The best part about summer

One of the best things about summer is being able to see the Grandparents without worrying about the kids having homework to catch up on.  

Several weekends ago we saw Grandma Rosi at her house & our house. 

The kids enjoyed walking the lake trails.

Our kids love swimming so of course they were in her condo pool.   

They also enjoyed feeding the ducks. 

They also did their first flower arrangement. It was so cute & made my day!  I love our creative children!  Brayden's was the one that looked like a paint can with orange paint spilling out. 

And Shaelyn's was different shades of pink! (No, that should not surprise you.)

Then we headed to my parents for the 4th of July Fireworks over downtown Milwaukee.  (Which unfortunately got fogged out due to the weather.  They didnt cancel the show, but a couple minutes after the fireworks started you couldnt see anything when the fog rolled in). But I did get a picture of Shaelyn seeing the first firework display with her glow stick in her hair. The fireworks are so huge you can't help but "ooh" & "aah".  (Don't worry we saw fireworks the next night in Kohler, Wisconsin.)

We had lots of yummy food & fun times!

This year we went to the 100 years of Sheboygan Falls celebration parade.

Here's some highlights.  

The best float was from New York City & it was a tribute to the firefighters of Sept. 11th who gave their lives trying to save others.  (Most people had tears after that float went by as the crowd clapped)

Then back to their farmhouse for more fun! This year we thought the kids were old enough to try out the BB gun. Believe it or not we have 2 sharp shooters!  Shaelyn nailed the little lemonade container with a "ping" from 52 feet away  & Brayden was 32 feet away.  Amazing!

Here's the back of the label when the kids get through with shooting. 

 I think we found her sport (not the traditional midwest sport) plus it doesn't involve running.  She's convinced she'd enjoy living in the South or in Wyoming because she loves horses & now that she's a Sharp Shooter she might be right.) 

Brayden did very well too even though the gun was way too big for him. 

Then we rode to see the Wade House & the Horse & Buggy Museum.  

Then we took some yearly pictures in front of the barn. This time Purdy, our dog, wanted to be in some of them. ; )

Right after this picture Purdy went back to the farmhouse to her favorite spot. It's a window where the sun shines in. 

The farmhouse is so peaceful out in the country who wouldn't like it? We sure do.

That night there were fireworks just past the barn & silo. We could see them perfectly from my parents patio. So I let the kids stay up late to watch them with us.  The fireworks were huge but they look small compared to the Dairy Barn.

 Then a few days in Wisconsin Dells to relax afterward.

Then we went camping with Grandpa Gerry & Nonna (Greg's dad & stepmom) down by St. Louis. So we had one day to repack our suitcase from the Wisconsin trip & pack up all our camping stuff.  The unloading & reloading is never fun but its always fun when we get somewhere . (This time it was a little hot in the tent because there were no trees for shade & its July so Luckily Gerry had a fan we borrowed to make it bearable to sleep.

Luckily our kids are troopers.  They never complained even though they both got burnt in the pool.  (SPF 50 applied every 2 hours was not enough.  I guess it will be every half hour next time).  

 

I enjoyed reading by Linda at the pool. 

The kids loved going in their air conditioned RV to play games like memory, & Spanish go fish.

One of our favorite things about camping is cooking out over the campfire. Greg is master chef at the campground.

Then it was time to load back up again.  Thankfully Grandpa Gerry & Nonna played with the kids while we did this so it wasn't so boring for them.  There is a process to get everything to fit in the back if the van.  (Seriously we can't get a smaller car anytime soon because it barely fits.  And we didn't even bring the dog!). 

The kids are good travelers too. They never complained once on the car ride.  Now if we drive less than 3 days (our Canada to Peoria trip) the kids are always surprised how fast it is to get there.  In 6 hours some kids think they are dying.  Thankfully not our kids. The last trip they both said, "What do you mean we are here already?  We didn't even get our book finished yet."