Summer Time Fun ... part 1

Summer is quickly coming to a close, and I thought it would be fun to take a look back at some of the fun things we have done. We weren't able to take our usual summer trips to visit family this year (either in Idaho or Maryland), but we managed to have fun close to home.

(I'm doing this in several installments ... at least three ... if you want to see any of the pictures better just click on the collage and it zooms in.)

School ended June 4th and we immediately started enjoying the extra time. We went to a park not too far away, called the Chutes and Ladder park (my kids also call it the Fort park ... they have names for several of their favorite parks). It really is quite amazing and the kids LOVE it. This year Grayson was able to enjoy it just as much as the older kids. He went down the huge slide with Bryant first, but after that he was able to go on his own. I was a little nervous when he started climbing the nets, but I'm not sure why since his nickname is monkey and he got that since he climbs like a monkey. He did great and loved every minute of it.

We also went to a couple of beaches in June. There really are lakes every where you turn here. The first day we went to a beach was a little cold for swimming in my opinion. Of course the kids still got wet and had fun playing in the sand (I think I had half of the beach in my washing machine that night). Grayson had a hard time keeping his swim suit on so we saw a little more of him than we were expecting that day. It is still laughed about amongst my friends.

The boys (meaning the 3 oldest) enjoyed a father-son campout as well. I thought they would burst waiting for their dad to get home to go that day. They were pretty excited. It was the first father-son campout Grayson has gone on. They had a great time with friends, eating smores and sleeping in the tent. And they can't wait for next year.

I don't have action shots with Connor, but I didn't want to leave him out. He's about 6 weeks to 2 months in these pictures. He loves singing songs with his dad and brothers. His swing is also a favorite hang out.

That pretty much covers June ... parks, beaches and camping. I hope you will stay tuned to hear how we filled our days in July and August. (I get exhausted just thinking about all the things we did!)