Daddy's birthday

The kids loved their birthday plan for Dave when he turned 37 so much that they wanted to duplicate it for his 38th birthday - I'm guessing this is the new "Daddy's birthday" tradition.

First, we play putt-putt, then we went to Buffalo Wild Wings and then we went home for cake and wacky gifts that the kids had previously purchased at the Dollar Tree.

The finishing touch inside Lucy's gift to Dave?
Several packets of Skyline hot sauce she'd found in the cabinet.
She stuck them in her gift and cracked up when Dave pulled them out

Cookies from Max

YMCA'ing

Lucy had been taking swim lessons at Town & Country - and after those plus a week of swimming on vacation, she was ready to take the swim test at the Y.

At the YMCA, kids have to wear color-coded bracelets in the pool. Red means you need to wear a life jacket and be with a parent. All kids automatically get those. But to get a yellow - being allowed in the big pool without a life jacket, you have to do a swim test.

She still has tons of fun with Max in the little pool but she was pumped and we were proud when she took the swim test and earned her yellow bracelet!

In summer 2017, she seemed to master swimming underwater...but this year she's really improved upon staying afloat above water. I'd gotten her (and Max) a goggles set before vaca 2017 that came with nose plugs and she quickly became obsessed with them. Her swim instructor really encourages her to swim without them but she still uses them a lot.

Zoo fun

One July day while Dave was helping Jeff cut grass, the kids and I went to the zoo.

It was pretty hot but we found ways to stay cool...and they got to feed the giraffes. 
Lucy loves giraffes so much but for some reason, is often too scared to feed them. Max isn't much for fear, though, so since he was doing it, Lucy did it.

They creeped on the meerkats and visited with Fiona before we ate lunch, took a train ride and stalked a goat who was probably trying to hide...

We hung out in the Children's Zoo for a bit and then we passed by the Wings of Wonder and noticed a bird show was starting soon. Lucy really wanted to watch so we were hanging around. I actually overheard someone mention rain and I thought they were crazy - it was a beautiful day! 

I talked to my mom on the phone while we were waiting for the bird show to begin and she said it had just started pouring in downtown Cincinnati...I told her she'd better not have jinxed us...and then all of a sudden it started to rain SO HARD! 

They made an announcement that the bird show was cancelled - and Lucy was so upset! We were completely soaked-through drenched at this point but all she cared about was missing the bird show...

We'd dashed from the open-air theater to the Manatee Springs (and indoor area) but the damage was done. We hung out in there for a bit until the rain stopped (about a half an hour) and then went back outside to dry off.

Fun day!

Happy 4th of July

Cuties in matching pjs that I bought from the Carter's outlet in South Carolina:

On the 4th, we watched the Edgewood parade as usual. GranJan & Grandpa were still on their summer vaca but that didn't stop us from going to their house - to park in their driveway and walk to our usual parade-watching spot where we met up with friends.

These two...
dumping out their loot to separate, sort and trade...
totally reminded me of my me and my cousin Katie -
doing the exact same thing in the exact same spot years ago
but with Halloween candy instead of parade candy 

After the parade, we went to a grill-out at Aunt Terri & Uncle John's house before heading home to rest for a bit. Later that afternoon, we went to "Grandma & Grandpa with the dogs'" house. Lucy and Max - cornhole champs!