July Favorites

Here is one of my favorites from July that wasn't featured in a full post!

(Side note: where on Earth has summer gone?!  I was so looking forward to summer and now it's nearly over...  waaaahhh.)

We were at Ikea around Maya's nap, so we loaded the cart with
lovies in hopes that she would snooze for a bit.  #fail

Back To School Haircuts

I took my littles to Cookie Cutters for back-to-school haircuts.  I typically take Kate to Chrissy who does my hair, but Kate loved the idea of playing on the slide and getting a prize after getting her haircut so she opted for a visit with Maya.  The girls at Cookie Cutters did a fantastic job with Kate and Maya's hair, so we were all pleased with the visit!

BEFORE - Front (Note the slide in the background...)

BEFORE - Back

Maya chose to sit in the pink car because #pink.

Which left the police car right next to her for Kate!

Getting a prize from the chicken.
[Insert eye roll here...]

AFTER - Front (Kate chose short and has loved her new 'do!)

AFTER - Back

The Fair

We decided to head to the Ohio State Fair today.  It was a tad cooler than normal so we figured it would be wise to do the fair today instead of other days.

Brian had fond memories of fishing at the fair, even though he later admitted he never caught any fish, so the first stop we made was to the fishing spot.  The kids loved this too.  And the Parks and Rec program has since stocked the waters with lots of fish, so the kids get 30 minutes or two fish, whichever comes first.  I loved seeing the smiling faces of my girls when they caught their fish!

Little fisherwomen!

So ready to fish!

And then...the waiting game!

Maya caught one!

So proud of her fish!

After fishing, we headed to the giant slide.  Kate and Brian rode by themselves and Maya and I rode together.  Everything was going well until we slammed into this little boy that was younger than Maya at the end of the slide.  Their two heads hit each other so hard I heard a crack so loud that I've never heard in my life.  I was not a happy camper.  I was so mad at the parent who yelled, "yeah, hit him!" right before we ran into his child.  I was so mad at the people who are supposed to be keeping this ride safe.  I was just so angry.  If you hurt my child due to your own negligence, I'm going to be extremely irritated.

We got some ice and sat in the first aid tent for a while to cool down and make sure she didn't have a concussion or anything like that.  But, I'm not going to lie, the rest of our fair trip was just a bit more sour than was planned.  And, to top it all off, we didn't even get a funnel cake...

Here are my thoughts, every year that we go to the fair, it makes me less and less likely to go the next year.  Especially when one of my babies gets hurt.  Extra boo to the fair this year.

My baby and me.

Fun before the not so fun.

After our bump, we had a few ride tickets to blow before
we high tailed it outta there.

Love these two with all of my heart.

Pink.

All day, every day.

My biggest was looking extra grown up at our
stop for lunch at Chipotle.

Tennis Camp

We just finished up two weeks of tennis camp!  Kate loved tennis and Maya loved getting a popsicle at the end of lessons!  I spent several lessons with Maya asleep in the car because tennis was during Maya's normal nap time but we made it work and are looking forward to playing more in the future!

She definitely looks the part!

No shoes, disobeying my orders.  Yep.  Sounds about right.

But that smile though!  A tad ornery, maybe, but
still melts me!

Oh, and of course silly faces instead of smiles.  Maya, age 3.

Princess/Super Hero Camp

I signed Kate up with one of her friends in a Princess/Super Hero Gymnastics camp.  And since Maya is ALL ABOUT GYMNASTICS, I decided to sign her up as well!  The girls loved this and I was able to find a couple of hours to myself!  AMAZING!

So sweet these kids!

Such good listening!

Flying like a super hero!

Entering the princess castle!

Member Mania at the Zoo

Yesterday and today the zoo hosted an event called Member Mania.  Anyone with a membership could get in an hour earlier (at 8 am) and they highlighted a specific area for viewing and activities.  We thought we'd partake in the events today and headed to view the highlight of the week - Africa - first thing!

We LOVE our zoo.  We are there often.  It's beautiful.  There are so many animals.  And, most importantly, the animals are well taken care of.  Yes, to the zoo!

Kate feeds the giraffes!

Maya does to...at an arm's length!

We caught our cheetah in mid yawn!  Good morn, cheetah!

Look at those teeth!

And back to classic beauty!

I guess it was a bit early for the animals!  They were all still
snoozing!

Climbing on the whale!

And, of course, a stop at the carousel!

Fourth of July

For the fourth this year we headed to an early morning shendig at a friend's and watched the parade right down the street from them.  This seriously is my favorite holiday.  I love that it's in the middle of summer.  I love all the red, white, and blue.  I love all the cookouts and kids playing and fireworks and excitement in the air.  And Upper Arlington does the 4th of July BIG!  We're in a good place for this to be a favorite holiday!

We headed to the fireworks as a family of four this year, although Maya and I headed out a tad early.  She was tired and they were loud.  Bless her little heart.

My little fam.

Because...tree swings!

That smile!

My little poser!

We happened to be sitting right near one of Kate's
best friends, Reagan!

Lovelies!

Red, white, and cute for sure!

Proud to be an American!

Parade goers!

Mimi and Papaw met us down at the parade and
then had lunch with us!

Kate and Reagan.  BFF!

That cute, curious face!

Happy 4th, y'all.

A Girl's Trip

My best friend, Tamara, and I decided it was time to take a girl's trip.  A girl's trip.  I haven't been on a girl's trip since my bachelorette party in 2010.  If you're counting, that was 8 years ago!  It was a girl's trip that was a long time coming!  And, oddly enough, we decided to head back to where we did our family vacation - West Palm Beach, FL.  My mom flew into town and stayed with Kate and Maya because Brian happened to be out of town for a food show that same weekend.

I left on Thursday and came back on today.  While we were away, we celebrated Tamara's 35th Birthday!

On the night before I left, Kate requested I leave her
a note.  (Not that I had anything else to do before
leaving for a trip.)  So I made her a note.

And one for Maya too, of course!

Mimosas and shooters for the birthday girl!

Thankfully we didn't get stuck in a pour down on
this day...

Happy 35th Birthday, Tamara!

We've been BFF's since 7th grade...over 20 years
ago, people!

Chatting with my littlest.  The first time I've EVER
been away from her overnight.  Over several nights!

Love them and their love!

We decided to do brunch at this incredible resort called The
Breakers.

It was fabulous!

We have vowed to figure out a way to stay here
one time.

Simply exquisite in every sense of the word!

Blue babe!  This was before we stuffed ourselves full
of amazing delicacies.

It was nice to get away.  It was nice to sleep in.  It was nice to eat a warm meal without anyone on my lap.  But, by Saturday night I was missing my babes big time.  I am a creature of routine and home is my happy place.  I so loved spending time with Tamara and I'm looking forward to doing it again.  But I am also reveling in the sweetness that I laid next to in bed tonight.