Summer 2015: July

One of our favorite outings this summer has been to the Western NC Nature Center. Grandma Bradley gave us a family pass for Christmas, and we've definitely made good use of it! Jacob and I go about every week, and in July we were able to meet Craig and Lori there before they headed back to Alabama. We also had fun meeting up with friends there. I've been taking Jacob since he was a baby, but he really started to enjoy it this summer. He'll tell you his favorite animals are the wolves, and his favorite thing to do is sit on the tractor. Its a great weekly outing that never gets old!

At the end of the summer, Grandma Bradley was able to go with us! On the drive home I asked Jacob what his favorite thing at the Nature Center was that day, and he said, "GG!" It doesn't get much sweeter than that!

Getting to see the Houston Family was one of the best parts of July! Megan and Zack are both from Morganton, so they were able to visit their families, as well as spend a day at the lake with us. We had fun hanging out on the beach at the Lake James State Park with some of Burke County's finest. The boys played in the sand and water, and we had plenty of time to catch up. Megan and I were both 23ish weeks pregnant, so it was really fun to talk all things babies! Afterwards, we put the little guys down for naps and had some uninterrupted hang-out time. Scott and Zack went out on the boat while Megan and I chatted and ate an entire bag of pizza rolls in the process. When the boys woke up they had a little piano practice before the Houston's had to head home. Even though it was a quick visit, it was a great time and not lost on us that it could be the last time we gather as a party of 6!

Jacob had a couple more "firsts" this month. The movie theater was showing dollar movies this summer, so we decided to try it out. While Jacob wasn't very interested in the movie (Madagascar 3), he was very interested in the theater itself. He loved climbing up the stairs and chose seats at the very top. He watched a little bit before deciding it was more fun to crawl around in the floor with his car. We stayed about an hour, which I considered a success. I didn't take into consideration that Jacob wasn't heavy enough to sit in the chair without it folding up on him. Luckily, he didn't seem to mind.

Occasionally, we try to meet Daddy for lunch and when we ate at Chick-fil-la, or as Jacob calls it, "Chicken-yay" he got his first taste of milkshake. He loved it! Scott is disappointed, because now this means he has to share his treats!

And finally, we continued to have lots of fun with Kason and Nolan. The boys love to play outside, so we spent quite a bit of time out there. They love Fridays, because not only do they get to see the garbage and recycling trucks, but they also get to drag the recycling bins in!

They also spent hours in the sprinkler. Kason LOVES water and was happy to let Jacob spray him repeatedly. They also enjoyed playing in the water table and picking cherry tomatoes from the garden.

Jacob continues to love Baby Nolan! He likes to give him toys and hang out with him on the play mat! It's really sweet to watch and gives me hope that he'll like his little sister, too!