As the cold wind whips around, blowing leaves into our uncovered pool, which we haven't had time to winterize and close yet, I reflect on the AWESOME summer we had. It was so fun- I didn't have time to blog!! Truly it was only four or five weeks ago that we had 100 degree weather- the cold weather he have had in September was a bit of a shock to the system. I am in the mood to remember the fun filled summer of beach going and our awesome pool and absolutely gorgeous weather. Michigan's winters are way too gloomy, barren and long, but the summer was warm and sunny and green! I titled this post "Sandcastles" because it became a tradition- every time we went to a beach, Jon built a sandcastle! The miriad of sandcastles shows how many times we did have beach fun! I will so miss the awesome Michigan beaches. We did so much this summer! I will do a separate post about our Chigago/ Lake Michigan trip, our Family Reunion in Ohio, our Harry Potter party, and Cynthia's birthday.
In June, right before our family reunion, the Mosbackers visited along with Brian- my newly returned from his mission brother! We had a fun filled week of going to the beach- Stoney Creek Metro Park, Metro beach (on lake St. Clair), parks and more.
Truly the kids spent most of the summer in our pool. Marcus' friend Zach, and the neighbor boy Christian pretty much lived in our pool all summer too! I am realizing how much I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE having our own swimming pool. For sure we plan on having one again in the future!
Several more different days throughout the summer of beach fun at Stoney Creek:
Marcus' cub scout rain gutter regatta! He and Cynthia both got to race his Zelda themed boat. Fun stuff on a hot day in July.
One of my favorite Saturday trips of the summer was with several ward member friends. We drove up to Port Huron and crossed over into Canada into Ontario for an awesome day seeing Canatara Park and Lake Huron. The water was so blue and beautiful, and just the right temperature (a little cooler than the smaller local lakes which by this time in the summer were too warm for my taste).
The petting farm at Canatara Park: Tyler and Lillian ESPECIALLY liked this part- Tyler kept yelling "duck"- which was his word for every type of bird, and Lillian loved the really cute and fluffy guinea pigs- especially the babies.
Under the bridge (that comes from the USA), eating the amazing salt and vinegar fries. Apparently this is the way they are eaten in Canada- and I have to agree- the vinegar and salt adds so much yumminess the the fries! This is now how I will always eat my fries if I can.
And of course the amazing but a bit pebbly beach on lake Huron. Isn't is beautiful! Jon even built a sandcastle with an underground entrance that a small child could fit through. The kids all had fun taking turns sliding through it until the tunnel collapsed.
We took the ferry at Marine City across the St. Clair river back into the US instead of the bridge, and topped off our fun day with treats from Dairy Queen.
My very first major league baseball game ever!! Along with the residency program- Jon and I got to see a Detroit Tigers game!
Another first in our family was Marcus catching a fish at Cub Scout Day camp!
We had many outings during the summer of riding bikes on the many nice bike trails in the area or just walking around Metro Beach Metro Park, most ending with some kind of treat at home or out. . .
And of course the summer isn't complete without some kind of smore's fun using Jon's fire-pit. Too bad it was left out in the rain one too many times and is terrible rusty now- I don't think it will make the move. We will just have to build a nicer one in our new house next summer . . . .
Ahhh- I love to remember all of the summer fun we had. It looks like we did nothing but play all summer, right? Well, Jon DID go to work and study for his upcoming boards exams, the kids went to day camp and did summer homework packets and the house still had to be cleaned, the shopping done, and the laundry folded . . . but overall those things faded in the background of all the wonderful fun times we had. Those wonderful summer days are already missed!
