Mills & Syddles: Summer Break, part I

We started off summer with a bang! The second the girls were out of school, we drove to Tulsa for a weekend at Tulsa Tough (bike races)! JKK and Stevo were participating in the Saturday 100 mile, so Friday night we spent with Coco and Luc watching the super fast crit races.

Honestly, watching these races was THRILLING. They go so fast! Loved seeing the women race too!

Stevo and JKK prefer the long rides though, so early Saturday morning, we sent them off into Green Country to sweat their booties off.

Coco and friends had some tents set up near the Saturday crits course, so we hung out there most of the day with her. But oh golly, it was SO HOT. The girls were putting ice down their pants and giggling.

So silly, but I want to eat her up.

When it got too hot, we went back to the hotel to swim. We had multiple sno-cones. We laid in shady spots and tried to keep as cool as possible waiting for the boys to cross the finish line around 3pm. Millie really struggled with the heat. I can relate, so I tried to help her as much as I could...but I wasn't missing them crossing that finish line. Suck it up, Missy!

AND HERE THEY ARE....WOOT!

Proud of our big finisher

Showered and ready for dinner - well most of us. Poor Syd kept falling asleep...

...and laying down wherever she could. It was an exhausting day for all, but so worth it. Can't wait to go back next year!

Sunday morning, bright and early, we set out for The Gathering Place. It's a new park in Tulsa that is just so gorgeous. The kids area is unreal.

It started raining and the slides got a bit too slippery ;)

We picked up Mimi for a quick lunch and a chat! Yay!

And then we came home and got a dog. While at Tulsa Tough, a friend posted about little Willow needing a home. I thought she looked like the perfect size and extra scruffy (just how I like them), so I browbeat JKK into letting us take her home for a trial period. ;)

She is the most precious thing: 3 month old schnauzer-terrier mix.

Summer break is officially here! We found out Millie contracted Fifths Disease the last week of school, so she has been battling that. Almost back to normal though and ready to play at their favorite park.

bathing beauty

Millie and Bradley play so well together for HOURS. It's incredible.

Look at this face. And those floppy ears!

Poor kitties. They can't get down or the puppy terrorizes them.

Amazeum time with Sage! These two spent most of their time in the science lab. Super cool. Growing up so fast!

We met Sawyer there and while on the playground, they found their classmate Gideon. It was hilarious when Sawyer walked up and announced "we found more of our kind". Sweet friends!

Our annual Silver Dollar City trip with the Cruiks came in mid-summer this year. Normally we go in May while school is still in session. It was much hotter and way more crowded this year, but we still had a great time! Millie stayed the night with Sage before and rode with her to SDC for her sister's birthday celebration. So it was just me and Syd most of the day! It's so easy with just one ;)

Can you see Syd's face here?! It's the best.

pickles are their fave right now

Cayden has been waiting for this moment forever: he's finally tall enough to ride the Time Traveler rollercoaster!! I was his riding buddy and it was awesome!! That first drop tho...

Look who we found!! She gave me a huge hug. Sleeping over at other's houses is still new and I think she was so tired and running on adrenaline.

Teacups are my fave because I LOVE spin rides

our lovely red-haired BFFs

As the day was coming to an end, I forced Syd to ride the American Plunge log ride with us and she was not impressed. She burst out bawling as soon as it was over. Sorry Syd! But Millie was so brave, especially when forced to ride in the front! Her face is classic.

Father's Day weekend! Papa and Grandma Tricia came to visit!

We spent the day lounging, cooking out...

...playing games. It was relaxing!

squeeeeze

The next day was actual Father's Day, so we headed to the pool for more lounging with our favorite guy! I love when our little family unit can do things together. The pool was empty and it was just us!

bonzai!

Jimmy John's at the pool = spoiled

Family bike ride around Lake Atalanta! I've missed our family bike rides so much. But the girls are on their own bikes now and have been learning how to use gears. They are doing great just don't have much stamina. Gotta get stronger to go further!

Fab Four swimming nights are the best! Can you see the rainbow behind Millie??

Big girl still loves blankie <3

Some sad news: we decided Willow wasn't the best fit for our family. Unfortunately, our cats were too stressed and couldn't handle it. The puppy chased them too much and was pretty aggressive with them, so we felt it wasn't fair to the cats. I took her to a foster home and had a meltdown of my own. I can't believe how attached I became to this sweet girl in those two weeks.

She was the best car-ride-along dog! And extremely limber. And a great duck chaser: Video silly ducks won't get out of our yard

I was so sad for Syd to have to give her back. Syd was the main reason we got a puppy to begin with...she really wanted a doggie of her own to walk and love on. Heartbreaking.

Thankfully, we found out she was adopted quickly by a couple with a big lab that she could play rough with. We heard Willow was loving the new home, so that makes my heart happy. It was fun to have a puppy for two weeks - glad we got to experience her! We'll do it again someday, Syd!

Birthday dinner for Beckham! Our little adrenaline-junkie is SIX!

Oh boy, super fun playdate right here: Dylan and McCall at the trampoline park!

Last day of art camp and showing off the new tie-dyed shirts they made! Syd adores anything arts and crafts related. She now says she specifically wants to be an art teacher when she grows up. ;)

Since Willow has been gone, the cats have really come back out and participated in life. It's super sweet...they won't leave us alone now. We just had to show them how lucky they are ;)

Cool tricks, cool tricks (said in yo gabba gabba voice)

Knocking off "night swimming" on our summer bucket list. Amanda and I bought some glow-in-the-dark pool toys and we had the BEST night with them! We got home around 10pm, which is way later than normal. The kids thought it was pretty cool.

Check out Ms. Amanda's impressive toe-touch ;)

Blueberry picking with friends! The trees were so full this year, it was easy! We sampled a few along the way, of course...

This is always one of Syd's favorite activities!

Our neighborhood POA paid for the Kona Ice Truck to come by and give out snow-cones on a hot summer night, and it was the coolest!

We spend a fair amount of time with Emilia and Olivia lately since the mommies are good friends.

Syd's kindergarten bestie, Sawyer, gave her sparkle photos for her birthday present. Sawyer's mom is a photographer, and the pictures turned out so precious!! Syd's face says it all. She normally doesn't enjoy taking pictures, but she loved this!

Melissa, Sawyer's mom, was so generous and let me bring Millie and Dylan to the session. <3

This is one of the best gifts ever received! Love all the pics. So happy to document this age - we are in such a sweet spot with ages 6 & 8. Such good girls.

Cayden and Beck's birthday party was at CLIMB - the new rock-climbing gym. It was awesome!! This is a pic of Millie and Cayden conquering their fears.

Syd loved it too!

Ms. Amanda on the left, JKK on the right. He went all the way to the top! I got halfway up and had to immediately get down. Even though we are safely strapped in, I thought it was terrifying! Everything was sweating. No thank you.

Ethyn graduated high school at the end of May! We couldn't attend the graduation ceremony, so we had to wait to see him to celebrate in late June.

sweet pic of K & E

So B & L sent their kiddos down to Oklahoma and Arkansas at the end of June for a tour of grandparents. They stayed two days with Cindy, two days with Papa, and two days with Nana.

Can't believe this guy is going to college in a couple of months!

Kendyl made a cake to celebrate E's high school graduation, Millie's 8th birthday, and Syd's kindergarten graduation - wheeeee!

When thinking of stuff to do with them, it's kind of tough in mid-summer since it's so hot. But of course there's always the redneck water slide at Roaring River! The kids all loved it, especially the big kids!

Of course Cayden and Beck came too!

Short stop ice cream on the way home, duh.

Might blow this pic up into a poster <3 Headed out to watch the big fireworks show! Wonderful outfit coordination here, amiright?!

The ice cream man is coming!!

We found a great spot near the Cross Church pond this year. It was gorgeous.

See? Look at this pic Ethyn took. The water was so still.

I wish you could see how pretty the eye color is for each of these ladies.

Some of our friends let the girls fish while waiting on the show! I can't be around fishing...why am I the only one terrified of getting a fish hook in the ear?!

The week of fourth of july has a LOT of activities that wear us out. Syd needed a moment...

Pretty! I'm glad E & K were with us this year...so special!

5 years ago vs today!

When you need a little down time, a puzzle is always the answer! Cat puzzles get extra points!

All of Nana's grandkids <3

Wheels Up nights with the ladies are my fave! I hope we've shown our kids that you can be active and have fun as adults. Girls nights out, alone time, and date nights are also a must!

Another book recipe we just HAD to try! Ree Drummond (aka The Pioneer Woman) wrote a kids book and put a blueberry pie recipe in the back, which Syd has asked on more than one occasion that we try. Since we have an abundance of fresh blueberries, we made it happen, just me and Syd. It's finally fun to try baking with them! She did a great job.

Heyyyyy girl, heyyyy...JKK's friend Grant sent him this old flashback. JKK still has that pink bass guitar under our bed!

On the Fourth of July, we met our neighbor friends at the water slide and they let Millie take the Go Pro down - you can see her filming here! She thought that was wicked cool.