What We Did in July 2024

Hello!  Thanks for stopping by Thinking Out Loud Thursday.  It's a day I share something I'm thinking about and invite you to link up and do the same.  Today I'm recapping our July activities.

The month kicked off with a 4th of July celebration at our friends' house.  Dave and Penny host an annual party and we were lucky to be able to attend this year.  Their neighborhood puts on an amazing fireworks show!  The evening was beautiful and a treat to sit around their pool and watch the show in the sky.

Eric and I celebrated our 23rd wedding anniversary in the middle of the month.  Looking back, the years have truly flown by!  We celebrated by going to one of our favorite restaurants, 801 Chophouse.  

We picked up our niece and nephews to spend a few days with us.  You can read all about their visit HERE.  Hosting three eight-year-olds and a five-year-old was fun, tiring, challenging, and wonderful!  They definitely kept us on our toes and it was way too quiet after they went home.

I met my friend Sharyn for dinner to celebrate her birthday.  We've been friends for over 50 years!  It was a joy honoring her special day!  

Barry Manilow was in St. Louis and a group of my friends and I couldn't miss seeing him!  We met for dinner then headed to the concert.  Listening to him sing his hits brought back so many memories!  

We wrapped up the month by visiting Eric's sister and her family in Memphis.  They were fabulous hosts!  While in Memphis, I was hoping to visit the shop of John Mark Enterprises.  I follow him on Instagram and geeked out a bit being in his shop!

Every week, John Mark hosts a bow-making tutorial.  Stepping inside his ribbon room was pretty exciting for me!

We also shopped at the most adorable bookstore - novel.  Besides all the books, this shop has a bar and many, many awesome gifts.  

We were so excited to meet the newest member of the family!  Our great niece is as cute as can be and we soaked up all the cuddles we could get!

For dinner, we visited The Lookout at the Pyramid.  Coolest place!  They have an observation deck where you can see the river and beyond.  It had been overcast and rainy most of the day.  Just before sunset, the clouds broke and we experienced the most beautiful sunset!

On Sunday before heading home, we played a few games of Quixx.  Our great nephew was the best little helper!

It was a weekend full of memories!  On the way home, we added one more activity to the weekend.  Chester, Illinois is the hometown of Popeye.  We've driven by several times but never stopped to look at the statue of the famous icon.  Cross that off the list!

Now it's your turn - what are you thinking out loud about today?  Link up and share!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter