Summer in Review

 For those of you that still check this blog, bless you! I cannot believe how long it has been since I last posted. I know I've promised before, but really making an effort to keep up this blog and stay connected with the rest of you that blog regularly. I can't say that I have one good excuse for being away so long. I suppose just a rough mix of things. However, I have really been missing the documentation of Avery and Spencer, since they're changing so much, and just our family in general. 

Thought I would just do a quick round-up of the summer so that I'm not so overwhelmed with trying to post everything. But, here's a good mix and a good starting off point for me to jump back in!!

We took what is becoming our annual trip to the beach and Disney World.

Our favorite beach, Clearwater. It was so clear this year I actually felt comfortable in the water-no sting rays!

Spencer loved meeting all of the princesses! 

The kids got makeovers, Disney-style :)

Avery was tall enough for Tower of Terror! We didn't know the guy next to her, but he thought she was awesome-and she is :)

We were lucky enough to snag this pic with virtually no one in the background. How, you might ask? A tip: schedule breakfast at a park restaurant and you get in early! On this day we ate at the Crystal Palace-obviously in Magic Kingdom-for Mother's Day.

We had lots of character meals and met just about everyone! I highly recommend character meals. It beats having to wait in line forever to meet characters. This way, they come right to your table and you get to meet everyone while you eat your meal-best thing ever with young, excited kids!!

Avery was also tall enough this year for Splash Mountain. She loved this one a lot and took both Artie and I on it...can't wait until Spence is tall enough and we can all go together :)

The kids picked out some awesome Mickey and Minnie ears.

Non-Disney part of the summer :)

Artie and I ran our first 5K. Artie pushed the jogging stroller the whole time-up and down the hills of downtown Cincinnati! We didn't do too bad either :)

The kids also participated in their first race-The Flying Piglet. Spencer cried because he didn't know where to run to, but they both had a great time and loved their medals!

Spencer has taken a liking to baseball. So Uncle Jake got him this for his birthday.

There was a dance recital or two. I love this picture. Avery has sadly decided not to dance for her third year this year. Instead, she has joined a competition cheer team. We shall see how this season goes!

Our furry boys have done a lot of cute cuddling. They are definitely the odd couple!

There was a lot-and I mean A LOT-of time spent at the pool this summer! We had some pretty nice tans, too bad they don't last long.

We spent time with best friends at the park and at the zoo :)

There was a Pompeii exhibit at the museum here in Cincy. It was amazing! The kids developed such an interest in history after seeing this exhibit. They still talk about it months later.

Silly dancing inspired by the Olympics! The kids LOVED watching all of the events.  I'm a summer Olympic junkie-hello extra tennis!-so the kids got to watch a ton of TV those two weeks!

Speaking of tennis, the tournament down here was right after the Olympics. The kids were excited, they love the tournament. It's very kid and family friendly. They tagged along with Artie and I during our volunteer orientation.

Since we were practically the only parents that actually brought our children to the orientation, Avery and Spencer went up on stage in front of hundreds of volunteers and picked all of the raffle numbers. They were a huge hit, and were offered the position next year. For their efforts, they snagged these two awesome cups-yep, mommy has taken them over!

Artie and I were excited that the uniforms this year were black, the last few years I have been dressed in bright orange! 

We got to see the newly crowned Olympic champion, Andy Murray (and Spencer's favorite player) up close and personal!

My sister and I took Avery on one of my days off from working as a marshal and had a girls day. We got to meet Caroline Wozniacki and get her autograph.

We found a really cute ice cream place near our home! It became quite the favorite summer after dinner spot.

Spencer decided to get creative on our TV stand. 

And then learned about cleaning up messes! Luckily we were able to use some goo gone to take off the crayon without taking off the paint!

While my sister was down for the tennis tournament, we took a painting class. It was so much fun and I ended up taking one all by myself a week later!

Finally, I can't believe it happened, but now I have two preschoolers! Avery missed the kindergarten cut-off by just two weeks and rather than trying to file an extension and get her in this year, we were happy enough to just let her do one more year in preschool. Spencer enjoys having his big sister right next door during his first school year. It has been sweet seeing the two of them share school time and I know it's just the begging. Since they are now only one grade apart, I'm hoping they always enjoy being so close and don't become too competitive with each other.

Well that's our summer in a nutshell. We were really busy and sad to see it end. We are on birthday countdown here as Avery's is next week. Plus, we have my brother's wedding in less than two months so the cooler temps will bring plenty for us to enjoy!