Summer Vacation

We've had a great, great summer! It went by way too fast. Here are some highlights:

June was pretty much spent at home. In the beginning of June, the boys went to basketball camp that was sponsored by a former player of the Phoenix Suns. The rest of the month, we spent our time swimming, playing with toys, celebrating Alemitu's birthday, and spending as much time with my sister as we could. My sister moved to Texas mid-month. I miss her, and Alemitu misses my niece Chloe. Those girls love to play together. I'm super happy for my sister and think the move is a good decision, but boy do we miss that family living by us. Later in June, we were supposed to go to San Diego with several friends, but we had to cancel last minute when I got a kidney stone.

Dressing up in Daddy's shoes & Wiggles shirt. She has 2 Wiggles shirts and has to be wearing one of them at all times.

The boys playing with their Batman guys. They stayed in underwear or costumes all summer.

More costumes

Swimming!

Alemitu playing with her birthday party balloons.

The boys watched movies and had a slumber party in our room every single night.

Birthday dinner with Cousin Chloe

This is where we swam all summer

Lunch break, then more swimming

Watching Wiggles and saving a spot for Cousin Chloe -- she had just moved to Texas

On July 1st, we headed out to Nashville to visit some good friends for several days. These are our friends that we met during our first trip to Ethiopia. They adopted a 1 year old son, and they waited for us to travel back together a second time. We bonded quickly, and we couldn't wait to spend a few days with them.

Alemitu and Ty -- they knew each other before we knew them

The boys bonded with Mallory right away.

Enjoying an Ethiopian dinner

Alemitu loved Mallory

Hollie and Alemitu dancing to the music

Sweet Ty and Alemitu

The kids at the Batman building

On July 3rd, we drove to Ohio and met my family. We spent two days at Kings Island amusement park and water park. The first day, we opened the park and closed it down at midnight (minus a few hour break for lunch and nap in the afternoon). It was the best time I've ever had at an amusement park. We paid for passes to get to the front of the line, and the boys thought that was the coolest thing. They rode on anything and everything, and Alemitu enjoyed herself even though she couldn't ride on many rides.

Wes watching a water ride . . . wait for it . . . wait for it

SPLASH!!

On July 6th, we made our way to Indiana. We spent 10 days there visiting extended family. We played games, ate good food, laughed a lot, went swimming, went to a dairy farm, went to lots of parks, went bike riding, picked blackberries, and just spent time enjoying each other. The best part was when my parents surprised my older sister and I by flying in my younger sister and her family. When I saw Jenna walk around the corner, I screamed and gave everyone a heart attack. I immediately started crying hard, and for probably 30-45 minutes after that moment, I still teared up when I talked about it. I miss my sister a lot. Even though she could only be there for 24 hours, it was amazing and I am so grateful my parents flew her in. 

My family - so blessed to have them

Cousins/Best Buds

Alemitu learning how to eat corn on the cob

At the dairy farm

Adam and Christina are both competitive, and Adam likes to talk trash to Christina (super fit sister) about how he could beat her in any fitness challenge. They had been planning a P90X challenge for about 4-5 months. They ended up having a dance off instead, and Adam made sure to dress in his dancing/workout attire.

More dancing.

Cousins having a bath. They've missed each other.

Calvin watering the corn during the drought.

Noble Roman's breadsticks!!!

In late July, we went to a Wiggles concert. Alemitu LOVES the Wiggles. The boys have started enjoying them again now that they see Alemitu watching the Wiggles -- all day long. The concert was so worth the money. As soon as the Wiggles came on stage, Alemitu started screaming, jumping, and waving. It was the cutest thing. She danced to about 2/3 of the concert, and the last 1/3 she sat on Adam's lap in a daze. She was exhausted.

Of course, the boys have Wiggles costumes

We were blessed to be able to spend a lot of Friday nights with our good friends. The boys even had their very first sleepover at a friend's house. It is so nice to have such great friends for us and the kids. They are family.

First Sleepover at Santino's House

Best Friends -- Faith & Alemitu (and Justin)

Adam didn't have to travel much this summer. It was a nice break. He did go on a couple trips in July -- including Comic-Con in San Diego. He got to meet tons and tons of actors. He also went to New York.

Adam leading his production crew at Comic-Con

New York shoot

A few days before school started, I took my boys on a date to Wet N Wild water park. We had a blast. We went on every single ride. There was this one ride that I was so scared to get on, I kept making excuses like "I don't think you are tall enough" or "the line is too long" or "I think it might be closed". The boys had an answer for all of my excuses, but I was truly terrified to go on it. At the end of the day, we got in line for one of our favorite rides and I kept looking at the scary ride. I finally decided that I would regret not experiencing that thrill with my boys . . . so we went. Terrifying, but we survived.

 Wet N Wild Water Park

The terrifying, Mammoth Falls

Wes' lunch that day -- he ate about 1/3

What an amazing summer we have had. Tonight, as I tucked my boys in bed (in their room for the first time all summer), I got a little teary eyed. While I'm enjoy getting back to a routine, I sure will miss having them around all day. I'm already looking forward to next summer!