End of Summer, WHAT??!

 

 

We are wrapping up Summer Break around here, and I guess that means I ought to wrap up our Summer fun on the blog too.

 

For the most part, we've had an amazing Summer. 
But we've had some rough times too.  And I am soooooo ready for Fall.

A little Summer recap:

 

 

We spent a LOT of time camping.
 

 

We got to enjoy a gorgeous view,
 

 

and cute little critters for most of the month of July.
 

 

{Sweet Sissies}
 

 

After a particularly difficult start to August, the Lord knew *just* what I needed, and some friends opened their beach home to us for several days.
 

 

I LOVE the beach.
 

 

Relaxing with my girly girls is pretty much the best therapy EVER!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once we got home, it was this girl's 13th birthday.
 

 

Sigh.

The same day, my sister, niece, and nephew came up for a visit,
 

 

and for our annual trip to Enchanted Forest: 

 

 

Pretty sure the looks on their faces say it all!
 

 

 

 And now, let Fall begin!

I am ready!!
 

 

 

Catchin' Up?

My goodness, we've been on the go!

A nearly week long camping trip the middle of July, then a week of VBS, a few birthdays, BBQs, a visit from a cousin we hadn't seen in a couple of years,  and finally a visit with my sister.

Annie and her adorable kiddos were up for a week long visit, and it was AMAZING.  We never seem to have enough time together, and though I wish they could stay forever, seven days was just enough time to fit in all that we wanted to do.

Mostly we just hung out at Mom and Dad's soaking up the sun by their new pool.  We had a sleepover at our house one night, and Dad insisted on taking everyone to Enchanted Forest one day.  The absolute sweetest part was watching Kam and her cousin, Mona, playing together.  They were inseparable.  They swam, blew bubbles, played dress-up and Barbies. And that led to the most difficult part . . . saying goodbye.

The night before they had to leave Kam had a break-down.  She cried like I wanted to.  We were sad to see our "sisters" go.

But we vowed we'd get together more often.
I sure hope we do.

Day Trip

This summer is reminding me a little bit of last summer.  And that's not sayin' a lot.  Same kind of weather {crummy}, and we haven't really done anything too exciting {you know, besides the typical: building a house last summer, and having a baby this summer}.

I didn't want the summer to pass us by without us getting out of the house and enjoying it!  I already see that the countdown until school starts has begun :(  And that just makes me sad.  So . . . we decided to take a little day trip to Enchanted Forest; a fun little theme park about an hour south of us.  We packed a picnic lunch, a couple of cousins came along {and even our favorite boys: Daddy and Gramps}, and we hit the road!

{This is an annual trip, by the way!  I love traditions, remember?  You can see our Enchanted Fun from past summers by clicking HERE  and HERE  and even HERE}

Kam has been several times, but she doesn't remember it.  We told her there were slides, so the whole.entire.way.there she was talking about the "shoe slide".  She was pretty excited.



I'm so glad I got a quick shot of the kiddos before we ran off to ride rides and explore.  Our sweet cousin, Sadie {2nd from left}, just turned 14, so we celebrated her birthday, and she brought her friend.  I know I've mentioned this before, but I ♥ LOVE ♥ the way Kam always keeps an eye on her big sissies to see how they're responding in every situation.  I think it's adorable.


This shot cracks me up.  Kenners decided to be brave and go through the haunted house with Daddy.  Sierra was giving her a hug "in case she never saw her again". LOL!



Spooky!


Just had to snap a photo of sweet Taylor Grace.  Typically I'm holding her and I'm the one with the camera, so she doesn't always make it in the shots ;)  She slept the entire time.  She loves the sling and Ergo. 

Kam rode the train with Nana while the older ones hit the bumper cars.



Hey! No Head-On Bumping!  Got it?  {They take all the fun out of it, don't they?}

It wasn't all that warm, but that didn't deter the girls from going down the log ride!  Poor Daddy and Gramps were bullied into going too ;)


Sissy didn't even wear her sweatshirt!


Splash!


And finally the Ice Mountain Bobsled.  Even Kam got to go on that one!

We had such a fun day.  Okay, now tell me about your favorite day trip.

Summertime!!!

We have been enjoying some seriously beautiful, sunny, perfect days! Pair that with my sister and her kiddos here for a visit, and it doesn't get much better.

Yesterday we went to Enchanted Forest {to check out last year's Enchanted Forest fun, click here}. Oh the kids had such fun.

The stroller was a ride in and of itself for Kam. I don't think she's been in a stroller since she was a few months old. In fact, I can probably count, on one hand, the number of times she's ridden in a stroller. This child is an Ergo girl, I tell ya. She'd rather be carried than strolled any day. Now, Kenners, on the other hand . . .

We enjoyed a walk through the park, and a few rides . . .

My gorgeous sis, and her daughter, Sonoma riding the train ;)

And Miss Kam lovin' Sissy's Sno Cone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was a good day.

Family Fun!

Last week my sister and her family were visiting from Southern Oregon.

We don't get to see each other near as often as I'd like,

so we try to pack in as much as we can in the time we do have together.

In the four days they were here we went shopping,

spent the day at Enchanted Forest, celebrated birthdays,

and got in some visit time.

Probably the most fun for the kiddos was our trip to Enchanted Forest.

And, boy, did we have a group!

My sister and her family, the girls and I, Mom and Dad,

My other sister, her two older kids, and two of their friends,

my brother and his daughter,

PLUS my dear friend, her husband, and their four children.

If you lost count, that's nine adults and fourteen children.

1-16 year old

1-15 year old

1-12 year old

1-11 year old

2-7 year olds

1-6 year old

1-5 year old

1-4 year old

1-3 year old

1-2 year old

2-1 year olds

1- {almost} 7 month old

What fun we had!

{Warning: Get ready for picture overload}

A quick shot in front of the castle wall.

I think Sierra and Kuaile were racing each other. Fierce competition, huh?

Bumper Boat Fun!

Jaymes had so much fun going through the rabbit hole.

Gramps and my niece, Sonoma.

{Oh how I love this picture. In case you can't get a sense from the photo alone, my dad LOVES

children. He is so good with all of the grandchildren. Their eyes light up when Gramps is in the room.}

Such a great day.

Of course, those four days went by way too quickly.

And I didn't get near the visit time with my sis that I'd wanted.

But, you gotta look at the bright side, right?

I love having the WHOLE family together!

{And, yes, Kam was there, though I didn't get one photo of her!

She was contentedly snuggled in the Ergo the entire time.}

Hope y'all had an equally blessed week!

Enchanting Summer Days

In grand Summer tradition, we have been keeping busy!

One of our favorite places to visit each summer is

♥ Enchanted Forest ♥

A little, nursery rhyme - themed kids park

not too far from our house.

We visit every.single.summer.

Seriously, this started when I was 8 1/2 months pregnant with Sierra.

Actually, if truth be told, it started years ago,

when my parents took my sister and me.

But, I'm getting off track . . .

{I do that a lot, don't I?}

Anyway, 93 degrees was the forecasted temp for Thursday.

Being that the Enchanted Forest is in, well, the forest,

we figured it would be the perfect day to go have some fun in the shade.

So away we went . . .

Our first stop was the castle.

Anyone care to guess what the girls were doing in this picture?

Making wishes on pennies thrown in the wishing well, of course.

A quick stop by Humpty's digs.

Kam enjoyed the stroll for about 6 1/2 minutes.

After that she wanted to be carried.

Photo opp with the Mad Hatter

Wheeee! They REALLY enjoyed the "shoe slide".

Kenners did a great job driving the train.

And Sierra took Gramps for a ride at the Bumper Cars.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Stay tuned . . . we'll be visiting the Enchanted Forest again next month . . .

with ALL the cousins. Can't wait! :)