Our last day of summer vacay!!

My mom had a brilliant idea -- on the last day of summer vacay, let's take all the kids to do something fun!  SURE!  We were in.  Didn't have to ask me twice!  We loaded up and headed North to the Common's for some play time.  My brother also met us (he was babysitting, so that's why there are two kids on here you've never seen before!) so we had quite the group of kiddos!

You know what's fun about cousins?  Everything!

Travis was soaking up all this fun with his kids on their last day of break!!

After lunch, we took the hoodlums over to the kidscommons museum.  It was a blast!!  Um, except for this part.

Cockroaches that hiss.  YEAH.  NOT A FAN.  And, bonus -- it was their feeding time.  GAG.  Maggie got to help feed them.  Oh mah gaw!  

Super disgusting.  But I promise that those are the only gross things there.  For the next few hours, the kids played on three levels of FUN!  {You are about to be bombarded with pictures!}

Travis was like a kid in a candy store because there was a GIANT toilet inside a play house.  

The kids were in heaven because you could climb inside the toilet, it would make a flushing sound, and you could come out somewhere else.  Oy.  

My afternoon was spent trying to get a picture of Travis on his phone.  This was the best I got. ;)

Last on the agenda was to get ice cream at Zaharako's!  The kids love it there!  

Proof positive of a super fun day!

Thanks to my mom for a great day!  My family is such a huge blessing to me.

As I put the kids to bed, I was blown away by how big they looked.  SECOND GRADE.  That sounds so old!  Mags will miss her brother.  Love my babies.

 Praying for a great first day of school for Levi and for Eric, too!  He has been working like a dog the last two weeks.  Most days, he has gone into the office before 8 and not been home until after dark.  :(  Their office has been going through bus routes, calling parents, and trying to make sure the first day will be as smooth and safe as possible!  That's what I love about Eric.  He takes each parent's concern very seriously and wants each family to feel as good as possible about sending their child to school on the bus.  All six people in their office have been on the phone from morning till night.  Kudos to them!  Here's to a great first day!!

Friends, allowance, and one of the funniest videos I've seen...ever.

We've been soaking up these last few days of summer vacation.  

I would say we've been trying to find ways to keep cool, but with 70-80 degree weather, that really isn't necessary!  In fact, the pools and water parks have been a bit chilly.  SO CRAZY for July!!

We spent some time with Melanie and her crew and I think Maggie is in love with baby Aiden!  Presh.

Who wouldn't love this little guy, though?

Sadly, this guy keeps insisting that I homeschool him.  OY.  He still isn't ready for heading back to school this week!  I've loved having him home!!

But, as much as I've loved him being home, I will love seeing him get on that bus!! ;) 

A great way to spend one of our last days of vacay!

What do you get when you sit 5 kids down and try to get a good shot?  

This...

Um, yeah.  That's all I've got for you! 

This week, we decided to start letting Levi earn an allowance!  He is sooo excited!  We made a chart and wrote down how much he gets for each chore.  

So far, he has quite the stash!  Let's just say that he is better at saving his money than his momma is!  He already has more than me.  The $10 is from Eric when he did his triathlon, he got $3 from the tooth fairy, and thanks to morning chores, he has some jingle in the bottom!  Good job, Buddy!

Lastly, I'm sharing this video.  You're welcome.  

{Maggie telling us her memory verse for the week: Trust in the Lord with all your heart.  

She seems to be channeling her inner southern gospel "hell, fire, and brimstone" preacher.}