Warren Dunes

We took a fun camping trip to Warren Dunes on Lake Michigan with a group of friends. We drove up and spent the day at the beach, then camped overnight and spent another day at the beach. The Lake Michigan beach was a lot of fun and the waves were nice a mild for the younger kids. There was a big group of us, but the beach wasn't too crowded, so we were able to find a nice spot to spread out and be able to keep track of all the kids.



There is a fun little hike to take along a creek that takes you to some mud pits. Everyone goes back and gets caked in the mud.

After being covered in dried mud its refreshing to come back and jump into the waves.

Ady and Macie

The girls trying to jump the waves on the beach.

Tayden watching out for the big waves!

The boys.

The kids all had so much fun. The water was the perfect temperature and it was super fun to be there with so many friends.

Dave with some of the men. You could stand pretty far out and still touch. Bigger waves would come and it was fun to bounce around in them.

We thought it would be fun to take some fun beach shots with all of us girls. We got to practice being models. :)

Here we are at the campsite.

There was a creek running right next to the campsites so in the morning the kids had fun wading and looking for shells.

Summer Play Group - Armory Museum

Another of our Summer Play Group stops was at a local armory museum. This was our second trip there as a play group and the kids enjoyed it just as much this time. There was a really nice man working that day who likes to talk to the kids and opened up one of the tanks for the kids to climb into and get their pictures taken. A few of the older kids, including Kyler, were particularly interested in some of his stories about the various vehicles and weapons so he took them around and told them about them. He took Kyler into a roped off area to show him some of the more fragile items. Kyler really liked hearing about all the missiles and bombs.

King's Island Trip

On our way back from our Family Reunion trip to Delaware we stopped off in Ohio to go to King's Island with a big group of friends. We spent 2 days there and had a great time.

Dave pushing Tayden and Ady in the double Stroller. I think they are getting a little too big for it. What to you think? :)

A stop at Wendy's for lunch. Ady with her friend Macie.

The rest of the kids on the trip.

I spent most o the time with Ady and the younger kids, taking them to the rides they could go on. I didn't get a lot o pictures of the big kids or the adults, but Ady and I had a lot of fun on the kiddy rides!

Kyler and Tayden with some of the older kids.

Overall it was a fun time with great friends!!

Fun in the Sun!

Over the summer Dave's parents planned a family trip to Bethany Beach in Delaware for their 5 kids and spouses and 15 grandchildren. They rented two houses that were a few blocks from the beach and we all met there from various parts of the country for week long family reunion. Since I have been part of their family this was the first time that we were ALL together. There have been a few other times that we have attempted it, but each time one or more family members were not able to make it. All the kids had so much fun together. Before the trip we talked to the kids about the cousins they would be meeting. Ady had not been with most of them since she was a baby so she really had not memory of that side of the family. There is a cousin just a few months older that her and the two of them really hit it off! She has asked me several times when we will be able to see her again! Hopefully we can make this an every other summer event!

The beach was so beautiful and the weather was great. Dave and I had a great time out in the waves with the other adults and oldest of the grandkids. Kyler and Tayden stayed close to the beach but were willing to play in the waves too. Ady wanted no part of the water so she mostly stayed in the sand and looked for shells. The waves were so high that Dave and I both had some crazy wipe outs. I actually felt safer with Ady safely on the sand. The waves claimed 2 pairs of sunglasses from me and almost stole Dave's shirt (not to mention disrobing me!) But it was so fun to play out in the ocean.

After we exhausted ourselves at the beach we all gathered at the larger of the two houses and had a great time relaxing together. The kids had a fun time coloring and playing games together and someone brought their wii, so the boys enjoyed playing that together. The adults all seemed to have some nice relaxing time to just read which was nice. Each night we took turns making dinner for everyone. On our night we made Hawaiian Haystacks.



During the week the kids decided to put on a play for the adults. They all worked together and came up the idea to reenact The Wizard of Oz. They did a great job! Tayden was the tin man and Ady was a munchkin and a flying monkey. Kyler was supposed to have a part but on the day of the performance decided it wasnt for him, so he was the official photographer of the play.



We tried to get a good family shot of all of us while we were there, but that turned out to be very challenging!




We happened to be there over the 4th of July and that turned out to be really fun. There was a really nice parade that went right in front of the house we were at, so we were able to just pull up some chairs right in the driveway. That night fireworks were set off right on the beach and we could see them from the various balconies of the house we were staying at.



Overall it was a wonderful trip and we are very thankful that we were able to go and enjoy our extended family. We have many fun memories!