August 8-11, 2008
River Farm Campground

We thought it would be fun to camp near Pentwater. We could visit Uncle Bruce and Aunt Judy, take a day trip down to Silver Lake and another possible day trip up to Ludington. Because these were both locations we wanted to spend time at and camping sites are either hard to find or expensive in the actual areas themselves- we found this nice little campground just outside Pentwater.

What we didn't anticipate happening was the breakdown of our vehicle in route. Thankfully, mom and dad had arrived earlier in the afternoon and were completely set up. I was able to call them to come retrieve myself, the kids and the trailer from the side of the freeway. Paul stayed with the vehicle. Graciously, Aunt Judy (and a visiting Aunt Nancy) rode over the Hart to pick him up at the garage and bring him back to the campground.

The loss of our vehicle - also meant the loss of our ability to do the day trips we had planned. Our suburban was an 8 passenger, where the Durango is only a 7 passenger. We did manage to squeeze an adult between two car seats a couple of times to drive as far as Pentwater for some shopping and some mini-golf at Hill and Hollow.

We were pleasantly surprised and how busy we were able to stay at the campground. It was very small and the main part of the playground was the swings. I don't think my kids have spent that much time on a swingset their entire life. (thankfully there were 4 swings). They had several games available for campers to use free of charge so we played the washer game, etc. We hiked. Paul and Nicholas did some mountain biking at a nearby trail, and the catch and release fishing pond was a great opportunity for the kids to catch their first fish EVER.

We will most likely make a return visit to River Farm next year - and hopefully get our day trips in as well.

August 3, 2008
A Day At the Beach

We decided that with all of the camping we had been doing, we hadn't had the opportunity to do very many "day" trips during the summer. We were home for this particular weekend and the weather was supposed to be gorgeous. We decided to head to the beach after church. Given the fact, that the kids would be all dressed up I thought it would be fun to get some pictures of the kids on the beach.

Unfortunately, the sun was bright and hot. The kids were doing a lot of squinting in the sun, and they were unhappy with how hot the sand was, so the photo session didn't last long. I did manage to get some good, some interesting, and some crazy shots.

After changing our clothes, we had a picnic lunch and headed back to the beach for some swimming fun.

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July 25 - 27, 2008
Cran Hill Ranch Park II

Well, after much searching for our next family/extended family adventure we decided that CranHill was the place to be. Lots to do, and a great cottage for Aunt Barb's crew to be able to join the festivities. As usual, we had a great time together.

This time, we purchased an Buckaroo Package (at least that is what my memory recalls it being called). The package included a pony ride, 2 ice cream cones, free water activity rentals, and a tie-dyed t-shirt. The kids loved the experience and it was great to have the additional activites to make things different than when we were here over the 4th of July.

Gabrielle and Allison really enjoyed having "the girls": Tori and Lexi there to play with. (the twins are only 2 days older than Gabrielle).

We went on a hike with all the kids, rented row boats and kayaks (which I didn't get any pictures of) and all of the kids rode a pony. Nicholas wasn't all that interested in the pony ride, so he did the first lap and generously let Sam take the other, as Sam LOVED THE HORSES.

It was also Christmas in July - so the Grandma's all got together and spoiled the kids with little presents each day.

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