In a grand run-up to the Fourth of July, we attended a pretty spectacular barbeque and fireworks party thrown by a friend who owns a big splash of property just outside of town. The kids had the time of their lives running through the grass, jumping on the trampoline (which led to the loss of one of Emerson's front teeth), catching frogs, and riding four wheelers. But the best part of the night was when the awesome fireworks show was complemented (and possibly upstaged) by an almost supernatural lightning show. Between that and all the fireflies, it was a pretty twinkly night.
A festival up at Aaron's university had some great activities for the kids, inculding a chance to try out all the instruments. It's now on our list to get Theo playing trumpet, and some of the other kids playing violin one of these days. When we have more money, apparently, because music lessons are expensive!
Then Aaron went out of town, and we had fun! I promise it's his terrible timing, not me celebrating his absence! The Three Rivers festival took place in his absence, and to keep us all from wrecking the house, I took everyone to as many activities as I could each day. This is the kids at a big activity they held at the Botanical Gardens, with crafts and activities including a ride on a giant bouncy slide. So. That was a hit, obviously.
One of my favorites was the cookie contest held at a local baking store. Addy's was pretty impressive--I thought she might win (she didn't). Emerson's was a pile of as many toppings as he could fit. He likes the food, that one.
My favorite might have been the Harry Potter movie debut (which sadly we couldn't even see until Aaron got back, because a) movies cost way too much to take everyone, b) it was at midnight, and c)Aaron would have killed me if I went without him, even though he hasn't read the books. Instead, there were a bunch of activities held at the mall the afternoon before the premiere, so we attended all of those (including the free dinner if you wore a Harry Potter costume), and ended up with our faces splashed all over the newspaper the next day. Well, we do love Harry Potter.
Which leads me to the Harry Potter baseball game, played by the TinCaps, that happened the next week. Luckily Aaron made it for that one, though sadly the TinCaps lost--practically their only loss of the season. Apparently the Death Eaters were in the house.
And . . . a trip to King's Island in Cincinnati rounded out our mostly local "staycation" this summer. Theo and Aaron had the guts to try out the super-high Diamondback roller coaster, all but the little kids got to ride The Beast, which is apparently the longest wooden roller coaster in the world. It was really fun! We split the rest of our time between a few thrill rides that the big kids were tall enough to go on, and the ever-enchanting kiddie world. It was probably the highlight of the summer for the kids, not quite as much for Aaron and I, who could stand to skip the pricetag next year.
Haha, here's an update of the picture we took at the King's Island drinking fountains two years ago. Our kids have grown! Sera couldn't even reach it last time. Also, they apparently repainted (see the picture at the bottom of the blog).
And finally, the week before school started, we got to attend the American Idol concert out in Columbus with the older kids. It was a super-fun night that I hope those kids will always remember. What an amazing journey for those contestants, from average Joe to lighting up the stage in a production like that! Theo and Addy were hilarious throughout the night, teasing each other about which contestants the other "liked." Oh, what joys we have in store for us!
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