July Flies By!

As I write this, I wonder how July, our school-free, do-whatever-you-want month, has flown by so quickly! As usual, we had tons of pictures of our summer fun, so I've picked out highlights of what we've been up to all month. First, a trip to Toledo included a Mud Hens game and a visit to the zoo, which had new penguin and parakeet exhibits. We also saw our extended family and enjoyed the neighborhood fireworks together. On the same trip, we went to Michigan, stayed at Papa's Lake, and had a picnic and swim time with more family members. Emma also experienced her first tubing ride! The following week, Emma and I met Beth in Columbus, where Emma got her first haircut in a year! At Easton, Emma played in the fountain before all three of us enjoyed a little shopping. A few days later, we went to Grandma and Papa Isch's house for a cookout, stayed the night, and walked around at Malabar Farm. Emma's Daisy Girl Scout troop met at The Farm at Walnut Creek in Amish country, where we took a wagon ride and fed exotic animals right out of our hands! We spent a couple days at Kings Island, including Soak City water park. Emma also rode "The Beast," the world's longest wooden roller coaster, for the first time! Madelynn's Frozen-themed birthday party was also a big hit. Emma's friend Jessica invited her to her church's vacation bible school, which concluded with a Sunday service where the kids sang some of their favorite songs from the week. Finally, Emma and I went with Jessica and her family to the Ohio State Fair. It was Emma's very first visit to the fair and my first in at least 8 years, and we all enjoyed the beautiful, relatively cool weather. Even though July flew by, we can't complain...it's been filled with wonderful memories!