July Fun!

 Along with the Fourth of July and spending a week in Weatherford, we managed to squeeze in a lot more fun in July.

The older three kids spent a Saturday with their CHEER friends celebrating Carter's birthday. 

Spontaneously, one morning Elena text and asked if we wanted to pick blueberries with them. I was so grateful we were free, because we had a wonderful morning and came home with buckets of delicious berries. 

That evening after blueberry picking, we took the kids to a Drillers' baseball game. We try to make it to one each year. It's always a fun summer experience. 

The kids worked so hard to catch a ball. They brought their gloves and everything. 

They were thrilled when Sam caught one! It was definitely the highlight of the night for all four of them. I think it even beat the ice cream, ha!

This summer, as I'm always thinking about how the days with all four of my kids home and mostly free during the summers is numbered, I tried to be very intentional in how we spent our days. 

Samuel had attended a Trail Life campout at Osage Hills State Park last year, and ever since had asked for the whole family to visit. So we took a Saturday in July and spent it outdoors exploring and hiking. 

Wading in the creek made the experience extra fun. Sam didn't do that last January when he camped there. 

We hiked around, ate a picnic lunch, and waded in the creek. 

Since we were so close to Pawhuska, we drove over for a treat at the Pioneer Woman's ice cream shop. 

The kids asked to swim one evening, and as soon as we arrived, it started pouring down rain. Since there was no lightning, they continued swimming and made the best memory swimming in the rain. I stayed dry and recorded it all. 

We have some friends who we seem to only be able to find time to get together with in the summers. We miss them during the school year, but it's always fun to catch up and watch the girls play together. We met them at the pool for a few hours, and they choreographed a whole dance routine in the water. 

Each wee this summer when we didn't have other camps or commitments, I tried to schedule some sort of Adventure Day where we did something out of the ordinary or more extravagant. One day we drove over to Bentonville to visit the Amazeum for the day. 

This aluminum craft area was a hit for the kids. 

The museum was pretty crowded in the morning with day care groups and camps, so we left for an early lunch and decided to visit the Walmart museum for a little bit until the Amazeum cleared out some. 

This sticker design center was a favorite. 

We also enjoyed the Lego model of the museum.

We also saw Sam Walton's office, saw how Walmart merchandise has changed over the decades, watched a holographic interview with Sam Walton and ended our visit with some delicious ice cream. 

As we were walking back to our car, the kids saw a robot coffee maker and begged me to try it. They really had to twist my arm for me to order coffee, ha!

We spent the rest of the afternoon back at the Amazeum. The kids enjoyed playing in the Walmart area. They played grocery store and diner for hours. 

Even the big boys joined in the fun. I'm so glad their little sisters keep them playful and young. 

Samuel made a cool stop motion movie too. I'm always impressed by his creativity. 

I left Arkansas day with a full heart of gratitude that I get to spend so much quality time with my four precious blessings. I'll look back at these summer days with fondness.

Also, in July, Katherine got to celebrate Willow's birthday with a water party. They have a super sweet friendship. 

Some friends invited us to paint ceramics one afternoon. We had a great time!

Keaton joined us while Nathan was over at his house with Wyatt. 

For another adventure day in July, Matt took off work and we drove to OKC to take the kids to White Water. We rode slides all day long and had the best time. The kids get more fun every year. I loved taking them as toddlers, but being able to carry their own tubes up the stairs is definitely a perk of having older kiddos. 

Kaydence invited Elisabeth over for a shopping day to celebrate her belated birthday. The girls asked to buy matching outfits, so we shopped around the mall for a few hours with them. Brooke and I had just as much fun as the girls did. 

They settled on matching jean skirts and coordinating tops. 

We spent a morning at the pool with the neighborhood crew. They're so fun to do life with! We chatted about the upcoming school year, while the kids soaked in the final days of summer. 

It's quite a sight watching this crew walk through the neighborhood. 

We caught a picture of this stunning butterfly as we were leaving the pool that morning. 

At the end of July, I met up with Mindy and Erica for our annual girls weekend. We mixed things up and met in Tulsa this year. We spent the weekend, shopping, chatting, eating yummy food and staying up too late playing games in the hotel. I sure love these ladies!

Throughout the summer, Elisabeth consistently served at Arms Around BA on Wednesdays. She especially enjoyed working in the summertime because there were usually kids around that she entertained while the parents gathered their food and clothing. I'm humbled by her heart of service and desire to sacrifice her free time to help others. I know the Lord has big plans for her life, and I can't wait to see where he leads her. 

What a great July we had! I'm so thankful for all the memories and sweet experiences we had. 

Corn VBS Week

 The weekend after the Fourth of July, the kids and I drove to Weatherford for another special summer tradition, Bible School Week in Weatherford/Corn/Cordell! This was our fifth year to attend the Evetts' VBS week and spend the week visiting with friends and family. 

These two boys graduated out of VBS and were volunteers this year. I think they had just as much fun as the kiddos though. I caught them running around the church giggling too many times that week!

These girls were excited to attend VBS together. 

The girls were excited too!

We spent a couple of days with the Evetts and Millers in Cordell. Minecraft is always the activity of choice when the boys are together, and the girls end up joining in. 

We did kick them off Minecraft one day, and they built a really cool train track. It took me back a few years when Nathan was obsessed with trains. 

I'm so thankful we got a picture of all the kids together before we left one afternoon. 

I didn't get pictures, but during the week we also visited Momoo, and Grandma and Grandpa, and of course spent lots of time with Granny and Grandaddy. The kids always build forts in their basement when we visit. 

Katherine even made a video tour of her fort. 

On the last night of VBS, the kids always perform some of the songs they've learned during the week. Then they continue to sing them all summer long, and I soak up their sweet voices singing Biblical truths. 

It's always a little sad to say goodbye to our friends at the end of the week. 

Fourth of July 2025

 Fourth of July has become one of our family's favorite traditions. For the past nine years, we've hosted a cookout/fireworks party at our house, and we look forward to it every year. 

We gathered in the afternoon for fellowship. One of the newer traditions has been the kids performing a concert of sorts each year. 

This year, Laura and Katherine recited the Preamble and were adorable!

Then the older kids who took history together recited the Declaration of Independence

The kids performed an encore of This is Amazing Grace. I'll never tire of hearing them worship the Lord together.

After the concert we all enjoyed a delicious traditional Fourth of July meal of hamburgers, hot dogs and all the sides. Yum!

After dinner we took our annual fence picture. It's amazing how much the kids grow every year. 

I hope they're all still coming back for Fourth of July parties decades from now!

Nathan 3D printed a rocket this year that he wanted to launch to kick off the fireworks for the evening. He worked so hard and troubleshooted so much to be able to execute his plan, and it was so cool to watch! I'm already looking forward to next year's model!

We spent the rest of the evening lightning things on fire and enjoying the other neighborhood fireworks. It's a little frightening how much my  kids enjoy blowing things up, ha!

We somehow ended up with a giant surplus of sparklers, so the kids had at it at the end of the night, and lit up sparkler after sparkler.

The aftermath at the end of the night!

These Fourth of July parties are sure to be core memories for my kids and their precious friends who are as dear to us as family.