Summer Time

A warm Saturday in July means blueberry picking! 

We love heading to Blueberry Ridge Orchard and finding these great berries. 

Leo did a great job of eating while harvesting as he walked down the rows. ;)

Yum - these were such a treat! 

The big kids were champions at berry picking - we got lots of fruit on this morning!

Roman had a baseball tournament in Seymour this July, just down the way from Beaver Creek Nature Center.  Leo and I skipped a game to attend a dragonfly learning event. It turned out to be above his level of understanding / patience but he loved seeing the larva and setting some of the dragonflies free. 

We popped out of the class and visited some of our favorite spots at the Learning Center. Leo always asks to send a photo of this beloved deer leg to his Dad. ;)

We had to say Hi to the turtles! They have a new habitat and it was great to see them enjoying a bigger tank. 

The Butterfly house was newly opened for the season so of course we stepped inside.

These guys were so beautiful and colorful! 

Leo had a big smile on his face the entire time - he was very eager to give these butterflies a lift. ;)

We wrapped up our time at Beaver Creek with a scavenger hunt and a little prize. 

The rest of the day was spent at the ball parks for Roman's tournament games - it was a crazy day of sunshine and spotty rain. It was also a traumatic afternoon because this is where we learned about the attempted assassination of Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania. Ugh. We were grateful to hear that he was okay; it is just awful to have so much gun violence and political hate in this country. :(

We ended the day on a good note - dinner at Cancun! Leo was in his happy place for sure. ;)

Proud of our Nationals player! 

The next day our tournament games continued - it was very hot!! Good thing that there were selling freeze pops at the concessions stand. 

Lucky Lucy was invited to the pool with Ember. 

We did some more Back to School shopping. Can you tell that someone is excited about Kinder? 

Roman is happy to be King of the School as a 5th grader this Fall. ;)

Our majestic German ShortHaired Pointer is looking a little more gray these days but his health is still good after his spleen removal surgery last year!

Another evening at River Prairie enjoying music? Don't mind if we do! ;)

They have the most beautiful gardens there - Lucy snapped these nice pictures during the golden hour.

Long live summer nights!

Early July Happenings

Here are some early July updates from the Storm household - we went to River Prairie for live music and a picnic. Of course we got some ice cream too! I didn't intend for the children to get these ginormous cones but that is what happens when you give them cash and send them on a hunt for desserts - they will spend every penny! Haha

Thumbs up for summer fun and sweet treats!

Leo ran into his buddy Noah at the event. 

We love seeing all of the plants and sculptures in this space. 

We started 4th of July festivities off with a donut. 

We continued our celebrations with our favorite can koozie!

We had a low key day at the land - we played corn hole and Yahtzee. 

You can't beat patriotic nachos!

We went up the hill to watch fireworks by Grandma and Grandpa's house. The glow-in-the-dark accessories were courtesy of our local Dollar Tree. 

Dan and I celebrated our Sweet 16 on July 5th. We had plans for a quick Anniversary get away trip but they were scrapped due to the old dog - new puppy issues at our house. Sigh. We did get a chance to head out to Houligans for a nice dinner and cocktail though. They have the best Old Fashioneds in town!  

We sent the big kids to sleep away camp at Luther Park in early July. They said goodbye to sweet Frankie before we headed to camp so I was a little worried that the sadness at home would impact their week. Turns out that a change of scenery was a good thing and they had a nice time. Thank goodness!

Lucy was in Capernaum again with a fun cabin of girlies. 

Roman was in the Jerusalem cabin with a pack of boys whose names all started with the letter 'B' except for him. ;)

This kiddo desperately wanted to stay at camp too, he cannot wait for his chance to go to Luther Park. 

No worries - Leo was living his best life back in Eau Claire as the only child. 

He caught toads without any competition. 

He went to Hobby Lobby with his mom and grandma; Leo was ecstatic to see that they were already busting out the Fall displays. Ai yi yi!

We zipped over the Scheel's. Leo adores all of these stuffed critters. 

We picked up some new bean bags - our corn hole bags were bursting at the seams so it was nice to grab a new set. 

Leo was thrilled to take another trip to River Prairie for supper and music. 

More ice cream for the win! 

I had my annual eye exam with my provider who is waaaay younger than me! ;) He is always reminding me that readers are just around the corner. Whomp whomp. 

Leo helped us harvest our first cucumbers of the season. 

I picked up the big kids from camp on Friday afternoon; RoMan asked me to snap a picture with his counselor, RoWan. 

Roman is already plotting how he can become a professional camp counselor. He is always making new friends!

After camp pick up we headed back to Eau Claire and did some Back to School shopping. I know that this sounds bananas since it was just the beginning of July but Dang! Everything gets so picked over if you don't have your supplies in hand before August. 

On Friday night after camp we spent some time at the land letting off fireworks. The boys especially loved this pooping dog one ... Good grief! I am sure that this was just what our Founders were envisioning to celebrate America's freedom! {Insert eye roll here}

Happy July!