Summer Highlights

We're recently back from our annual trip to our cottage up North. It was a wonderful, restful time enjoying cooler temperatures, friends, family....

mud

the lake

cotton candy

and, of course, campfires.

While we were there, I took Dominick and Aravis to a really cool (really high!) ropes course.

I am terrified of heights. And, even more terrified of my children and heights. But somehow, the harnesses eased my mind enough so that I could enjoy them enjoying this experience. It's funny, these two are my flipping, climbing, roof jumping, daredevils but they were a little intimidated by this at first. Once they got used to the height and the feel of the harnesses they were running through and climbing everything but it took them a bit to get used to it. 

All the big kids got to ride the zip line at camp. Xury would've ridden it too if she could have but she had to settle for watching the others. 

Tanner had her first job working in the snack shop on the campgrounds. 

Dominick spent a good deal of his summer helping my mom and her husband work on their cottage. He helped put on the siding and build a closet. It was a great opportunity for him to be helpful, do something he loves, and gain new experience. And with all that building came lots of scraps of wood that made great phones, pancakes and pizza. 

The big girls took the scraps, added some sticks, twigs, pine needles and wood glue and spent days working on fairy houses

Unfortunately, I failed to get any pictures of the finished products. They were really cute and creative though.

They also spent an afternoon chasing a snake they found in the playground. They were bound and determined to catch him and with a good plan and a little teamwork, they eventually did. 

After some time getting to know him, and a bite or two, they released him back into the woods. 

It was a really great summer. With Tanner working, the middle two going to camp and Dominick spending a week at my brother's, I had various combinations of kids throughout the summer. This allowed for some great one on one time with each of them which I thoroughly enjoyed. 

As usual, being home, all under one roof, no longer surrounded with lots of friends and endless things to do has been an adjustment. But, we're settling back in. 

With cupcakes 

And Legos

And lots of great memories!