Summer Fun!

It feels like we waited forever for summer to finally arrive in Iowa!  Now that summer is officially here we are having a lot of fun enjoying the mild weather and longer days!  We attended the Jones County Fair on July 18th to see Lee Brice & Luke Bryan perform.  TrueNorth sent the entire staff again this year in celebration of our mid-year meeting, so we invited our good friends, the Holub's, to come along with us!  

Lee Brice

Enjoying a fun night out!

Girlfriends! 

The fair never disappoints!  We always hear good music, have fantastic people watching, and there is cold beer!  Now, there always seems to be some type of crazy shenanigan that happens that solidifies the fair will always be something we talk about for years to come...but that is what memories are made of, right?!

Luke Bryan burning up the stage!

"Baby, Do I?!"

Smooch!

That same weekend Lila and I went up North to attend my cousin Alison's bridal shower.  My Grandma requested that the shower be held in her hometown of Lamont, and more specifically, at the coffee\shop that she volunteers at, Common Grounds.

On the road!

Posers!

Ali's shower was lovely and it is always nice to be surrounded by our closest family and friends...and it is a treat to have it just be the girls, it doesn't happen that often!  After the shower Grandma and I took Lila to the Dairy Sweet.  I was born in Lamont and lived there the first four years of my life, not to mention my Grandparents have always lived there, so I have some of my fondest childhood memories at the Dairy Sweet with a crunch cone in hand!

Sharing a tradition!

The first weekend in August found us making the trip up to Guttenberg to spend the weekend with the Hahn's on the river!  To kick off the fun we met on Friday afternoon for lunch at the Riverview Cafe!

Happy to be together!

Riding in style!

We made our way to the cabin to unload the cars and get settled in.  It wasn't long before the girls were begging Mike for a boat ride.  We got the big boat out and went for a cruise up to McGregor and back.  The girls thought it was awesome to be able to go down below in the boat and goof around!

View for the weekend!

Enjoying a "cold one!"

On Saturday my Dad came up to hang out with us.  We ended up getting both boats out and took them to the backwater where it is nice and calm.  The river had spots in the water where it was really low, so we tied up and anchored next to some other boats and enjoyed hanging out in the middle of the river where the adults could touch!

River girl!

Getting in!

Chilling on the tube!

Practicing her swim techniques!

1...2...3...

JUMP!

Sun-kissed!

After a fun afternoon on the water we drove the big boat up to McGregor, Grandpa wanted to take the girls to Paper Moon and to get an ice cream cone - there wasn't any argument from the little girls!

Grandpa's girl!

On the way back the girls asked if they could drive the "ship!"  My heart bursts to see pictures like this because it doesn't feel like it was that long ago that I was driving the "ship" with my Grandpa Smith.  I love that Lila gets to carry on that tradition with my Dad!

Driving the ship!

Hypnotized by the water!

Happy!

Best Buddies!

Nothing quite says summer like time spent on the river!  I am so happy that the girls will have memories of spending time with their Mommy's & Daddy's up at the river.  As I stated above, being in Guttenberg & on the Mississippi River is very special to me, I don't know life without it.  I am happy to extend that to our daughter and our friends!

Other things that have kept us busy this summer...

Riding lessons

Feeding Baby Moo @ lessons!

Frozen Dance Camp at Dancer's Edge

Pool time at Grandpa & Laura's!

The new house has an absolutely beautiful backyard that we fell in love with when we were looking at homes last year.  We moved in, in December, so we were anxious to be able to get outside and enjoy the awesome patio and yard.  We have so enjoyed spending time out there!  Lila even uses it as a stage from time to time!

Enjoying the view!

Dinner on the patio

Summer smiles!

Dance, dance, dance!

Pretty girl!

The road that brought us to the house on Vernon Drive has been a long one, but it truly felt a little more like home when we finally brought Lila's swing set over from the other house!  Ever since the swing set has been here it has been used a ton!  Lot's of laughs and fun from a little girl who was missing her swings and slide!

A little girl is very happy!

We met some good friends at the Kernels game on Friday, August 15th.  It was a pretty special night at the Kernels...Daddy & Daughter night!  We made reservations for the guys and the little girls to attend a princess party at the park!  They walked a red carpet, they were greeted with a flower, met all sorts of princesses, and had cupcakes and punch!  The girls loved meeting the princesses and we all enjoyed hanging out on a nice summer night to watch some baseball!

Pocahontas

Mulan

Cinderella

and Snow White!

Go Kernels!

Lila & Jozie!

It is hard to believe that we are getting close to back to school time.  With it being so wet in June it feels like our summer just started!  We are trying to make the most of the time that we have before fall is upon us and our schedules get busy with two students in the house!

Kiawah Island - South Carolina

We packed our bags and headed South for the Fourth of July this year!  We have never been to South Carolina, so it was a treat to visit another state that we have never experienced.  The weather in Iowa was so rainy in June, so we were all looking forward to some much desired sunshine!  As the vacation approached the weather throughout the US was stormy and they were predicting a hurricane to hit off the coast of South Carolina and North Carolina around the same time we were there...really?!?!  Didn't I just say that the weather here was rainy enough?!  Either way...we were going!

Luggage?!  Check!

These girls are seasoned travelers!

A little in-flight reading!

The clouds above Hurricane Arthur

Our home for the week

We arrived in Charleston and loaded up the family roadsters and headed towards Kiawah Island.  Arriving at the island about an hour later, the scenery was beautiful!  I wasn't really sure what to expect, but I was blown away.  The island was beautiful and the homes were magnificent -- talk about some amazing real estate!  As you can tell by the home we rented, these homes weren't your every day house!

The island is decent sized, so you see quite a bit of traffic, but it is also very bike friendly.  So, we did a fair amount of our getting around by the rental bikes that we had for the week!  Lila enjoyed being pulled in the trailer!

The princess in her chariot!

We didn't waste any time getting ourselves acquainted and, most importantly, found the beach!  What a beautiful beach...it was equal parts clean, white sand, and then as you got closer to the tide the sand became packed down and hard enough that you could ride your bike right on the beach!

Hello sand, sun, & fun!

Happy to be on vacation together!

The real estate is incredible!

Posing at the end of the boardwalk

The day of the 4th we went to one of the resorts on the island to enjoy lunch and some of the activities they had going on for the kids.  One of those activities was hair braiding!  Each of the girls got their hair braided and were pretty excited to show off their new do's!

Braided beauty

Little Firecrackers!

At the resort we had the vantage point to be able to watch two firework shows, which was a huge treat!  I am a sucker for the Fourth and for the fireworks -- it is the one time a year that I really reflect on how lucky we are to live here and for the freedoms we have.  It wasn't too shabby to watch from the beautiful displays from the beach!

Happy Birthday, America!

For the next few days we took the vacation word seriously!  We spent a majority of the time at the water, spending time as a family, and enjoying the warm weather that South Carolina was experiencing!

Breakfast at the market

I love this picture -- she's looking out watching the world unfold in front of her...

Dads & Daughters

My everything!

Hand in hand

Dinner at the Atlantic Room

Kiawah sunset

Family

Clam diggers

Buddies

Boogie board!

Catching some sun

During our final full day we decided to go back to Charleston to spend some time.  Charleston is famous for many things, one being the plantation homes that are in the area.  Another thing they are famous for is the Angel Oak tree.  The Angel Oak tree is one of the longest living trees of its kind, believed to be 1500 years old.  The tree is 65 feet tall, but what is most impressive is the branches that sprawl well over 100 ft and wind down to the ground . 

The Angel Oak

Angle after angle

The tree goes in so many directions

Snapping a picture

Branches

After visiting the Angel Oak we stopped at the Magnolia Plantation.  The plantation was founded in 1676 and was home to the Drayton family.  It was pretty amazing to take a step back in time and listen to the tour guide explain what it was like to live on the plantation back in those times.  The plantation was in the business of rice and employed many slaves & house staff to keep the business running.  

Slave cabins

The plantation is the most visited plantation in Charleston because of it's history and the vast amount of gardens that are maintained on the property!  The home has been passed down through the Drayton family for generations leading to today.

The Magnolia house

The kids favorite part of the whole tour was the stop at the zoo that is on the property.  They loved seeing animals that are generally wild be so domesticated!  You don't see kids hugging on a deer in Iowa!

Why, hello!

Oh, Deer!

Not impressed!

The next day we were headed home.  We all really enjoyed South Carolina and Kiawah Island -- all of us saying we would go back.  We can all scratch another state off of our list and put all the fun times in our memory banks!