Life with the Reilly's... rebooted!

Holy Cow! So I knew it had been a while since I had written a post, but I guess I didn't realize it has been over 2 years!  It's funny because I decided to start a family blog on a whim and then my life drastically flipped end over end just a few days later.  I was so excited to start sharing all the fun things our family does, but apparently it was just a bit too much at that time.  So here we are... 2 years later and I'm ready to give this whole blogging thing another go.  Life with the Reilly's has certainly changed in 2 years, but I think I'll just start off with what we've been up to this summer.  

So far we have been just busy enough to keep things interesting.  We started with a wonderful visit with family!  My Aunt Jan, Uncle Larry, and cousin Beth came into town to hang out at the cottage with us in early June.  The kiddos just adore them and we all had an amazing time. 

Having great time at New Holland Brewery for Mad Hatter Days!

"Appy" Hour

Cuddles with Uncle Larry

Best seat in the house

Perfect way to end their visit

After some terrific cottage days with the fam, we headed home so Emma could go to VBS and Science Camp at Hope College.  Both were amazing experiences for her, and she is still teaching me about things she learned.  It has been fun and rewarding to listen to her grow into a little intellectual.  Kaiden and I got to hang out and do "boy things" like dig in the dirt, clean up the yard, go for bike rides, and cut down a tree (okay... it was a small ornamental tree).  We rarely get just "Mommy & Kaiden" time, so I treasured those hours we had for those two weeks.

Father's Day was yet another beautiful day and the kids were able to soak up some great time with their daddy.

We also squeezed in a "Girls Night" to The Sound of Music at HSRT.  What a fun spur of the moment evening that we shared with my mom and Grandma.  Emma was singing the whole time... Cute girl!

So all that happened before the 4th of July, and things really kick into gear after that.  I mean, summer break goes by SO fast that we have to get it all in!

The 4th of July always starts with the Annual Pancake Breakfast at Graafschap Fire Department.  Emma and Kaiden ask about it all year long and think that pancakes are always served there.  In fact when we drive passed the fire station, they ask if they can go get some pancakes.  It just makes me giggle.  Anyway, Sean and I head to the station bright and early on July 4th (Sean earlier than me) to help serve to over a thousand people that come out to support the community.  It is really a fantastic way to spend the morning and the kids L-O-V-E the firetrucks!!!  Next year, you should come down and check it out!

It was a late night for Kaiden, but his amazement made it all worth it.

Right over our heads

The fun of course doesn't end after the fireworks.  We did LOTS of swimming, fishing, eating, playing, jet skiing, and MORE swimming.  I am beginning to think this is my favorite holiday of the year.  I just can't get enough of all the fun and relaxation that comes with the 4th.

Throughout July we continued to keep very busy.  We have gone for bike rides, built monster trucks, visited with friends from California (now Denver), gone to the zoo, gone to the beach, visited the cottages, went to our family reunion/picnic, went to the fair, celebrated our Grandpa's 91st birthday, and picked blueberries!  WOW!!!  That's a lot and the month isn't even done yet.  

We have been very blessed this summer to have lots of family time and have been trying to enjoy every moment.  August is right around the corner, and I know it will bring many school preparations for all of us.  However, summer is NOT over...not even close, and we have lots of things still planned.  Hopefully it will not take me another 2 years to update things, so, until then... we hope you are having a fantastic summer too!

~The Reillys