Dunes!!

A couple weekends ago we took a day trip out to Kohler-Andrae State Park with our friends, the Taylors! I must admit...it was cold to start! We started off at the Nature Center hoping the rain would die down, which it did. Though we enjoyed some sprinkles, it didn't hold us back.
You know how kids play no matter what. They were in the water and building in the sand despite the cold! We (adults) were huddled in camping chairs and blankets (aka: towels).
Lake Michigan never ceases to amaze me with its vastness. You really feel like you're back at the Oregon coast.
Abby is huddling and playing in the sand.
Eliza seems to think every picture needs a ballet pose.
After we played at the beach we found the dunes! My long awaited dunes...I was really excited. I have such fond memories jumping off grassy "cliffs" at the beaches as well as visiting the sand dunes as a kid. Well, we found some! They were mostly covered with vegetation, but here and there we discovered the great pits of sand to run and play in. And run and play we did! I was in heaven watching my kids be in heaven. (Thankfully too, the weather cleared up and we enjoyed some sun!)



I just have to say that Abby was having the time of her life. I mean all the kids were, but she really was. Abby is not really into sporty things. She rides her bike and plays around, but she doesn't think "a sport" is for her. She found herself so in love with hiking and running these hills she exclaimed, "Whenever I have to exercise, bring me HERE!!" She also exclaimed, "This is paradise!"


And the theme of the day, "What goes up...
...must come down."

Camping under the big tree

The kids have been very excited about camping in the yard so we decided to give it a go! They kept thanking us for letting them "go camping" instead of letting them "set up the tent in the back yard." I thought that was so cute.This is the biggest, most beautiful tree in the yard...isn't it great!? The kids played in the tent off and on during the day and we were sure to enjoy board games and Uno in the morning and through the next day. They even squeaked a second night out of us. I'm pretty sure they had the time of their lives.
Before bed we treated ourselves to a real campfire. We used a little empty corner of our spot used for burning old yard debris. There we were reminded of the horrible mosquitoes Wisconsin has. (the main reason for all our leg/arm/head coverings) And on the way back to the tent (after brushing teeth) we were reminded that frogs come out at night! Dad caught two and the kids and I found a third. Fun for all, except Abby who now has a new fear to add to the list of creepy crawlies.
Here's the little fire, just right for roasting a few marshmallows! We'll have to do this part again, tent or no.

68

Earlier this month Emily asked me how many trees we had in our yard. I just counted.

On Lake Michigan...

I go on and on about everything we and I am up to on this blog...but wow, could Daniel write a novel about what he's been up to! Not only is he slaving endlessly on our awesome new bathroom, working hard at Kohl's, keeping our weeds whacked, loving our children, taking care of his wife, and serving continuously at church, but he just put on an entire youth conference weekend! He and his amazing group of leaders put together a weekend full of activities for nearly 100 kids age 14-18 in our area. A friend in our ward decided that I must attend their dance, on a boat on Lake Michigan, Friday night. She offered her babysitting services and I couldn't refuse! So we plotted our surprise, and it was great fun! One of the other leaders was photographing all night and shared these with us: (awwww)

Now Daniel, you need to go take about 15 naps. And take a few days off.

Our summer read

We just finished tonight. What a fun story! Andrew and Abby loved it! Eliza could barely sit through any one chapter. I enjoyed relearning the story and I thought the writing was refreshingly complex for a children's book. The kids learned new words and really had to think about the meaning of some passages. I think they got a lot from it. Has anyone read the sequels? Are they worth reading? They love this routine at bedtime, I can tell I better pick up another book, pronto!

Mail for the Male.

The kids and I had a lot of fun crafting this Father's Day gift. It just so happens that we needed a new mail box...and mail boxes are a great place to stash little gifts for Dad. We wrapped them all like mail, addresses and all.

Just for fun, and because Daniel is awesome, we set out the china for dinner! Why not? It's finally accessible, after all! I snapped a quick picture of the pretty table despite Eliza's clear opposition.
A fun day! My kids are lucky to have such a wonderful Dad!!

Primary Activity--Yard Games!

It was time for another primary activity and we couldn't help but want to use the yard! We had all kinds of activities set out for the kids to play. But first everyone made a paper visor to put stickers on (stickers earned at each game). Abby was in charge at the welcome table.
We had ring toss, catch (football, baseball), hopscotch,
lawn bowling (bocci ball),jumprope,
bean bag toss,
a game of whiffle ball,
frisbee,
and to end on a note all together, we played "jump the river". Here are some great action shots. Getting ready...
Each time everyone makes it across the "river" it gets wider. Much like the limbo stick gets lower.

It was fun and competitive there at the end.

After some creamsicles and lots of water everyone was tired out and ready to go! I had a lot of fun--I'm up for next summer!

Nature part 2.

Ahh, let's show you a bit of the yard. There are so many amazing flowers blooming. Every few weeks we get new surprises. This is the side yard...the house lined with various bushes and flowering plants--a few are in bloom here--some hard to see.A little section in the back yard against the house. These pink ones have really gone crazy (much fuller than this picture)--they are so fun to cut and put in vases.
The front/side of the house. This bed of flowers has had so many blooms not pictured. Amazing.
All from the yard. We grow little girls too.
And these critters. Our big oak tree out front was covered with these caterpillars from the base up to about 4 feet high in the tree! There were caterpillars everywhere!! Hundreds. I thought they'd have made cocoons but they look like they are just frying there. What's up? We probably need an exterminator. Or a boy to go kill the rest. He poked one with a stick, trying to nudge it into a container and catch it. He said it exploded. Literally. With brown liquid inside. He showed me the explosion splash in the container. Gross.
In the waaaaay back corner of the back yard there is a small bunch of trees and shrubs growing randomly. We found it to be sweeeet grounds for a fort. It was easy to hollow out inside. It even has this tree with a branch arching over the kid-size entrance--so cool. Now will someone get my fraidy cat kids to go play out there?? I would be spending all day in that fort if I was 10!! They hardly touch it. Do they need a few years? Or just someone to show them how it's to be used?...let me know. If you ask me it's too far from the house and they are scared. Pooh.
Ah, we found that we have a raspberry bush!!
Oh, I wrote about the evil tree. Well, here it is in all its evilness. Check out those babies.
This thorn is longer than my longest finger. And I've seen even bigger thorns.
Daniel burned a TON of branches and yard debris with some help from our terribly generous (and experienced) neighbor. After all the burning (where we had stashed many thorny branches) he noticed a thing bothering his foot as he walked about the yard. He took off his shoe and a thorn had punctured through his entire sole and was nudging at his sock!! They are evil, I say!!
These were some fun flowers we'd never seen before. Earlier in the spring we watched the tight little perfectly spherical buds open with great anticipation! Now they are known as the purple puff-balls.A clematis, now growing wild and beautiful.
And here are the baby birds I mentioned a while back. They nested under the clematis pictured above. Can you see their red mouths open wide? It seems as though only one of the five babies survived. I think the rest got taken by predators. A few weeks back I saw the survivor hopping about out of the nest, still getting food from Mom! It's surely off flying by now .
Last, but definitely CUTEST. Bunnies. I know I mentioned them before, but this is new. A while ago when I was mowing, suddenly 3--4--5 baby bunnies hopped in a panic out of our flower beds!! They were about the cutest thing ever!! So tiny, and so many of them! Scampering all over. I put on the brakes and just watched them figure out how on earth to escape the big green mowing beast. It was precious. The kids and I spotted a few of them again briefly. They are adorable.