July is gone already!

July went so fast!  It was so fun, though.  As always, we are busy, busy, busy.

Betcha can't tell where I spent my 4th of July?  Yes, that would be a cupcake at the nurses' station.  It made a delicious 3am snack.  This night shift work is killing me. 

A few days after the 4th of July, Keith, the kids and I went up to the mall to shop and watch a movie. 

We ended up not really purchasing anything, but more looking around to get an idea of what the kids are into as far as back to school clothes. 

Then it was off to the theater...

The girls!  She insisted on raising up the arm of the seat so she could snuggle with me. 

We've also been busy putting our Disney Water Park Annual Passes to good use.  Keith goes with the kids much more often than we go as a whole family.  I'm finding with a full load of classes this semester, I NEED some quiet around the house and really there isn't anywhere to go that's quiet.  I don't know how folks study in places like Starbucks, or even the library.  Every once in a while I take a break from it all and we all go out for fun together. 

We load up our trusty rolling cooler with drinks and sandwiches, fruit and other snacks, and prepare for a day of wet fun. 

While these shirts are not at all attractive, they do help me spot my crew, and they offer some sun protection, to boot, so a good investment all the way around. 

On approach to Disney property. 

We have been to Blizzard Beach probably 6-7 times in the past 2 months that we've had our passes.  They have already more than paid for themselves.  However, we had not been to Typhoon Lagoon, the other Disney water park.  I recall going once when Joshua was at Goal camp and I only had Megan and Daniel, and they were so small, we stayed in the little kid area.  

Well, TL, doesn't really have a "tween" friendly atmosphere...it's geared for either the under 5 crowd or the older, thrill ride crowd.  There was a nice big lazy river and a huge wave pool, but seating wasn't what we wanted to deal with at all.  The majority of the ground surface (that wasn't water) was sand, and I despise sand.  Seeing how this is just supposed to be a quick visit for a few hours, then carry on with our day kind of trip, I really didn't want to have to vacuum out the minivan from all the sand as if we'd been at the beach.  We lasted at TL for about 30 minutes before decided to head back to Blizzard Beach, which, hands-down offers much, much more for the 6-12 year old crowd and overall has a more family-friendly feel to the park's design and organization.  

Our crew playing in the area for kids.

Taking the lazy way around the park. 

So much fun!  I love it...it's like a mini vacation. 

It's hot, hot, hot, so we drink plenty of water all day long.  Thank goodness for our cooler. 

My sweet Joshua.  We try to journey away from everyone else for a little while each trip and ride some of the bigger rides together.  He loved the Double Dipper.  I love this age of cautious but ambitious independence. 

In other news....

To prepare for the upcoming football season, we enrolled the boys in a football safety summer session.  It was run by Joshua Ferguson, who is a Lake Brantley High School graduate who went on to play at Perdue and then became a Green Bay Packer.  He was so fun and energetic and positive with the boys, it was a great investment in both safety and self confidence. 

Daniel is in the dark shorts to the left of the cone.  He's got his came face on. 

Football practice makes one mighty tired...he is still such a little boy in so many ways. 

More hustling out on the field, hoping the rain passes us by. 

Daniel, in his blue shorts, running to catch up to the bigger kids. 

Megan came to the practices and worked on perfecting her cart wheel. 

Goofing around during the day, means lots of late nights for me and my Lilly girl.  She likes to study along with me.  She likes it best when I sit on the couch to read, because she can sit in my lap. She doesn't like when I'm up at the computer, because she cries at my feet. 

Out grabbing a quick pizza in between errands. 

Lunch on the porch. 

Ha!  Daddy trying to catch a nap during pre-football season practice.