What Summer Should Be

We have been enjoying our summer a great deal!  And it is even sweeter knowing that last year instead of doing many of these things, we spent two weeks in the hospital with Chad and Collin....so going on adventures, spending time with cousins and just going to the pool has been that much sweeter!

Collin finished up T-ball this week and was excited to have his cousins there to watch his last two games.  We are still working on focus....standing in the outfield and not playing in the dirt was a task we didn't quite overcome this season, but he did enjoy batting and running the bases. :)

And after the game Monday night, I brought Samantha and Alison home with me for a girls night!  We had some movie snacks and watched Catching Fire.  The girls LOVED it!

The movie was so good, the girls and I didn't notice the huge storm that was going on while we took in the on-going struggles of teenagers in the Hunger Games.  But the next morning we had quite a mess of downed tree branches to tackle at both our house any my parents.  The extra man power of the Alabama Cousins sure came in handy. ;)

We've also found a few ways to beat the heat this week during the afternoons at the Discovery Center and going to yet another pool to check out the awesome water slides at Northview.

And yesterday we journeyed to Lincoln, NE with the whole clan.  My dad had a appointment with a cardiologist so we made a short day trip with them.  First we introduced the all the kids to the wonders of Valentino's Pizza.

Then I took the kids to Morrill Hall!  I haven't been there since 3rd grade and I knew with all the fossils/dinosaur this would be a huge hit with Collin and fun for all of us.

 I love that this summer I am able to post lots of pictures of summer fun, antics and family time together instead of pictures from a hospital room like the summer of 2013.  While we were immensely blessed/grateful for the outcomes for both Chad and Collin last year, it was also hard for me not to keep thinking about what the summer should have been.  We are certainly not taking this summer vacation and it's fun/normal routine for granted!!!

We are really enjoying this time with Samantha, Alison and Jacob and I am so glad to have them hear during a time where we can spend some quality time making memories together.