Busy with Bikes, Beaches, and a never ending Birthday!............

This month has been the ultimate in summer awesomeness! Every year, I always have such grand plans in my mind on how we will spend our summer days, yet it never works out quite like I'd imagined. Well this year, we must be doing something right, because every weekend has been family summer fun AMAZING so far! :) (although we could all do without the mosquito bites! ;)

We kicked off the summer with Ryan attending a "bike camp". He's always been quite unsteady on a two wheeler and I have heard about this program in the past, but they were never in our area when we were available. As luck would have it, this year they were here nearby during the week in between when school ended and summer camp began! Here's our boy mastering the art of bike riding ~ with the help of an amazing organization called Lose The Training Wheels. http://www.losethetrainingwheels.org/

And here he is proudly accepting his award after completing the program (with his sisters, as usual, cheering him on by his side! :)

Then it was the July 4th weekend. Aunt Linda decided to join us for the picnic in the park and more spectacular Grucci Fireworks. We arrived early and set up camp! Sandwiches always taste better when sitting on a blanket in an open field! ;) Here we are getting ready for the big moment ~ Nope, these seats were not good enough, Daddy and the kids had a better idea for viewing the show! It really was so beautiful, and the longest display we've ever seen, it must have gone on for at least 35 minutes! At one point, about 20 minutes into it, my sister and I were so moved, that we just started singing God Bless America. Of course, everyone was going to join in and feel the American Spirit as much as we did, right?! Well, no....we sang all by ourselves, among thousands of people, off key of course, and embarrasing my family to no end ~ but hey, what the hell? We couldn't help ourselves! The fireworks were so beautiful, we had no other choice! What's wrong with people anyway?! You would have joined us if you were there, right?! ;)


That same weekend, our town was having a "Community Family Fun Day" - where many local merchants were out giving previews of their services. Our kids ran straight to the gymnastic center's booth, who were giving free rides on their "wheel"! My kids would have stayed there all day if we let them! :) How much fun is THIS?!






The only way we could pull them away from this booth was to point out that there was also a Bounce House! Yeah, works every time! ;)

What better to complete a round of bouncing than with an ice cold ice cream treat?!


The following weekend began the start of what's now known as Kelsey's endless birthday celebrations! We promised her a sleepover party, but her friends couldn't make it on the weekend of her actual birthday, so we had to plan it 2 weeks early. We decked out the house in our beachiest, luau best! (Which I just may leave up until Christmas time! ;)

The girls had so much fun, having a crazy hair contest ~

and then having Aunt Linda come over to do manicures and tattoos! So much fun!


We've also already been to the beach this summer a couple of times, which I can never get enough of. The first time we went alone as a family, and again, as usual enjoyed a picnic! (One of Ryan's favorite things to do!)



The next time we went back with our dear friends Debbie and Billy, whose son James has a birthday a few days after our Kelsey! It was another great day spent celebrating the birth of our first girl!



In between all of this fun, there have been playdates with friends,


and Crazy Hat Day at camp where the girls both created their own hats with Grammy!


Ryan and I also started taking a Yoga class this month. What I thought was a class just for him, turned out to be a parent participation class as well. Parents are welcome, and encouraged to perform the yoga side by side with their child! Who knew?
Ryan is already pretty much a master at it ~


And me, well, not so much. But I must say, that as I roll from side to side while on my back, as I'm hugging my knees, I do think I finally know what Humpty Dumpty must have felt like. Good thing I only have to do this once a week, as I know, this really must not be a pretty sight for those around me! LOL
And as much as I look and feel ridiculous doing it, Ryan and I always look forward to, and enjoy our Monday night alone time "dates", just spending time alone together! Namaste! ;)


Finally this past weekend, it was really Kelsey's ACTUAL birthday weekend! ;)
We had our family party on Saturday and enjoyed spending the day with my sisters, their families, my mom and aunt. It was a hot day, so we filled the kiddie pool out front for the kids to cool off in.

And then suddenly realized, that these kids had the right idea. So we moved the party out front and all of our grown ups soaked our feet while we cooled off. Who cares WHAT the neighbors must have thought?! LOL

At one point, Kelsey told Mark to "take a picture of me and Mom"! I don't know how many more times I will hear that request, so I was more than happy to oblige.

Today, on her real birthday, we gave her the choice of going to either the beach or the pool/playground, and she chose the pool. So we picked up Grammy and made our way, to a glorious day spent hanging out all together! The weather was picture perfect!



Finally, to end this almost month long birthday celebration, Kelsey picked an Italian restaurant for dinner. We had a fabulous feast, and a few laughs too! :)



In case you haven't noticed by now, Ryan's dreaded summer Mohawk is back. As much as I dislike it, he (and everyone else) adores it. So while we were dining out, Ryan kept admiring the man across the restaurant who was also sporting a similar do! After his party finished dinner, and was leaving the restaurant, I mentioned that my Ryan liked his hair. As it turns out, this dude's name was also Ryan, and he was more than happy to pose for a picture with our Ryan! It's really amazing how he just draws people in!

After dinner, we made our way home for one last rousing chorus of Happy Birthday and cake! Mackenzie was so excited for Kelsey to finally open up her gifts, she started to kick her legs in anticipation. The other two thought it was so funny, that they joined in too! I should have taken a video because they were all being so silly!

Kelsey was so happy to finally open up her "big" present from us, after waiting so long and guessing so many different things! I must say, she truly loves her new IPOD touch! :)

It's been an amazing month with my wonderful family...I can only hope that August is just as special! Happy, HAPPY Birthday to our sweet Kelsey girl! We couldn't be prouder of her!

and here's hoping that we all find blissful moments such as this one!

(taken unbeknownst to me, while I was relaxing on the beach with my peeps ~ my absolute most favorite place to be - pure bliss!)



Happy Summer! :)