Summer Vacay 2012

Our summer trip this year was wonderful as usual, and we'll sum it up with these 10 highlights (in no particular order):

1.  The Day at the Dunes (with Uncle Kris and Aunt Sara)

 We swam in Lake Michigan...(actually, I didn't let the kids go in more than a foot....but the big people swam.  It was even a RED FLAG WARNING!!!  They are SO rebellious.)  :-)

 This giant hill was the GIANT sand dune that we all climbed.  It was a LOT of work!

2.  Playing "WhiteWater Rafting" on Uncle Kris's kinect game...

3.  The BIG Lakehouse!  (This is where we had Joel's family reunion)

 

 

Unfortunately, the day before the reunion, Brahm came down with a fever that lasted 5 days!  He did nothing but eat, sleep and want to be held...

 

4.  The Beach

5.  Cousins!!!

 Rolling down the hills with the other little girls...

The little boys driving the paddle boat (while tethered to the dock...) 

 

The little kids put on a "play" one night.  Oliver was the director, which apparently, consisted of hiding behind those putting on the play and making gross potty noises on his arm.  

6.  The PARTY Boat (also called a "pontoon".) 

7.  The hotel.  (This was the first time since Oliver was born that our kids went to sleep well in a motel!  Usually, it's NOT worth staying in one.   :-)

And oh how I WISH this one wasn't blurry!  Brahm was so proud of himself--He put on one of Lily's shirts and Joel's underwear all by himself! 

 

8.  The Magic House

We heard about the St. Louis Children's Museum and how amazing it was, so we decided to try it out on the way home.  It was TOTALLY worth it!  We spent 4 hours there and could've stayed all day!

There was a Magic TreeHouse exhibit which the kids loved--we have just started reading those books, so they weren't too familiar yet...

This was a giant "beanstalk" that was 3 stories tall--the kids could climb up all the way to the 3rd floor!

Bubbles!

 Static Electricity!

9.  Grant's Farm

No pictures here....but we did also spend time at Grant's Farm in St. Louis.  It was so much fun!  We rode the train, fed goats, rode a carousel, and ate yummy sno-cones! 

10.  Family Time

We always have SUCH good times on our trips!  I am so thankful for the opportunity to visit family and do some traveling with our kids.  The kids are SUPERSTAR travelers, even Brahm!  This trip, we even took the long way to Ohio from Indiana and visited Lake Eerie for a picnic, and caught a monster thunderstorm on the way!  :-)  

As a (overly) protective mom, I just love it when we are all close together--and even all 5 of us sleeping in one room for two weeks is a special thing!  (But thankful we can come home to our own rooms!)