Summer Fun 2015

 In years past, I would share a Summer Fun Challenge with lots of things we wanted to do during the summer.  This summer has been different than any other we have ever had.  We have some major changes that we have been taking care of, which took up the entire first part of the summer. I realized today that we are at just past the halfway point of our time off from school.  While some people in other areas of the country are busy preparing to go back in the next few weeks, we still have 5-6 weeks to go. (we go back Sept 8 this year)   I hope to still make memories this summer, as my kids are almost all grown up now. My youngest is starting high school in just a few weeks, so I know time is precious. 

Some of our high points so far this summer. 

On June 6, my oldest graduated from high school.  It was a surreal moment for me. Her four years of high school had a lot of ups and downs, and until I actually saw her walking out with her classmates, I did not feel like it was actually happening.  She is still adjusting to her time as an adult, and currently looking for a job. 

Kara celebrated her 12th year of dance, and her 11th recital. This was big feat for her.  As many of you know, she started having severe migraines about six months ago,and has not been 100% healthy for pretty much this entire year.  

This past weekend, I got a much needed break. I had the chance to spend four hours at a friends house, enjoying this beautiful view. 

Some other highlights that  I do not have pictures of..  my mom came to visit for two weeks. (she was helping me pack pretty much every day which is why no pictures)  We have made some new friends that we have been spending time a lot of time with the last several weeks. We had the chance to see Inside Out a few weeks ago, and thought it was an excellent movie. 

Some of the lower points this summer 

Between graduation, the recital, a garage sale, packing up the house, and the endless move we have not had any down time so far.  

Kara's special mouse Lucky unexpectedly died a week ago. She was doing great one day, and was gone the next. While she was getting up there in age, we were hopeful to have at least 3-4 months with her. She was the one we had fed as a teeny, tiny baby.  

Because the movers were coming right after the 4th of July, and we were very behind in packing, we did not get to celebrate the 4th or see any fireworks this summer. 

This was the first year that Kara did not have a birthday party.  With everything going on, she was just not into it this year. We still might do something small even though her birthday was almost a month ago.  My oldest has yet to have her graduation party. We were going to have it at a friends house, but my friend had some unexpected house repairs to take care of, and can no longer have it at her house. 

The free Saturday night movies at our area outlet mall are not being held this summer.  We were really looking forward to going again his year. 

So today is a new day, and from this point on, I am declaring we will be enjoying our summer!

Here are some of the things we hope to do between now and the start of school 

Go to Cedar Point 

Go to Lake Michigan 

Visit the beach 

Go to the zoo 

Pick some blueberries 

Go to the farmers market 

Go to the Art and Music Festival 

Do an Ikea run 

Go swimming 

Go for a boat ride 

See a concert 

Go to the Metropark 

See some movies (Minions, Pixels etc..) 

Have you been able to do everything you wanted to do this summer, or have you been too busy like us?   What do you still hope to do before your kids go back to school?  

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Our Summer Fun Update

Nothing like the calendar saying that it is August 1st, to bring you down to reality that school will be starting again soon.  Luckily we live in a state that does not go back until after Labor Day, but this last month will go fast.  It is already filling with up with appointments, registration days and other important days.   I have even started buying school supplies and clothes when I find them on sale.  

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Summer Fun Challenge 2014

For the last couple of summers, we have consciously tried to get the most out of our summer. My kids are getting older, and they do not have many more summers of  their "childhood" left. This year is the last one for my oldest.  In exactly one year she will be graduating from high school, and will start preparing for the real world.  I want to make sure we make happy memories for her, instead of allowing time to just slip away.  

School is ending for us in just a couple of days, so we are putting together this year's list. It also helps to look at pictures from past challenges to remind us of the fun things we did.   

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Summer Fun Challenge Check In

Today is August 1st.  Where did the summer go?   While some areas  of the country will be going back to school in the next few weeks, we are lucky enough to have one more month before we go back .  We do registration and other important school days in late August though, so it is beginning to feel close to back to school time

Now that the summer is 2/3 of  the way over, did you cross off everything on your summer bucket list?   We have crossed off quite a bit, but still have a few more things we hope to do in the next few weeks.    Here are some of the fun things we were able to do so far .  

June flew by. As soon as school was out, it was recital week. Kara got her 9 yr recital award (she has been dancing 10), and   danced in the recital and ballet production.  A few days after that she got to see one of her best friends for the first time since C. moved away two  years ago.  They got to go together to  Sleeping Bears Dunes with  their Girl Scout Troop. 

The week of the 4th  it was someone's actual birthday. We took her out to dinner at her favorite restaurant.  We  also went to see an outdoor movie at the mall.  It was kind of  funny when the screen collapsed. It was set back up quickly, and we got right back to the movie. (but not before I took a few pics)  We spent the 4th at a friend's house who lives  on a lake. We enjoyed a great meal, and watched fireworks over the water.  The day after that we took friends to our local Metropark to see the baby animals on the park's farm. 

A few days after the 4th it was time for grandma to arrive for a visit. On the way to the train station we stopped at a Cabelas to see all the fun animals on display While not fans of hunting, how the store is set up is impressive.   We then had to stay all night in a train station with no sleep when grandma's train was 7 hours late. After a day to recover, we made an Ikea run to get supplies. A few days after grandma arrived,  Kara  had an art themed birthday to celebrate with her good friends. 

The kids had a lot of fun taking grandma to Frankenmuth, which is a Baravian tourist town in Michigan.  It has several specialty shops and lots of great food. In the last picture, the kids are posing with Kara in front of the taffy store. In just a few weeks, she wont be able to have it anymore, so we had one last taffy hurrah.

Frankenmuth is also home to Bronners, the world's largest Christmas store.  This store is huge, and has every kind of Christmas item you can think of.  Where else can you find a life size Detroit Tiger, and  be able to pose with a 5 and 6 foot polar bear.  

We enjoyed a little bit of outlet mall shopping, and bought a few things for school. Kara almost got stuck in Scoop from Bob the Builder when she decided to  climb inside. (yes, I had to look that up on Wikipedia)  We had another road trip to take grandma back to the train station, and  then spent the day at the Toledo Zoo. 

This last week things calmed down a bit. We spent a few more days just hanging around the house.  I took Kara to the county fair twice. Once with one of her bfs, and once with our church youth group. (the other two did not want to go)  Kara also become one step closer to becoming a hamster hoarder. (just kidding/sort of)  She brought home her 3rd and last hamster Cocoa, who is another sweetheart. She is not allowed to add anymore pets to the zoo until we have a few less animals.   

In the month of Aug there are a few more things that we hope to get crossed off our Summer Fun Challenge list. 

Go to Six Flags (its happening soon!) 

Go to the beach

Go berry picking 

Attend the Art Fair 

Go to a local festival 

Go to the farmers market 

Go on a boat ride

Kara who seems to have the busiest summer will be 

attending dance camp

going camping with girl scouts 

and 

getting braces! 

(though I am sure she would not consider that fun) 

That is our summer to date.  What fun things have you done this summer? 

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Our Summer Fun Challenge Trip to Cabelas

Last week we decided to make a stop at a Cabelas store on the way to the train station to pick up grandma.  We had passed this store many times, but had never stopped and gone in.  We decided to make our visit part of our Summer Fun Challenge.  Right away you can tell this store is going to be BIG.  In front of the store they have this massive sculpture of two bears fighting over food.  I am not sure if they are in front of all of their stores (there are many around the country) or if it is just at this one. 

We do not come from a family of hunters.  In fact, we are not really fans of hunting at all, but the animals displayed around the store were quite beautiful to look at.   When you first walk in, one of the very first things you see is the mountain in the middle of the store.  

The size of this display is also amazing.  On one side of the mountain there is an actual waterfall and pond filled with live fish.  Kara loves raccoon, so she really enjoyed seeing this one up close. 

In the middle of the pond stands a massive moose.  Even though he is quite big, he is not the biggest animal in the store.  

That honor would go to this elephant from Africa.  It is so crazy to  be standing next to an elephant in the middle of a store. 

At one point the kids wanted to sit down for a minute, and did so on a camo color couch and sofa with hunting scenes all over it.  It was quite an interesting look.  

Kyle's favorite display with the giant standing brown bear.  You might have see this picture on Instagram a few days ago.  I shared that I hope this is the closest he ever comes to a bear. 

We considered eating in the cafeteria.  Kyle really wanted to try the buffalo burger.  The girls would have no part of it.  I can't say that I blame them, there wasn't too many things that I was willing to try other than the fries or salad.  Instead of trying the game, we settled on a stick of beef jerky, and dinner at Arby's down the street. 

We also walked through the store Aquarium that is going to be remodeled soon.   This is where we were when we got the call that mom's train had left the station on time.  We stopped in the kids section, and Kara found a stuffed fox that she wanted bad enough to use her own birthday money to buy it.  We spent over an hour exploring the store, and will probably even go back again. This week we will be going on another Summer Fun Challenge day trip, this time with grandma.  Stay tuned to see where we went! 

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The Water Blob Experiment

Kara had a friend over today, and we wanted to do something fun.   A couple of weeks ago, I read about making a water blob on Ginger Snap Crafts.   The kids in her post looked so happy, that I knew it was something I wanted to try and make one  too.

I found a plastic paint cloth and some duct tape at the dollar store.  I knew it was not going to be as sturdy as Ginger's blob made from  higher quality plastic sheeting, but we thought we would give it a try.  We called it our water blob experiment.

The girls helped me unroll the plastic cloth and then we doubled it, and doubled it again, so there were 2 layers on both sides of the water.    Also since this was just an experiment, we didn't make the blob really big.

I taped around the edges, leaving a small hole for the hose.  I was glad I had a 2nd role of duct tape on hand, because the first one rolled off the deck into the rose bushes.  Ooops!

The girls helped me move the blob to the yard, and then we began to fill it with water.

 

We were careful not to overfill it, because we were not sure how much water it would hold.  Kara tentatively was the first one on the blob. 

Once we saw that it was not going to pop right away, both started to dance on the blob.  Because of its size and the  thickness of the plastic, it didn't really stay in place. 

Kara's friend then  had to go home, but Kara still wanted to play on the blob some more.  

After a little while, it finally happened.... 

It sprung a leak! 

How long does a $1 tarp from the dollar store last.. about 30 minutes.  Was 30 minutes of fun for only $2 worth it.  A REALLY BIG YES!    

Does Kara want to make another water blob using a higher quality tarp..  OH YEAH!!  

The girls had a blast,  and we will definitely be making another water blob soon! 

I will be linking up to these wonderful linky parties HERE!

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