Our summer was filled with so many fun adventures. I love having time off to spend time with the kids. Unfortunately we began our summer with our whole family getting COVID. We managed to dodge it for 2 years but alas, it finally got us. Luckily I got it the worst out of the 4 of us. Avery had no symptoms and Chris and Oliver had very little to no symptoms. The weather was really nice so thankfully we were able to quarantine and spend our time outside. We were able to go on a couple of family vacations this summer and spent many days at the beach and on play dates with friends. Avery finished up her first season of t-ball which she really loved. She especially loved having daddy as a coach. Avery also donated her hair (8 inches) to the Children With Hair Loss program. She loves being able to give a simple but special gift to another child. She also went on her first night hike with dad. They got to watch the sunset then headed down the mountain with headlamps on in the dark. Oliver took a similar hike with dad to have dinner at the top of the mountain and hike back down before dark. We are lucky to have a lot of really nice hiking and biking trails right by our house so quick bike rides and hikes are easy and the kids love them.
We went up North for a few days and did Santa's Village, Clark's Trading Post and Holderness Zoo. The kids were really into bike riding this summer so we did a nice trail through the White Mountains. Avery biked 9 miles with ease and Oliver loves riding shotgun with daddy. We also took the kids hiking up to Lonesome Lake which was gorgeous. The kids loved putting their feet in the lake and getting a snack at the Appalachian Mountain Club hut. They are both turning into great little hikers. Avery takes off and usually leads us up the trails and Oliver started hiking trails without needing a carrier this summer which has been a blessing on our backs.
We also flew out to the Ozarks in Missouri for a week where we met our nephew/cousin Corban for the first time! The kids were so smitten over him. As always, it was awesome to be with the Wylys and this time getting lots of baby snuggles in! The house had a huge twirly slide from the top deck down to the ground which the kids loved. We spent a lot of time at the pool, rode golf carts to view lots of beautiful waterfalls and bat caves, went to the zoo and got to pet animals, visited the aquarium, had dinner while watching a stampede, rented a boat and hung out on the lake all day, and did a morning of ziplining. We had a slight hiccup in our trip when all of a sudden Avery broke out in full body hives. The poor thing was miserable. It landed her in urgent care getting some good steroids that resolved it rather quickly, thankfully. Unsure of the exact cause, but our best guess is the little lemur that kissed her all over during our visit at the zoo. She had no fear and pet all of the animals, including a snake. She later told me that she was petting it's head (like a dog) and it was "giving her hand kisses". Bleckkkkkk! 😅 The kids were excited to be back on an airplane and were amazing travelers, despite our incredibly long delay on the way home that didn't get us into Boston until after 1am. They are rock stars.
We had our annual friends BBQ which is always a nice time to catch up with friends that we do not get to see often. It seems like every year more and more kids get added to the bunch! Summer ended fast as always. Avery started first grade and Oliver started preschool. I only get so many summers with these sweet babies and I’m soaking it all in! The kids are active and keep us on our toes. Time sure flies but we are having fun!
