If there was ever a month that felt like SUMMER, it was July! Between the Fourth of July, birthday celebrations, tropical vacations, humanitarian adventures, East Coast travels, and our favorite week of beach camping, we definitely packed a lot of life into one month!
We kicked off July celebrating the Fourth at Grandma’s house, relaxing by the pool, BBQing hamburgers, and eating Handel’s ice cream cookies—which may just be the perfect summer dessert. We even headed into town for the fireworks show that night, which brought back many nostalgic memories of Fourths from years past when the kids were little. We loved spending the day with Stacy and Grandma and getting to celebrate the Fourth together.
Speaking of celebrations, summer always seems to bring with it lots of birthday parties with friends. This month I loved getting to celebrate Sara, Luisa, and Melanie. I feel so lucky to have such wonderful women in my life and will take just about any excuse to get together and celebrate!
Our biggest family adventure of the month was a beautiful vacation to the Grand Cayman Islands that Blake had planned. It truly felt like paradise—gorgeous sunsets, crystal-clear warm blue water, and more snorkeling than one could ever hope to experience! We visited Stingray City and Starfish Point and explored some of the island’s beautiful beaches, with Rum Point, Cemetery Beach, and Smith’s Cove among our favorites. Coming home at night to watch the World Cup was right up the boys’ alley, while sunset strolls were perfect for Anna and me.
We also got to experience the bioluminescence one evening, which was pretty incredible. But perhaps the most memorable moment of the entire trip happened while I was snorkeling and spotted an EIGHT-FOOT NURSE SHARK! I was truly scared out of my wits and am pretty sure I saw my life flash before my eyes! Thankfully, I lived to tell the tale—and now that I’m safely back on land, I’m actually SO glad it happened. Definitely a vacation story I’ll never forget!
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While Grand Cayman was a pretty amazing adventure, the highlight of Grant’s month—and quite possibly his YEAR—was his humanitarian trip to the Philippines with HXP. He spent part of his time helping build a nutrition center and the rest exploring the culture, meeting people, and spending time with the kids in the local schools. He grew to love the teens and the leaders he served alongside, and he has talked about the experience almost every day since coming home.
The theme of the trip was “This is real.” I love that so much. In a world where kids spend so much time distracted by phones and screens, there was something really special about sending them halfway around the world without their phones and letting them simply be present. Grant’s takeaway made me laugh: “It really helped me see that I’m not very addicted to my phone! I didn’t care at all about not having it.” Ha! But I think there was some truth in that too. He loved being there, loved the people, and especially loved spending time with the kids at the schools. I’m so proud of him for being willing to do something difficult and unfamiliar and for leaning into the experience—as he always tends to do.
Anna enjoyed an adventure of her own this month, although hers wasn’t quite as long or arduous! She was invited to travel with the Fellars to the East Coast, where she and her besties visited New York City, Boston, and Rhode Island. The girls stayed right in Times Square, saw The Outsiders on Broadway, shopped in SoHo, visited the Salem Witch Museum, and spent time at the beach in Rhode Island. SUCH a fun trip with some of her very favorite people and definitely one Anna will never forget!
Even Ev spent much of the month on the road! She visited her besties in Idaho for a weekend and then was able to drive home for a week over the Fourth of July. I loved having her here and getting a little extra time with her this summer.
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Now, if you’re thinking that sounds like plenty of travel for one month, you’d be right! But we weren't quite finished yet.
We ended July with one of our very favorite traditions: a week of beach camping in Cardiff with some of our best buddies. I think it might just be our favorite week of the entire summer. Our days were filled with surfing, waves, sunshine, long conversations, card games, early-morning walks, trips to Seaside Market, gorgeous sunsets, Nikki’s pancakes with buttermilk syrup, s’mores, and, of course, nightly dance-off competitions.
There really is nothing my kids love more than camping at the beach with their best friends, and this year was no exception. There’s something about those long, sandy days with nowhere else to be that makes everyone slow down and just enjoy being together. We loved every minute.
And just like that, July is over. We have one last week of summer before school begins, and after such a full month, I’m feeling especially grateful for all of the places we went, the people we spent time with, and the experiences my kids were able to have. From sharks in Grand Cayman to schoolchildren in the Philippines, Broadway shows in New York City, and sandy nights around the campfire in Cardiff, July gave us so many beautiful memories to look back on.
Summer, you’ve been good to us.
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