July 2017

How has July already come to an end?!  I think I mentioned in my June update that June was our month for lots of scheduled fun (2 golf camps, 2 weeks of swim lessons, vbs, anniversary trip, etc), but July was the month we were looking forward to for unscheduled days to do whatever we wanted.  Well, we did lots and lots of fun things.

Our chapter book that we read as a family for the month of June was James and the Giant Peach (I remember reading this book in 3rd grade).  We finished it in June, and had a Peach Party in July to celebrate the book.  We made peach sorbet, peach Popsicles, and ate peaches.

We were on the go almost every single morning in July, but after nap time we always tried to stay home to enjoy being together at home.  This was Clayton's favorite time.

So, John and I have been focused on making healtier choices this year.  A big part has been healthy eating and another part exercise.  We have both been running, and decided our first 5k would be the 4th of July Fireball 5K on Neyland Drive by campus along the Tennessee River.  SO FUN!

Right before the race began.

So sweaty!  Right after the race.

We had a GREAT time!  I finished just a few seconds ahead of John, and we are both saying we cannot wait for our next race! 

hWe attended one of our favorite 4th of July celebrations, the Greenback Parade!  It sprinkled rain right before it started, so all the kids were thrilled to use their umbrellas.  Thankfully the rain passed and we got to enjoy this parade.

I don't know how to describe this little parade other than exactly what you would picture for small-town America.  It's so perfect.  The kids love it, and it's lots of fun.  As we were getting there we ran into our friends the Coppengers and Hazels so we all sat together making the kids beyond excited!

The day after the parade, these two were in the newspaper!

We made several trips to the zoo this summer.

We went to the zoo with the Coppengers on this particular day and watched a bird show.

Carter got to help with part of the bird show.

John and I attended his cousin Valerie's wedding in July.

Nora Kate always loves an excuse to try on my old dance costumes and twirl around.

We worked hard to dig out and extend the play area so that the little playhouse could be more enjoyable for the kids (ie out of the mud and on the wood chips).  They're loving it. Nora Kate wanted to pose with the play phone when I tried to take a picture of just the playhouse in its' new location.

We had to go the the college woods.

No summer fun list is complete without at least one morning spent tromping through the college woods exploring.

Dawson's friend Jordan came over to play a couple of times this summer.  This particular time we made slime!  So fun!

We had fun with slime!

We enjoyed Dollywood A LOT this summer.  The new kids coaster is a new favorite ride.  Here is one of the trips that Lolly went on to Dollywood with us.  

We can't believe it but not only is this brave girl suddenly tall enough to ride the Blazing Fury, but she actually LOVES it!

We love playing in the sand!

We enjoyed having Carson over to spend the night a time or two this summer!

We decided to check out the Cherahala Skyway one particular weekend. 

SO beautiful!  We would love to go back in the fall and drive the entire thing.

We went to Indian Boundary (our first time) from the Cherahala Skyway and spent the day there playing in the water and sand, hiking, and exploring.

So much fun!

One of my favorite days from this month.

We couldn't get over how beautiful it was here.  The pictures do not do it justice.

We encountered  a bit of rain while there, so we went to the little general store and the kids were happy to play games on the covered porch there while we waited it out.

We walked the lake trail.

We can't take a serious picture lately. Hah!

We checked out Bald River Falls.

Bald River Falls.

We really enjoyed Indian Boundary.

The kids were excited one even when Pop came over for dinner and playtime.

I LOVE this picture...all the boys are being so silly with Pop meanwhile Nora Kate is striking a pose.

One of the items on our summer fun list had been to go to Forks of the River and see the sunflowers.  Unfortunately we couldn't make it on what was supposedly "peak week," so the kids and I went the following week.  Well, it was sweltering hot...I mean, the hottest week all summer.  AND the convenient (to the parking lot) fields of sunflowers had already started wilting.  I was determined to see these beautiful sunflowers though...the kids all agreed they were up for an adventure so we treked/hiked/walked over 3 miles on this HOT JULY day but we saw ALLLLL the fields of sunflowers and they were all still blooming and beautiful (except the field by the parking lot).  Next summer (2018) the fields are not going to have an flowers in them, but we will definitely go back in 2019.  They are so beautiful and totally worth the miles of hot walking with Clayton in the baby carrier.

The kids had fun exploring.  I don't think Dawson or Carter even noticed the heat. 

They look so sweaty!

Photo credit to Dawson.

After leaving Forks of the River we stopped by Ijams and checked out the Quarry Trail.  I had NEVER been there.  Beautiful trail.  Beautiful lake.  Beautiful area.  They had canoe rentals and the boys have requested we go ahead and put that on our list for next summer (haha, little planners!), because they really want to paddle around that quarry lake.  It was beautiful, and it looked so temptingly cool after sweating through Forks of the River.

For Dawson's birthday in May Nana and Gradad gave him several sessions of golf lessons at Green Meadow.  We have managed to stretch these out over summer break so he can really enjoy them, and so that he can have plenty of practice time between each one.  His instructor talks about how well he's doing.  I don't know much, but from the little area where we watch his practices from (this is our view above), he looks focused and like he's doing great!

Most importantly, he's loving these lessons!

Another item on our summer fun list that we have never done before (well, I went here once in 4th grade, I think) was to visit Fort Loudoun.  The kids (Dawson especially) love old buildings (like the ones in Cades Cove) so I thought they would enjoy this.  We went through the little museum first.  A man demonstrated how to start a fire with flint.  They thought this was SO cool!

Here they are running up to the fort...

View from the top looking across the buildings toward the water.

So fun! They really did enjoy exploring all the buildings here, seeing the cannons, and running around.  There were ZERO other visitors so we had the place to ourselves which was really fun for them.

After this we headed to Vonore to meet Daddy on his lunch-another summer vacation must!

Hot days call for filling up both kiddie pools and the water table.

I turn my back for one minute and Nora Kate is out of the kiddie pool laying in the sun...where did she learn this?!  okay, maybe from me.

We went to Carter's new school for him to "practice" playing on the kindergarten playground.  He LOVED it, and he talked about being so excited to play on it with all his new kindergarten friends.  Still can't believe I'm sending him to kindergarten soon.

This girl...this is what she wore to go play on Carter's playground.  Tiara and sunglasses...of course!

AND this school year Dawson will get to move to the other playground and play on the 2nd and 3rd grade playground, so we had to make a trip to his playground to explore it and have it to ourselves too.

I think this helps get them a little excited about going back to school in just a few days.

He was excited with all the big kid equipment!

One Sunday morning we got up and decided to drive through Happy Valley up to the Look Rock Tower.  We parked, admired the beautiful views, then hiked up to the tower to see even better views!  This is a super easy and short hike and the kids did great!  I wore Clayton and he did great too.

It was a little hazy that morning, but you could still see great!  Dawson took this picture at of us at the top.  Dawson said we were in the clouds.  (Seriously, I do not tell NK to pose like this...she just does it on her own...in almost every picture)

See how great of a trail this is?! Perfect for us.

More beautiful views.

Nora Kate with two pony tails...I love it when she lets me do her hair this way.  Normally she just requests "the normal way" but I love her hair this way too.

Our garden has produced and over-abundance of squash and zucchini this summer, and this month the burpless cucumbers started coming in too!

We made a couple of trips to the Splash Pad this summer.  All four kids love the splash pad and have hours of fun!

Everyone's always amazed at how Clayton is unfazed by getting splashed and all the water at the splash pad.  He LOVES it! He starts getting excited as soon as we get out of the car!

This summer Maryville Rocks has been a big thing in our town.  Everyone paints and hides rocks around town.  When you find one, you post it on the facebook group, and then rehide it.  The kids got into it this month, and were always excited to find them around town.  Here they are with one outside the library!

We have swam so much this summer! It's been great!

Nora Kate has turned into a fish (or actually prefers me saying a mermaid), and now swims in the shallow and deep with no puddle jumper just like Dawson and Carter.  They've all loved being able to swim at Nana and Gradads several times a week!

I'm not ready for summer break to end.  Moments like these happened frequently this summer where everyone was getting along, playing happily, and enjoying each others' company.  The boys were quietly playing Operation one afternoon and something about it was just so sweet that I had to snap this picture.

Time for another ZOO TRIP!  This time we went on a Saturday so Daddy could come too!

AND since Daddy was with us, we HAD to take advantage of the zoo splash pad! So fun!

Then we decided we needed to see the sunsphere...it had been a while!

I'm not sure why Clayton looks unhappy...maybe he's unimpressed with the sunsphere haha! I don't remember him being unhappy when we were up there.  The views are pretty cool!

Nora Kate always loves baking with me.

Boys had a fishing trip with Daddy and Pop in July and loved it as always.

Some how I managed to get this picture out of order, but here's one more from the Forks of the River sunflowers.

July was surely a whirlwind of fun!  I cannot believe how many fun activities at home and outings we have packed into this summer.  It has been so, so fun! I LOVE the kids at their current ages (8, 5, 3.5, and 1)...everything is still so fun and exciting for them.

It's hard to believe that July has come to an end, but it's a wrap!