Council Grounds Family Camping

Council Grounds State Park...watch out the families of womens weekend took over. This year week reserved the Group Campsite and we all agreed it was a good idea. I think we would be considered a group. With 17 kids and 6 families...we could probably populate our own small town. The older girls brought a friend otherwise the boys would beat out the girls. The Campsite had the largest grill I have ever seen at a campground. The men gathered and prepared the feast for dinner. The girls chatted and enjoyed the peace and quiet.

The children.....made the Indy 500 look like a drive in the park with scooters and bikes making laps around the campsite and played hours of many variations of 500 pickup.

Corey was enjoying some "boy" time. He doesn't get much of that at home as he has 4 girls.

Kids were really tired saturday night(as well as adults) so we told them they could have "breakfast smores." Jamison did not believe us at first...but enjoyed his morning sugar rush.

Eva skipped the chocolate and graham crackers and went right to the marshmallows.

The little girls really took a liking to Wini, and in her old age she surprisingly let them give her all the love. Thanks everyone for a great weekend!!

Dog Days of Summer.....

Summer is coming to an end and so are the activities.

The last swim lesson....Peter went off the diving board with minimal assistance. So did Jamison....and then he added "flare" in the form of a belly flop.

There still seems like there is a lot of time before school starts and we have done a lot of fun things around here. It is time to take it on the road for some distraction. So off to RiverFalls! and on our way we stopped at Big Falls County Park. There were some crazy parties here while I was in college but I figured school is not in session so it should be families...and it was. The boys enjoyed the rock climbing!

We also found this redbelly snake....he was cute.

Then off to Beaver Creek Nature Center (no pictures) and then to EauClaire. The Chippewa River is beautiful yet dangerous. No swimming but we can throw as many rocks as you want and collect mussel shells.

It is hard to see them on the rocks but they found loads!

Since we were by the campus I had to show the boys the building where I spent many long hours and we checked out the bird museum that was also there!

Then off to River Falls for a visit with Lily and Lucy. We headed to The MN Zoo, they have added many more critters including the penguins. Boy are they cute.

The boys were getting tired but a couple more pictures were needed.

I thought this was funny...all the camels hanging out in the pond but the pond was covered in duck weed. They are going to be covered in that stuff until winter! Thanks Lily Lucy Stacey and Shelby for a fun relaxing weekend!.

Then over to Green Bay for some fun!. Gpa Van pulled out the croquet game and the boys loved it.

We hopped a plane and flew to the coast of Mexico to play in the beautiful sand and surf.

Ok....it wasnt an ocean or Mexico but Manitowoc along Lake Michigan but just as fun playing in the sand and water.

The boys were getting good at the Frisbee, we had to keep it on the beach. There was one time where Peter had to go out pretty far to get it...he was proud of himself for going out as deep as he did....i was plain nervous and ready to run in after him.

The next day (and after about 30 games of croquet) we took to the courses...mini golf. Jamison took a class over the summer and did really well...or at least took the time to set his feet and line up the shot.

Peter took more of the "hit is as hard as you can" approach and was entertained when the ball bounced off the rocks and water features.

And when he was told he has had enough mulligans he was not happy.

In the afternoon Gpa planned a project in the shop for the boys. I have a feeling that Gpa did most of the work but they were quiet, excited about the end result and came out with all of their fingers. Gpa also came out with all of his hair...so it was a success.

We know the perfect spot for them at home!

Come on over little birdies! Thanks Gma and Gpa for a nice mini vacation! 7 more days still school starts.

Mexico vs England

Mexico vs England, the game where the Cullen Brothers face off. Coming from the mixed family Pat and I needed to sit right in the middle and cheer for both teams!.Jamison played forward for most of the game but needs to be a little more aggressive and take the ball all the way to the goal. Peter on the other had plays a fantastic defensive game...that kid has no problem getting in the middle and giving the ball a nice hard long kick!...except for this picture where he felt a need to rest. The score was 3-1, with Peter making two of the goals. Jamison's team was super excited because that was the first goal they made so far!. Way to go teams! After seeing Peter play and being told my a number of parents that Peter has a fantastic kick, we may have to look at the local soccer club. The boys are getting a little squirrelly as the summer winds down so we need to keep things active through the day. So off to Gov Dodge State Park for a dip in the lake! Every year I forget about this nice resource and then when I remember I wish that I remembered earlier in the year!. Engineers hard at work!A good roll in sand is a great activity! But when the boys get cold the party is over!

more summer fun

Thanks Heike for the birthday package! The boys started right away digging their gems out of the rock. And I am really glad we did it outside....boy was that messy! But each guy has 5 new gems for their collection!

More Summer fun! Swim lessonsThis year they successfully passed level 2! and had celebratory fun off the diving board. But I guess Jamison did not pay attention when the teacher said " dont jump on top of me"Peter did a little better about not jumping on the teacher but ended up kicking the poor guy in the face. Oh the troubles of a swim teacher. Next week we are onto Level 3!

Jamison took a week of golf, now he wants clubs, and fancy shorts.

We also tested some parachutes! They work! and Chippy and Dolphin (which is really an orca) survived the fall! Thanks Heike!

Only 26 more days til school starts! Not that I am counting. Dont get me wrong, we are having lots of fun but I think over the course of the summer the boys ears have stopped working and they seem to have fun bugging their brother....which in turns drives me a little bonkers!