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.