We kicked off the second half of the year with a road trip to Oklahoma! We did not travel over the holidays so we were looking forward to visiting in the summer this time. We had planned to meet in Tulsa and go to this amazing outdoor play area but it was a downpour so we checked out the aquarium instead - so cool!
There were lots of pool days and family time after that - we are lucky that all the cousins are relatively the same age and into the same types of things because it keeps the kids occupied (and parents happy).
We also got some family pictures taken and of course they did not disappoint! I never share pictures of the kids on my social media but I could not resist sharing the one of Blair and Colin - heart melter!
After a fun-filled few days it was time to head back to MI only to immediately get ready for an adventure of another kind: our first camping trip! Unfortunately our 28 year old pop-up camper decided during our journey it wasn't going to make it to Silver Lake Sand Dunes, so we improvised and got a space at TriPonds, which is about 30min from our house. So much for the kids to do, but we quickly discovered it is much more fun camping with others!
All it took was one pop-up trip for Chris to start to pull the trigger on getting a hard side camper, and a few weeks later we landed this beauty! It is such a nice upgrade from the pop-up, and a few major bonuses are not having to worry about weather and storage space. Many fun memories will be had in this baby!
I took the kids to the John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids to check out their Lego exhibit called Brick Live. It is absolutely amazing what people can build with Legos, and all the crazy colors - loved it. I also thought the Zoo was fantastic - lots of natural landscaping, everything was clean and very walkable. We will certainly go back, especially so the kids can ride camels again!
Colin had a soccer and a hip-hop dance class this month, and Blair had a Ninja Acro dance camp. Colin really enjoyed his soccer camp, and seemed to really take to the sport as well. Hip-hop was fun, but only a two day camp. Blair enjoyed pretending to be a Ninja and learning Ninja moves! I love how into it her instructor gets; makes it very special for the kiddos.
This summer we had standing beach days each Wednesday with friends, and it was AWESOME. Naturally everyone couldn't make each one, but it was so nice to know you had a solid plan for something each week. We are so grateful for all the friendships we have made here!
Blair finally got herself a little bike, and took to it like a fish to water (which is also how she has taken to...actual water this summer). She loves being able to pedal around and is perfectly happy to just bike around the neighborhood. But Blair is faster and faster, and walking with her isn't cutting it, so I am going to have to get some rollerblades to keep up. Hello '90s!
To close out the month we had a BIG camping trip to Traverse City with some friends of my and their families. It was an awesome campground that really catered to families. It had a dodgeball pit where kids played until 9pm, and then the adults came out. It was so funny to watch the parents get in there and DODGE!
We also went on a river rafting trip down the Platte, and it was SO cold that day! Getting into the water was tough but you certainly got used to it. There was no current so adults were always out of the tubes swimming with or pushing tubes - phew! We stopped at one point and a man from another group had a rope, and proceeded to climb a tree, tie the rope to it to make a rope swing into the water. It absolutely made the trip! Everyone in our group had a go (even Blair!) and it was a real blast.
Finally, some anecdotal cuteness.
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