Top Ten of Summer

It's hard to believe it is September 1st already!! Before we know it, we'll be gathering around for Thanksgiving dinner and preparing to bake for Christmas cookies. Of course it's hard to imagine (and who wants to rush it anyway) the holidays when we've been having 90+ degree weather lately. And though the heat has been hard to take on occasion, I have been very pleased with our warm summer. The weather has permitted lots of welcomed trips to the beach and enjoyment in our little plastic pool. The girls have played better than ever, which makes it that much harder to break them up as Kyra prepares to leave for all day, every day school in a few short days. But seeing as I have hardly written all summer, I'd like to reflect on some of the fun things we did this summer.

1. Numerous trips to the beach. Having taken swimming lesson in the beginning of the summer, I wanted to keep their exposure to the water high, so we took advantage of our local beaches and had lots of play time in the water. I even ventured out on my own a few times with the 3 kiddos by myself (a big accomplishment for me, when you consider the 1 year old has to be watched like a hawk because of the love for the water).

2. An over night trip to Traverse City with my hubby. Although I was hesitant to leave the kids on the day first day Kyra got out of school, this trip was absolutely wonderful. The northern part of Michigan is beautiful no matter what time of year you go. And we got to enjoy time alone together while wine sampling and touring the country side. Loved it!

3. Andrew's birthday. It's hard to believe my little guy is one now, but we had a wonderful 1st birthday with family, and I am embracing the steps of progress he is making into becoming an older child (like sleeping through the night, walking, no naps...pretty soon we'll be able to go on more adventures as a family of 5)

4. Trip to Hessel. Although this was not my favorite event of the summer, the kids had a blast playing with cousins they haven't seen in a long time and it was nice to chat with family while lazily sitting at "our" small beach.

5. Visiting relatives for "daycations" while they camped at Pioneer Campground. Although we did not camp here, we still enjoyed the benefits of camping, while being able to sleep in our comfy beds at night. Seriously, it was a wonderful campground, with just a simply beautiful beach.

6. Visiting family in Chicago. While I do go to Chicago a fair amount of time to visit family, this time we went on a few day adventures. We all had a blast going to Splash Country and visiting Blackberry Farms. And although the sprinklers were broken, we enjoyed a picnic at Cantigny with fried mushrooms from Brown's Chicken....mmmm.

7. Raising 3 caterpillars. Never mind that all of the caterpillars passed away and never made it to the chrysalis stage, but the whole family really enjoyed watching how fast they grew. It was fun to watch how involved the girls got into feeding their little friends, and even see their compassionate heart reach out as the caterpillars started to fade. **We later found out that the first caterpillar probably had a virus that spread to the others.

8. Going camping at Gun Lake with my family. Although this trip was uncomfortable at times with the extreme heat and humidity (and mosquitos), we still had fun eating, talking, swimming, and reliving some previous camping trips. It's also amazing to see how resilient kids are, because I don't think the heat bothered them hardly at all...they just enjoyed being outdoors and with each other.

9. Going to the Hudsonville Fair. This has become a yearly tradition of ours, and the girls dared to go on more rides then ever this year. They were brave in going on the tall ferris wheel, and even went on a few new ones that they weren't sure of.

10. Going to a Whitecaps minor league baseball game. Again, it was another hot day, which made it almost to hot to view from our seats, but the kids had fun eating the food and it was nice doing something different. My hubs even broke down and got everyone ice cream (in which the girls got a souvenir baseball cap bowl).

We still have yet to go to the zoo (the one thing on Kyra's summer to do list we haven't done yet), but otherwise it's been a fulfilling summer. So now I am just holding on to the last few days I have to sleep in before we take on schedules, fall sports, and the busyness of the school year. I am excited at the prospects of a new year and what it has in store for us (I am taking on some new challenges), but am also thankful that we have a season like summer to rejuvenate, be lazy, and spend as a family.