Visit to Hendersonville

On our way to General Assembly in Greenville, SC, we stopped in Hendersonville, NC and visited my mom and Alex.

One evening we made a trip downtown to view the bears all along main street

and to get some ice cream at Kilwin's, of course!

Cole devoured and absolutely enjoyed his cone.

What a face!

Nan took the girls and I to the Hands On Children's Museum.

Laine and Mead had a great time at the museum and are already talking about going again on our next visit.

So glad we got to visit - the kids loved their time with Nan and Pop.

Pool time

One of the things the kids love most about summer is swimming in the pool.

Whether it's the pool near our house, or somewhere else, they're sure to have a good time.

Laine started swimming independently this summer - after many rounds of swim lessons the past few years.

 And Cole is often just as content throwing a ball into the water as he is being in the water himself.

Cole and Mead are both practicing their kicking, so some future summer they'll be independent swimmers too.

Laine's favorite trick so far - the cannonball!

Jazz Concerts at the Gardens

Every Wednesday night in the summer the botanical gardens open up for free and host a jazz concert.

The children's gardens are open for kids to play,

and they allow you to bring in a picnic dinner - however simple or fancy you want to make it!

The music starts at 7:30, and you can sit in front of the band or just enjoy it while wandering (or riding) around the gardens.

The first week of June the Byars invited us to join them at the gardens for the concert.  It was our first time, but they've been going for many years.

Despite being slightly rained on throughout the evening, we had a really nice time.

Looking forward to doing it again sometime soon!

Strawberry picking

Even though we have strawberries growing in our garden, it's still fun to go to a big strawberry patch and pick lots of big and juicy berries.

As usual, Cole ate his way through the morning.

Mead enjoyed picking lots of strawberries to fill her tray.

Despite the look on her face, Laine also had a good time picking with her friends.

We brought home 4 pounds of strawberries and successfully ate through all of them in a little over a week!  Not too bad.

Botanical Gardens

Last week we made it to the botanical gardens for the first time in a while.  Of course the kids were eager to get to the children's area.

Sitting in the old wooden canoe,

playing in the sandbox,

enjoying the water spouts,

wading in the creek, 

and, of course, sitting on the sheep.  Always a fun time!

Hanging around

Though we will have many adventures around town this summer, we also enjoy just hanging out close to home.

Baseball at the church playground,

playing with blocks inside,

goofing around in the back yard together,

(Love these hand-me-down shirts, by the way.  They're perfect for these two!)

and hanging out with friends.

Playing at the park

We have already visited many parks this summer - at least 4 different ones so far, by my count.  One thing I love about St. Louis is all the different parks around town.

They are each a little different, with different things to play on...

and places to climb.

So thankful for these first few weeks of comfortable weather this summer so we can be outside without sweating to pieces!