Our past summer was packed with fun moments and memories. Here's a blog post dedicated to unpacking some of the highlights!
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| We celebrated the start of summer at Prairie Joe's! |
Before summer could officially begin, a very unique 1st grade experience came to a close.
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| Here are the twins on their last day of school...in front of a building they never entered in 2020-2021! |
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| Here is the first in-person gathering for the twins 1st grade class...on the last day of school! |
We were extremely thankful for the learning group (known as 'the POD') we formed with four other families. This group survived a year of rotating homes (though we weren't part of the rotation during our home renovation) and crazy day-to-day schedules. It was kind of like a modern one-room school house!
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| So thankful for the families and 'fairy pod mother' for a successful year. We will be bonded forever!! |
Once summer break officially started, we got busy enjoying our normal summer activities.
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| The weather in June was great, so we wasted no time hitting the beach... |
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| ...and made it to the pond to feed the ducks! |
We made our annual trip to the Bahai Temple on a gorgeous day.
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| As usual, the views didn't disappoint!! |
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| This summer, we went low to find some new poses... |
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| ...and stood tall with flowers the same height as Luke! |
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| These two are getting better at being patient during this annual photo shoot... |
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| ...and this fountain photo shows how much they've grown in the past 4 visits!! |
With covid 'more contained', many summer activities re-commenced. The twins both participated in karate camp,
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| and soccer camp too. |
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| Everyone was still masked up... |
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| ...but that didn't stop everyone from having a great time! |
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| Cheers to a great week of camp!! |
Clare experienced her first year of organized softball.
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| Here's her first 'career at-bat'...she made herself known in the on-deck circle!! |
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| She really learned a lot skills...from throwing... |
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| ...to hitting... |
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| ...and enjoyed playing catcher. |
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| The best part was all of the new friends she made and the fun she had playing on a team. |
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| We're sure this won't be her last softball button!! |
We were fortunate enough to take a few summer trips, the first being to one of our favorite places, Door County, WI.
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| This year we enjoyed having cousins join us for the trip north. |
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| The weather wasn't the greatest (which meant less pool time), but we still had fun go-karting, |
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| arcading (Clare worked on her jumpshot while Luke 'hit it big' on the wheel of fortune...earning 1000 tickets...that took over 5 minutes to dispense!), |
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| and a trip or two out for ice cream!! |
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| But it seems as though the most fun was had on our nightly walks down to the beach, |
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| for some fun times in the sand, |
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| and a lot of good photos by the bay! |
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| The only thing that slowed this group down was darkness! |
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| We watched a lot of fantastic sunsets during their playtime! |
Our next summer trip was down to Eureka for a weekend of camping and the 4th of July.
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| This meant more fun time with cousins, |
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| tube time at the lake, |
and a fun glow necklace dance party!
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| The twins definitely enjoyed visiting with Grandma and Grandpa Knapp, |
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| and seeing their older cousin Keira who moved back from Germany. |
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| Mid-summer meant the beginning of another trip around the sun for these two, |
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| and we secured the annual 'tree photos'! |
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| The twin's cousins came to town to celebrate...Luke and his cousin Nick were inseparable! |
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| We snuck in a fun afternoon at the beach, |
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| with family and close friends. |
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| This year's birthday party was a repeat of 2020's outdoor party at Howell Park, |
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| where unicorn and Minecraft cupcakes were served! |
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| Of course, there were presents, |
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| and, also of course, Grandma Steffie was there for it all! |
As the days of summer break began to fade, we made one final trip to visit friends in Provincetown, on Cape Cod.
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Such a fun place to visit!
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| There was plenty to do, |
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| including a hike through a forest, |
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which might be the first time I heard either of them say 'I like hiking'!
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| We didn't see any (real) sharks, |
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| but we did enjoy a whale watching cruise, |
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| with plenty of great views on the water, |
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| and back on land. |
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| The search for whales did not disappoint, |
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| and we saw many whales surfacing and then diving back under the water. |
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| The whales were definitely a lot bigger than this one on land! |
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| Papa & Daddy enjoyed the trip to the Truro Vineyards, |
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| but it was even more fun getting out of the truck and running up and down the dunes!! |
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| We sure had a great time on the tour and in Provincetown!! |
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| Back in town, some were not impressed with Papa's oyster indulgence, |
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| but all was forgotten when we took pedicabs home! |
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| Too soon it was time to head home, taking the morning ferry over to Boston to make our flight home. |
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| It was a summer to remember and we look forward to more adventures to come! |
