- For the 4th of July weekend, we went tubing on the Chestatee (it is a super calm section and we tied the kids' inner tubes to ours...they did great!), saw fireworks with friends from small group at a local park, and did our usual family reunion at David's Great Aunt's on the actual 4th. It's always great to see everyone, although they and their children sure do keep getting older. Glad that's not happening to us.
- Audrey wrapped up her very first soccer season. We are so incredibly proud of her and all the lessons she learned about being a team player, sportsmanship, and running towards the ball even if everything in you is scared and telling you to run away. The highlight of the season was when she got hit hard in the face and then got right back in the game and played on. She was as tough as nails!
- We got to soak up a lot of extra grandparent time this month: we went to the movies with my mom (The Peanuts Movie for $1!) and then AJ spent the night with her, the kids spent the night at David's parents, and my dad and stepmom came over for a visit. Huge perk of summer to get that extra time with family.
- David and I went kayaking on the Chattahoochee River. We did it for the first time last year, but this time we started out going downstream and then rowed back upstream at the end. And yes, it did prove to be as tiring as it sounds, especially after I'd done a brick workout that morning. But it's always cool to break out of the rut and do something different and adventurous like that together. You just gotta remember to keep your mouth shut to avoid the E. Coli. (Kidding.) (Sort of.)
- We went out to dinner to a cool local spot and then went bowling with our small group. I came in last by far, but I knew this about myself ahead of time and it was still a really fun night.
- AJ had art camp for four mornings one week with a buddy of hers. Each day the teacher led them in doing a 16 x 20 canvas painting and a craft, all with a circus theme. She enjoyed the art itself a lot, but I think there was a decent amount of down time that made her a little bored. We'll see if it's a repeat thing next summer.
- I did my second triathlon and lived to write about it here.
- We went to visit Kara and her family for two nights towards the end of the month. With all that she's gone through lately (she's doing incredibly well, by the way), it was an especially sweet trip this year. We did a LOT of hanging out and catching up while the kids played and the guys went golfing. We also squeezed in a boat ride to see the Purple Martin birds come in to nest at Bomb Island on Lake Murray that evening. Once Audrey and Luke gained some courage, the kids took turns jumping off the back of the pontoon boat. As the sun was setting, the birds were flying overhead, and the kids were laughing, I sat back and took it all in. It was one of those "YES. These are the 'good ol' days'" realization moments. It is a rare and precious gift to have an entire family that your entire family gets along with and I'm so thankful for it!
- I tried water skiing for the first time! We all went out on David's parents' boat one Sunday afternoon and I gave it a try. I got up the first time and each subsequent time, but no one really told me what I needed to do once I was up, so it didn't last long. The first time I leaned too far back and the second I leaned too far forward. The third time I'm not really sure what happened, but it sure didn't feel good when I fell. Since I was less than a week out from my tri, I didn't want to push it too hard, but I'm glad I finally gave it a shot.
- David and I celebrated our 12 year anniversary with some serious yard work. As I wrote on the before/after picture I posted on Facebook, some anniversaries you celebrate with fancy gifts or tropical getaways and some anniversaries you work shoulder to shoulder in 90+ degree heat sweating your faces off to get a job done. As long as we're together and on the same page, it's all good. (Next year I vote for the getaway.)
So that was pretty much July! Great month of a lot of summer memory-making fun. I'll update on resolutions in next month's recap, which hopefully will be following soon.
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