Farm Fourth

Last week, a brave super Dad (Matt) packed up his two adventurous kiddos and took to the roads for the Fourth of July holiday.  They picked up some grandparents along the way and spent several days roaming wild on the farm in Western Kentucky.  I missed out on the fun this time, but I had a lot of things to do at work and my vacation days are scarce so it made more sense for them to go without me.  The evenings home alone were peaceful and quiet, I missed them, but I also really enjoyed putting the Mom responsibilities on hold for a few days, especially since work has been very demanding lately.  I had a rare girls night out going to dinner and a movie downtown, and a work day trip to our Charleston office ended with an evening strolling through shops on King Street and dinner at Taco Boy, so don't feel bad for me.  The family did a great job sending me pictures of what they were up to, here are some of my favorites, I think they show what a fun time everyone had.

Road Trip

They went to fireworks two nights in a row, saw lots of our extended family, and visited the local water park.  The kids can't stop talking about the trip, they are already begging to go back again.

Doesn't that water park look amazing?  I was pretty jealous of those pictures.  I was also jealous when I heard that they got to meet the newest family member (on that side), sweet Olivia Grayce!  Luke was only mildly interested, but Kate became fast friends with this little sweetheart.

One of my favorite things about the farm is just being outside there.  There is so much wide open space and freedom.  The kids rode all over the land and also did some exploring at the nearby Land Between the Lakes.  It is such a beautiful, relaxing place.

Luke was enthralled with his first fireworks experience.  He loved the booms and bright colors.  Kate liked it too, especially getting to watch it with her second cousin, Jorja in the back of Megan's car.

I was thrilled to have them home, even though the kids were a bit cranky and we're still trying to get back on track with our normal routine.  No one wanted to go back to daycare after such an amazing break, and I actually don't blame them a bit for whining about things going back to normal.  I get it, reality stinks sometimes and vacation is way better.  I love that they were able to make some more memories on that land and have relationships with family we don't see often.  Hope all my blog readers near and far are having a summer full of fun so far too!