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Fireworks Fun and a Zoo Adventure

The weather this past week was rather wet (we got six inches of rain in less than 24 hours and got rain every day after that, so…yeah), so we didn’t do too much. Luckily, the few things we did do were a ton of fun. Sunday was Independence Day, so the day before, Paul stopped by one of the fireworks stands and got some fireworks and a few sparklers. Our neighbors down the street got a ton of stuff, so we had front row seats to some awesome fireworks, too. The other fun thing we got to do was mid-week when I took the kids to the zoo. We dodged rainstorms and had a great time (we even got super-close to the lions which was a real treat). One funny story from this week: one night, Abigail “snuck” out of her room (it sounded like a herd of elephants because she was running). I headed up to check on her and she heard me coming, so she hoofed it back to bed. I slowly opened her door and she was in bed, with her eyelids cracked open (looking at me), and doing her most convincing impersonation of someone snoring. I can’t with that kid. 😂

Watching Dad getting ready to light off some fireworks. They had their hearing protection on because it was a little loud already.
The fountains were my favorite (lots of lights but minimal noise).
I love these super-long sparklers. I don’t worry as much about the kids burning themselves.
This was the first year we let Abigail hold her own.
She was super-excited!
Another beautiful sunset.
A yummy dessert to wrap up a fun evening. Strawberry shortcake is a big hit in our house.
She loves her Bluey so much!
We took advantage of some rare dry weather and played outside for a bit one day.
I did take the kids out one day for haircuts.Abigail got her bangs trimmed and also got a trim all around. She’s also been into eating yogurt “couches” (yogurt pouches). I love that she’s figured out how to eat those…so much less mess than having her eat it out of a bowl, haha.
Joseph’s super-happy with shorter hair!
Eating an ice cream cone after an evening walk.
She got all excited one morning and told me, “Hey, Mom! Look! ‘P’ is for “plant!”
She needed to “ride the giant lizard.”
Joseph opted for standing.
Hippo statue!
Peek-a-boo!
She was so enamored with that lion!
He was rubbing his mane on that beam right there. We really got a kick about how close he was.
The elephants were super close that day, too!
Abigail’s favorite: the dwarf mongoose.
She was giving him a drumming lesson. 😉
I tried out a new recipe: spinach and artichoke dip pasta.
It was pretty tasty!
Playing together.
Helping with the laundry.
All the fungicide that Paul sprayed on our grass (we have a hard time with mold, especially during the wet months) apparently washed away. These mushrooms popped up literally overnight.
[1]
Paul bought some more shelves for our downstairs closet. Here’s the before…
[2]
…and here’s the after!