Summer fun begins!

The beginning of this summer has been so great!  So far, the girls have been so much easier to take around and do things with than last summer.  When I remember the babes last summer, I remember two naps per day, newer walkers that were still a bit clumsy, and fussier girls.  Now my one nap, easy going, eat whatever and wherever, go with the flow, friendly, and fun babes are proving to be a blast to take out and about all the time!  Everyone holds hands while we cross the street.  They listen to me (most of the time) when I call for them.  They are much braver and prove to be tough cookies at places like playgrounds and splash pads.  As a bonus, they have all been sleeping in until 8:30am or later!  How nice!  I am loving summer with my three little ladies and look forward to the fun we have planned over the next two months!

Ella filling her bucket up at a spray park!  This place is free, and close by.  We just love it here!

Hannah, ready for fun!

Hannah and Hailee

Ella!  Can you see the face of glee on this girl?!  She was having the time of her life!

So fun!

Hannah and Hailee were a little hesitant at the beginning, but soon warmed up and joined in the water fun with big sis!

Love this!  They all had so much fun with their buckets!

Sisters!

Hailee

Such a fun day! 

Last weekend we went strawberry picking.  I had been wanting to take Ella for a couple weeks and just hadn't found the time.  We then planned to go on a Saturday, so Paul, Hailee, and Hannah came with us.  We had SUCH a great time!

I was so surprised at Hailee and Hannah (this is Hailee) digging right in and picking their own berries.  If they would accidentally pick a green one, they would just throw it to the side.

Hailee and Ella, looking for a spot to dig in!

Hannah is having lots of fun! Look at those buckets of berries!

Just chatting!

Hannah.  I don't know how she even carried this at all.  She almost tipped over from it a couple times.  It was so funny and cute.  We will definitely be berry picking each year from now on.  Over the past week, I made strawberry jam and strawberry pie.  I am already looking forward to the next fruit to come in season to pick!

This week Ella has been doing a princess dance camp at her dance academy.  Each day is focused on a different princess and she is just loving it!  Next week she will have another camp, and it's most of the morning so I have some fun things planned with just Hailee and Hannah.  I am excited to spend some one on one time with my littlest munchkins! 

The Scioto Mile

My love for this city and all of the things there are to do around here grows and grows.  Today we visited The Scioto Mile in downtown Columbus.  We went with some friends and had a BLAST!  We were there early, so got close parking.  There were literally no other kids there when we arrived which was nice for our little ones to be able to run around the fountains and not get run down by much bigger kids.  They had little fountains and big fountains.  I was surprised at how much fun Hannah had, considering she is usually not so fond of the water.  They had tables all around, so we brought a picnic lunch and made a morning of it.  The kids had buckets, squirt toys, and splash balls that they loved playing with in the fountains.  What a nice, fun, free thing to do on a warm summer day!  I forgot my camera, but took plenty of phone photos :)  Oh, and we will definitely be visiting the restaurant that sits above the fountains very soon, Milestone 229.  Very nice view, good looking menu, and a great outdoor patio.  However, it does not look kid friendly so will be reserved for an upcoming date night ;)

Hannah loving the fountains!

Ella and Averie :)

At about 10:00am when we got there, the fountains were all really small. 

Then they got a little bigger but still very tolerable for the little ones.

Fun for all of the kids!

Hailee was trying to "catch" the water :)

The buckets and plastic toys really made it even more fun!

H&H right after a baby collision..

Time for a snack!

Filling up the squirt toys.

Nice view on the other side of the fountains. 

Lunch time!

We then took a walk down the street along the river.  Ella and Ave loved watching the ducks.

Friends!  Claire, Chloe, Averie, Ella, Hannah, Hailee

There are a few other splash pads in the Columbus area.  One that we went to a few times last year was Ballantrae Spray Park, in Dublin.  This spray park is fun, but smaller and always seems packed with kids.  There is no shade here and only about 4 tables to sit at.  Another splash pad that we will be checking out later this season is this  pad in Powell.  I have heard that it is a lot of fun, but is currently under construction for a couple more weeks. 

Again, I love all that this city has to offer.  The longer we live here, the more we love it!  There is just so much to do for the kids, and everything is only 15 minutes or so from our house!