Summer Bucket List: Newport Aquarium

So fitting for Shark Week that we head up to NKY and check out some sea animals at Newport Aquarium! The boys absolutely love sharks and Adelaide loves all animals. They all remembered getting to touch the stingrays last time we went so that was a much anticipated activity. There is a new octopus on display which was super neat to see in person. And the big kids walked the shark bridge alone! I wasn't allowed to go because everyone has to walk {even babies} so I followed them until the entrance then met them on the other side. You would have thought they were professionals! Not a peep or ounce of fear...not sure if that is good or bad ;) Even Salem had a blast looking around, crawling at the froggy leap pad, and enjoying some french fries. This is such a fun place to watch the kids explore and be in wonder of sea life!

 

 

 

Salem Lucille: 9 Months Old

Dearest Salem Lucille,

You are officially 3/4 of a year old which is crazy hard to believe. I think back to last summer when you were still in my belly and it seems so weird to remember before you were born!

You are a full blown table eater enjoying turkey, cheese, pancakes, french toast, chicken nuggets, carrots, apples, blueberries, and strawberries. You also love grilled cheese and sweet potato fries. You eat 3 meals a day and still have 3 bottles of formula. You remind me so much of Aspen on this aspect. Eating ahead of the curve ;)
 
You are a crawling machine and absolutely love the freedom that comes with it. You can be found roaming the house and often like to find the next door stopper once you enter a room. You love to hear them make sounds. 

You celebrated your first 4th of July like a champ and loved the holiday outfits as well as the light up flag and confetti poppers. You had a few tastes of popsicles courtesy of your siblings and enjoyed refreshing dips in the pool.

You also closed out the month by getting your ears pierced. You were such a sweet little customer and the diamond studs make you look more grown up for sure. Between your blonde hair, pierced ears, and growing thighs, I don't know how to slow down the time!

As always, you are pure joy!

I love you!

Love,

Mommy

Summer Bucket List: Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Gardens

Between swim team and all of the other sporting activities the kids, Ryan, & I have in the summer, we don't make a formal summer bucket list. But we do try to take advantage of a few local and tri-state area attractions that we aren't able to get to in the other seasons. This year we had a good mix of both so we could enjoy local treats while also experiencing some new & favorite out-of-town activities. 

We had not been to the Cincinnati Zoo so the kids and I spent a Monday afternoon up north. It was such a fun afternoon and we got to see so many cool animals. We saw tigers and snow leopards so close that it felt like you were touching them! We saw alligators and polar bears; gorillas and vampire bats; elephants, rhinos, & zebras. The weather was scorching but we were able to find plenty of shade during our trek around. We loved the 4-D movie Storks and enjoyed cooling off inside. 

The way the zoo is laid out is nice because it doesn't feel so overwhelming and too spread out. I loved that you are always seeing animals or beautiful gardens as you move from section to section.

We truly had a wonderful afternoon and will definitely visit again!