Summer Recap

It has been such a fun summer, so I have been slacking on getting blog posts completed. Now, my challenge is to summarize several months of fun!

Jeremy got a new camera, so he has been having fun testing it out with the kids. As you can see below, they have been having fun riding their bikes, taking walks to the park, swimming and playing with their favorite toys. Lately, Benjamin has taken to constructing elaborate race tracks for his cars. Abby enjoys building with blocks, playing with Benjamin and pushing rolling toys (like her grocery cart or stroller) around the house at full speed.

We love ice cream cones!

Abby and Benjamin love having friends over to play.

We spent a LOT of time at the pool this summer, and since it was an unusually cool summer, Benjamin was grateful for his wetsuit! He misses the pool so much, he now wears his goggles in the bathtub.

 

The kids enjoyed a recent visit from Grandpa Hilty. They went to the park, and on a River Boat ride.

We have been letting the kids write on the fence with chalk, so this has been a favorite pastime this summer.

I will have to do another summary in another post. Time just got away from me!

GG and Bob Bob

We went to see GG and Bob Bob for Labor Day weekend, and it was so nice to spend time with them!

First, we stopped in Sandusky to see the Aunt Susan and Uncle Mike the great. We visited their beautiful condo on Lake Erie, and then we went to the Carousel Museum.

I especially love this photo!

Afterward, we drove to Lorain for the rest of our time. The kids loved that Bob Bob and GG had some bikes waiting for them!

And they got to sit in Bob Bob’s 1914 Patterson.

On Sunday, we took a trip to Great Nancy’s pool,

And, we celebrated Daddy’s birthday with a cake that Abby and Benjamin frosted.

On the way back, we stopped in Findlay to load up Bob Bob’s large trailer with all the stuff we hauled from Papa’s house. Then, we brought it all back with us to Cincinnati, including a big boy bed for Benjamin, and new-to-us couches.

Summer Camp 2014

We had such a fun family vacation this July! It started with a party July 4 in Bluffton, and then we drove up to Michigan to Camp Friedenswald with Jeremy’s siblings and mom.

We had a great time at the Antrim farm making ice cream, eating, jumping on the trampoline, playing corn hole and shooting bows and arrows.

It was a long drive to Michigan, but the kids were super excited to go to camp. Once we arrived, they were THRILLED to check out the grounds, our cabin and the lakes where they got to swim or boat most days.

Meal time was a highlight each day, because Benjamin got to sit with this older cousins, and he thought this new independence was pretty cool. It was a proud parenting moment to watch him (unprompted) eat his entire plate before eating his dessert.

Abby and Calvin ate together most days.

For a side trip, we went to the Warren Dunes with the Tarplee family, and we hiked up the side of one dune, and ran down the other before eating our picnic lunch and playing by the water. It was a great day!

We didn’t make it to many campfires, but the one we did get to, Benjamin loved holding up the sign with song lyrics on it.

Jan and the Antrim boys made shirts for all the cousins.

Our kids LOVED having so many cousins to play with, and they thrived under the constant attention. Benjamin especially adored Levi, whom he followed everywhere!

And, it was so much fun hanging out with the Hilty siblings (minus Keri, Aric and Aaron who couldn’t make it.)

The kids loved the bell, which someone rang for every meal and activity.

The kids LOVED kids camp, and so did we! Each day, they were entertained for hours, while Jeremy and I got to spend time playing tennis, running, swimming and boating. It was WONDERFUL!

On water day, the kids got to go down to the beach to swim, and they took a pontoon boat ride. They also sang, “Jesus Loves Me,” in the camp talent show. They went on long wagon/tractor rides through the woods, and took nature hikes.

Abby was a little ham when Grandma got out her camera.

We can’t wait to go back!