under the magnolia tree

We went to the State Fair for the second year in a row. It was a gorgeous and cool summer morning. We love to walk through the barns early in the morning before all the crowds arrive.

Clydesdales were new to the fair this year. This man told us wonderful stories while he washed his horse. He told Georgie that he was the perfect size to go under to wash her belly.

Oh, dear. What can I say about this?

Magnolia got a puffy tattoo on her leg which spelled out Magnolia.

Waiting for our mini donuts...

We got our pack of tickets and tore through the rides in 45 minutes. Perfect.

First year for the mini ferris wheel!

And, the Chinese Dragon Roller Coaster which went way faster than I thought it would.

We made it to one, maybe two, outdoor concerts in our village.

I gave the kids garage stickers one day and told them to make a pretend garage sale and I would come shop it. It was my attempt to teach Magnolia about money but I got stuck, it was harder than I thought to teach that. I'm leaving that up to her first grade teacher! Georgie put me in stitches as he sat very still among the stuffed animals with a sticker that read "make an offer" on the bottom of his foot. With a twinkle in his eye...he is a stinker.

We also worked on table manners this summer and clearing plates. This day I let them load the dishwasher.

We emptied Magnolia's piggy bank and took it to the bank. We taught her she has three options with her money; save it, spend it, give it. She saved 80 percent of it. 10 percent she put in her pocket to spend, and 10 percent we took to the Humane Society as a donation. Good job, Magnolia!

We had a lot of outings whenever we got George not working and really made those fun family days. We went to the beach for lunch.

We watched a few movies outdoors on our upstairs deck which was super cool. (We watched our friends dog, Maple, for a week.)

We went to our Botanical Gardens one early summer morning and seemingly had it to ourselves.

Like father, like son.

We went to tour an old lighthouse not far from our house. We drive by it all the time. On the day we decided to go in, it was National Lighthouse Day!

We all climbed 84 stairs to the top and the kids have certificates to prove it! I was a wreck doing this, filled with fear that my little ones were going to slip through these steps!

One day I met my friends on this fabulous beach just down the road from us.

My parent's pool wasn't in working order until the end of the summer which worked out perfectly because it was blazing hot the last two weeks. We came almost every day all day. It was a lot of good Nana, Papa, and cousin time.