Summer Fun in the Month of June

Looking back over the last month of Summer, I can't believe how fast it flew by and how busy we were. For the first few days of June, Nanny was still visiting and helping out after Benson's birth so I had extra hands for our outings and that was amazing.
We didn't do an activity every week day, but most days we did something to survive the crazy. We have a bucket list of things the kids picked out for the summer and we've been trying to check a few things off each week. So here are our activities in order of occurrence. 

We had a cousin's splash party where we played with new squirt guns from nanny and with our new beach ball sprinkler. We also had the water table filled and the kids loved it. 

Cousin's pizza party

and we followed the pizza party by a movie night. So fun.
I seriously can't believe all these little cousins live within 45 minutes of each other. I wonder if they realize how lucky they are!

Poor Uncle Joseph, he's so exhausted. He came to get his boys and after holding Benson for about 2 seconds they were both asleep. They are adorable though!

Nanny also helped me take the kids to National Donut day at Krispy Kreme

Me and my four kids. So weird. I have four kids. 

We also finally went to the Museum of Native American History. We pass this place every day on the way to school and I always think "we should go there" but then I always forget. Well we finally went and it was awesome. 

Bailey loved the mini teepee and tucker carried this little buffalo around the entire museum. 

This place was cool because they gave you little hand-held wands to hold to you ear and they would tell you all about the different displays. Tanner loved it. 

Seriously, this place was so cool!

Then after we finished our tour, we got to go outside and search for arrowheads and play in the life-size teepee. 

Each kid got to keep one arrowhead as a souvenir. The kids had a great time searching for the perfect arrowhead. It was a great morning. 

Unfortunately, the next day Nanny left. It was so hard to see her go but I knew as long as I stayed busy with the kids, then we would survive. 

We did shrink-a-dinks and the kids loved it. 

We colored and baked and watched our artwork shrink. This was pretty fun and a great way to kill time waiting for Daddy to get home. 

Bailey with her finished products. 

The next morning we had pictures with my friend, Jessica. She took Benson's newborn pictures and some of the kids and us all as a family. They turned out super cute. As a reward for the kids being so good, we got snow cones. YUMMY!

The next day we went over to Jessica's house for a car wash. 

Look at this cute crew of car washers. My van was definitely less clean than when we started, but they had a great time "washing". 

Another day we played with "water beads".  Water beads are the cool beads that get bigger the longer they sit in water. They are soft- almost like a gel. It was quite the sensory experience. 

We finally made it to the pool too. I've been so worried about taking all four kids to the pool alone. Trying to keep an eye on the older three, nursing Benny and keeping him cooled off- it sounded like too much. But with help from my wonderful friends we were able to go and have a great time. 

Camry and Bailey had a great time playing together. 

Look at all these cute girls- Bailey is so lucky to have so many girls her age around. 

and here is proof that we survived our first time at the pool with smiles. 

Sarah, Tori and I met in Fayetteville to pick blueberries with the kids one morning. We had to get there at opening at 7 am. It was so early, but it was worth it because it wasn't crowded and it wasn't hot yet. The kids love blueberries but Tucker took it most seriously. He just had to find the most perfect berries. He was cracking me up. 

Chloe and Bailey- cute friends. 

The whole berry picking crew

And my cute pickers

All four kids and I. Yep, Benson is there too- in the front carrier. 

We picked three quarters of one bucket, paid and then went home and made everyone blueberry pancakes. The pancakes are my favorite tradition after picking berries. So delicious!

On one of our more laid back days, we just hung out and did puzzles all day. I did lots of laundry too but the kids had a great time doing puzzles. These puzzles came in a package from Nanny. She sent them to the kids to help give me a break and keep them entertained. It definitely worked. They loved them and they played together for hours. 

Near the end of the month, a friend of mine hosted a pirate camp. The kids got to go dressed as pirates, play pirate games, eat a pirate lunch, listen to pirate music and do fun pirate activities. 

 

Here they are drawing their pirate treasure maps. 

The best part was, I got to drop the kids off and come back three hours later. So Benson and I ran tons of errands and it was so nice to get out with only one kid. I even got to meet Chris for a sushi lunch. So fun. 

Shortstop grill is always on our summer bucket list. The kids love their giant ice cream cones. These cones are the peewee cones. The smallest size they offer. So fun!

Another day we made our own ice cream. The kids shook the bags of ice and cream and were amazed when it made ice cream. Then we added sprinkles and cherries and they devoured it.

Thank goodness these kids can still find joy in the simple things. They thought this outdoor picnic was the coolest thing. Benson was super fussy one day so we couldn't leave the house but they loved this picnic. 

We also got to go to Dad's work and eat lunch with him one day. The kids love the giant slices of pizza and everyone was thrilled to get their own piece. 

The slices are literally as big as their faces. 

And then the cafeteria ladies always give the kids free cookies. It's easy to see why the kids love visiting Dad at work. They get spoiled every time. 

We also went to the library for a puppet show. The story was "Aladdin" but it wasn't the story we know for the Disney movie. It was way different and kind of creepy. But the kids loved it and they were cracking up. 

Oh and Benson survived his first dip in the pool. He wasn't a fan but we had to have proof that he was at the pool this summer. lol. 

We invited our Fuhriman friends to the pool with us and they had a great time together.
Isn't this picture so fun?

I think one of the kids' favorite outings was to the "Dollar Tree". They each had $3 to spend so they each got three things. It was so fun to watch them search through all the "treasures" and find the perfect things to buy. 

It was a successful trip to the "Dollar Tree" followed by a day of playing with their special toys

Then yesterday, we painted sun catchers. They love art projects and this was no exception. 

Our June has been filled with fun, good friends and sweet family. I have a feeling July will be even more busy than June. Benson is a month old now and we have a few trips planned for next month. Stay tuned for some fun stuff.  I just love Summer!!!