Neighborhood Adventures

I wouldn’t normally put “fun” and “moving” in the same sentence, but one of the more enjoyable aspects of moving has been exploring the new neighborhood. We are only ten minutes away from our old house and already knew this area pretty well, but it’s different being a resident. Almost every afternoon this summer, we’ve been out discovering all the local parks, splash pads, and best biking paths. The twins have been busy finding all the best patches of flowers to pick and discovering all the new bugs (box elder beetles really seem to love our new neighborhood). Bandit’s favorite new spot is the trail on the hill behind our house and Meredith loves “walking” him there, stopping to pick flowers along the way. We love being able to walk or bike to several little parks, splash pads, the water park, and the elementary school and library. It’s been a summer of adventures right in our own backyard!

Biking to the park.

Many afternoons, we just hang out at home and have friends over to swim. There are several pools within walking distance to us, but I don’t think we’ve been even once this summer, just because it’s so nice to not have to load up the car to cool off.

Meredith loves saying hello to Jodi’s yet-to-be born little boy.

Toddler playdate with Maple.

Forget the craft or playroom– everyone’s favorite room is our empty living room!

Water table fun.

Morning swim date with Amy, Sheela and their crews.

Can’t decide on a floatie? Just throw them all in!

Our first official overnight guests were Jake’s nieces, Lacey and Olivia, who were taking a summer road trip from Utah after graduating high school. The twins were fascinated with all their makeup and clothes and basically shadowed them the entire time.

Italian soda night. 

Frolicking at the cute splash pad down the street.

Our favorite neighborhood attraction has been the little kids water park, and since residents are only allowed to bring five guests at a time, we’ve slowly been cycling through invitations to our friends. The girls were happy Nate could make it!

Meredith usually spends the entire time snacking.

After a morning at the water park with Crystal’s girls, the twins finally worked up the courage to stand beneath the bucket to get drenched!

 

Meredith’s favorite splash pad.

Exhausted from running around, filling up buckets of water, and pouring them down the slide to make a water slide with Gavin, Owen and Parker, everyone took a break.

Break time for babies.

Take away our snacks? Oh no you didn’t.

Meredith throws a fit and thrashes around if I put her in the puddle jumpers and try and swim with her, but with Jake, she’s as calm as can be.

Those cheeks.

More snacking.

Staring at the fascinating flecks of color on the floor! Summer lounging at its finest.

Lots of love,

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