun with the whole class.

Here's a video of Pepper showing off her skills:

Morgan's class was in another area of the gym that I couldn't see him or take any pictures. But here's Morgan showing off his skills at the end:

Morgan really liked his teacher and I thought he did a great job with the boys.

On Friday, August 24th, Cody got tickets to see the pre-season Cleveland Browns game against the Philidelphia Eagles. We managed to get a last minute babysitter and headed off.

I was super tired and didn't feel all that great but at least it was a date night with this handsome man.

This was the biggest high school marching band I've ever seen.

When we got home from Utah, I was amazed at how huge the tomato and cucumber plants had become. The squash plants did not really make it but we've had a couple hot peppers and the strawberries seem to be making a comeback. The watermelon and cauliflower plants are still growing but nothing is happening yet. Here are some pictures of our first harvest.

I didn't even know we had planted cherry tomatoes.

This end is not doing so great. Too shady I think. I think next year we'll try lettuce and a blueberry bush here.

The pepper plants, the one squash plant that is growing and the start of the cucumber.

The tomato forest and the strawberries.

The yummiest cucumber ever!

Yipee, for homegrown goodness!

We arrived home on Thursday night the 9th, on Friday the 10th we had to say good-bye to our dear friends, the Binghams. Heather, PJ, Jack and Gwendolyn moved back to Utah that Saturday. We were very, very sad to see them go but at least grateful we made it back in time to say farewell. Heather has been an amazing friend and I will miss her dearly. Luckily, they live near Mesha so at least I know we will see each other again!

We will greatly miss these beautiful ladies!
Just like Pepper, Hazel loved Heather a lot. Gwen has always preferred me to most, even coming to me instead of Heather sometimes, but Hazel stole her heart. She named all her baby dolls Hazel and pretty much wanted to take her to Utah! You can just see her little arm around Hazel's neck. Too cute.

Gwen still trying to snuggle baby Hazel who had gotten bigger over the past few weeks.

Heather trying to explain that baby Hazel did not really want to be held anymore.

Best buddies from the moment they met!

These two fed off each other's energy and were two wild and crazy kids. Such imaginations. I am going to miss seeing them together, no matter how exhausting it could be.

Pepper and Jack giving hugs.

Gwen kept trying to hug Hazel but Hazel was more interested in grabbing her beautiful hair. This little girl has the most gorgeous hair, just like her mommy.

The other day in the car Morgan mentioned, out of the blue, "Three of our friends have moved away and they aren't coming back." Then he was quiet for awhile. I felt his pain!

Since Morgan was about to start school, we decided we better go have lunch with Daddy one more time before the summer was over.

Yummy food and great company. Always a happy crowd.

Smucker's has set up a bunch of tables outside and some corn hole games to entertain the employees during lunch on these beautiful summer days. What a great company! We express our gratitude nightly for Cody's job and his hardwork. We feel truly blessed.

This one was pretty happy to be outside and to see Daddy as well.

Morgan has been into building forts lately. One Saturday morning Cody helped Morgan build this creation, and as you can see, someone was quite proud of his handywork.

One Tuesday morning, I decided to take the kids over to the Nature Realm again to have a playdate with friends. Rykker was about to start kindergarten too, a week or so earlier than Morgan, so we headed over to play with Mindy, Brigham and Rykker.

Isla, Stephanie and baby Miller joined us as well. Pepper was very happy to have a girl friend on this playdate. Isla was happy to find all the puppets.

The baby parking area. Hazel is 10 mos, baby Miller is 3 mos. I'm fairly certain he is almost bigger than her. He reminds me so much of Morgan as a baby.

The boys were running all over the place and this is where we found the girls. Love it.

The boys leading our adventure into the woods.

Isla in my favorite spot.

The night before, Morgan kept tipping back in his seat at dinner. I kept telling him to stop but then he leaned back too far. It was like slow motion watching him go over with this panicked look on his face. Luckily, he just managed to miss hitting his head on the tile and staircase but did bang his back up on the wooden chair. Of course, the first thing I said was, "See! I told you not to tip back in your chair!" Such a sympathetic mom.

If the weather is nice on Saturday afternoons, we headed over to Croghan Park to play. This time we ran into some tortoises. When we first moved here, I remember running into the man who owns them at this same park. At the time he had one and now he has two. These animals can live for 80 yrs and get to be as huge at the Galapogus Tortoises at the zoo. You better be ready to commit with these pets!

Daddy always makes the swings more fun.

Pepper showing off her rock climbing skills. She was very proud that she could finally do this all by herself.

This girl does the funniest poses. Really like the picture though.

Hazel taking her first ride on the slide. As you can see, she was thrilled.

Every time we have gone here on a Saturday afternoon this summer there have been family reunion parties going on. This little girl took a liking to Hazel. She kept Hazel entertained for us the whole time we were there.

After the playground, we took the kids to Steak n Shake. I tried to get a picture of Hazel's new top teeth. She got 4 of them while we were on vacation! 4! Where did my little baby go?

Not the best picture but you get the idea. I love this toothy grin.

I love having friends to do last minute things with. It is nice to have that level of comfort with others. After having so many friends move away this summer, I was worried we wouldn't have that anymore. Luckily, Mindy and Kellen moved in and feel the same way we do. This past Friday, the 31st, they invited us over for an impromptu cookout in their backyard. We already had plans to get pizza but we went over afterwards for s'mores and fun.

Cody roasting marshmallows while Kellen eats, Morgan scrounges for treats and Jake, another new couple that moved in, works on his dinner.

The ladies. Pepper relaxing, Mikaylie (sp?) talking to Mindy while she eats.

Last Wednesday, the 29th, was Morgan's first day of kindergarten. I scheduled playgroup that day to go to a splash pad in Medina. I thought that that would be good for Pepper in case she was sad that she didn't get to go to school also, or if she was missing Morgan. She has missed Morgan a little but she seemed to understand that she gets to go to school in a few weeks and everything was just fine.

It was a bit chilly that day and very cloudy. But when the sun came out it was very nice and the kids didn't seem to mind.

It took a little while but eventually all the kids got in and had a great time.

Pepper and her little friend, Avi. Can you tell it was a bit chilly?

Once again, the babies hanging out in their own place.

The Wednesday before we went back to Valley Vista wading pool before they closed for the season. Here's the group having a picnic and trying to warm up. It was also kind of a chilly day. Crazy August!

Last Friday, the 31st, I decided to take the girls to the zoo while Morgan was at school. I realized that it is still Pepper's summer so I guess I should keep trying to do fun things with her before we really get into the school routine for both of them. It was super hot, of course since we were not in water that day, but we got there early enough that it wasn't too bad. Also, we had lots of friends join us, which made it a very fun outing.

Taking advantage of the shade to watch the penguins and wait for friends.

The two new snow leopard babies born at the zoo this summer.

Another new friend, Blake, took Pepper and her son, Hugh, on the merry-go-round.

Our three tow heads checking out the coral reef exhibit.

Hazel trying to join the big girls.

Hugh and Pepper getting ready to touch some sea creatures.

Minus a few outings, library trips or days spent chilling at home, that is pretty much what we have been up to in August. I can't believe how quickly the summer has gone and that trees are already starting to turn. School has started and fall is here. Life marches on! Thanks goodness we managed to cram enough fun into our summer while it lasted!