Today is the first day of school for many families we know, and so it seems that summer has kind of come to a close. Another hint is the fantastic cooler weather we have had for the past week or so. We are not ready to put away our swimsuits quite yet, but I thought it might be a good time for a recap of some of our summer highlights!

During the last week of July, our family joined up with the rest of the Rude family in Branson for our annual Rude Family Vacation. It is always such a great time spent with family, both immediate and extended.

Gwenyth, checking out Dolly Parton’s horse at the Dixie Stampede.

Max, enjoying a snack in our “vacation house” as the kids liked to call it.

The cuties riding a mechanical pig. Why not?

Gwenyth loves her cousin, Karis!

We all gathered at Chick Fil A to celebrate James’ birthday! It was so fun!

Another fun thing we got to do just recently was visit the Iowa State Fair with my sister and her two kids. We went on a day when the high temperature did not even reach 70 degrees. This pregnant mom did not mind that one bit!

My sister captured this moment of Max with a cow. Too funny!

Gwenyth is an animal lover to the core. She loved seeing all the animals, I think the baby pigs were her favorite.

My little chicks.

They had fun participating in the little farm set up. They followed a path doing various things that farmers do and at the end they were rewarded with $1 they could then exchange for a real treat!

Here are some more random photos. The kids love reading and their favorite spot to do so is in mommy and daddy’s bed. Always asking for one more story… love of books or trying to delay bedtime? Who really knows? 😉

This last picture is just a first in a new series I would like to call “When Selfies Go Bad.” Anyone else find random pictures taken by their kids on their phones?