And thank you, July.

Some months ask you to slow down. Others sweep you up.
July was both — full of motion and memory, sunshine and celebration, and the kind of fullness that makes you forget to sit down and write…until now.

A summer with s'mores by the bonfire. Honey Maid graham crackers, marshmallows, and Hershey's chocolate all in one. Not an ad but it certainly seemed like it.
Give a boy a shovel and let him go to town in the garden. He just kept digging.

We started the month on the road, heading south to Charleston, South Carolina, where I got to spend time with one of my dearest friends. There’s something about Charleston’s charm that feels like a deep exhale: the heat, the food, the way the streets hold stories. And when you reconnect with a friend after such length and distance – very little compares to it. From there, we made our way inland to Columbia, where we spent a couple treasured days with my sister and her beautiful family. Cousins played, conversations stretched into hours, and time slowed the way it only does when you’re with people who know your whole story. We are so thankful that Adrienne and Evan are those people.

Summer roadtrip took us to Charleston, SC. The heat didn't stop us from having a great time wanting around the area.
Family roadtrip to Charleston, SC was a hot one and wandering around the water was needed.
Family beach day in South Carolina. The kids loved making sandcastles and running in and out of the water.

Back home in Western New York, we jumped straight into summer’s rhythm. We spent evenings in Medina, one of our favorites being the Canal Basin concert in early July, watching our little boy dance to the beat of live music. We frequented local restaurants and the Medina Farmer’s market chasing seasonal flavors and soaking up our small-town summer. There’s just nothing like picking up tomatoes that still smell like sun, or having a mocktail that tastes like July in a glass.

Mocktail time on the farm. Pregnancy lends itself to more craft ideas. This one featured Seedlip as the base NA spirit.
Authetic polish food on the Erie Canal. As we celebrate the 200 year of the Erie Canal, this was part of the food vendors lined up for the concert.
Dubby's Pizza in in Albion always excites us when we see them at events. Here we are ordering another pizza at an event in Medina on the Erie Canal.
After picking several things from the garden, Roux wanted to make some juice. While this was a birthday gift for me, he gets more use out of it. Apple juice, watermelon juice, cucumber juice, pineapple, and so much more. Then he mixes and hopes for the best.
The boys with their snoballs at the local Canal Village Farmers' Market in Medina, NY. This is a favorite treat of theirs, someone we've we were introduced to last summer. If you haven't had a traditional NOLA Snoball, it's time in Medina.

And then we ended the month with a trip that was a little closer to my heart — the Orleans County Fair. It’s a place stitched into my childhood: the barns, the midway, the scent of fried dough and sawdust. Walking those same paths now, belly rounding at 20 weeks pregnant, holding my son’s sticky hand, felt both wildly nostalgic and beautifully new.

Halfway to baby number two.
Halfway to a bigger family.
Fully in awe of how life keeps unfolding.

So hello, August.
We’re ready for you — slower mornings, golden hours on the porch, final summer adventures, and maybe even a few home projects on Fox Cross.

Here’s to the second half of summer — and the halfway mark of something even bigger.

— Al