June 17-20, 2010
River Farms Campground Pentwater, Michigan

The kids were very excited that they were finally camping with Grandma and Grandpa for the first time this year. They had been talking about it all week long.

It was Father's Day on Sunday, but the gift we had purchased for my dad was for use while camping so we decided to give him his gift: a digital clock with indoor and wireless outdoor thermometer on Friday night so that he could use it throughout the weekend.

On our way down to the boardwalk going down to the river,
the kids decided they wanted to take the high road.

Allison decided to play a little model by the baby trees
they recently planted along the river.

Last year, the kids walking sticks ended up in Grandpa's trailer.
They got them back from Grandpa this year - and found out that several of them were too small for some growing kids. We found this fallen branch that looked suitable for a couple of walking sticks. Sam thought he was pretty cool as he hauled/dragged it back to camp.

A friend of mine from high school, that I have connected with on facebook is always talking about their geocaching adventures. I, also, had someone at work mention that her daughter likes to participate in this hobby with her kids. So, after some research and questions to my high school classmate we thought it would be fun to do sometime in the future. The future came sooner than we anticipated because mom and dad got a GPS recently.

How does this work? You log on to the Global Geocache website and enter your zip code or address. It then brings up a list of caches that are hidden in that area. You use the coordinate given (and sometimes clues) and your GPS to locate a hidden treasure usually off in the woods somewhere. When you find the treasure you log that you were there, and you can trade items in the cache for items you leave. Treasures are small items like rubber frogs, pencils, necklaces, bells, etc. The kids thought this was great. We found 3 caches over the weekend and definately plan on doing it many more times in the future.

Sam leads the way up the hill for Grandma

Nicholas found this one hidden in an old log with another large stick/log over top of it.

For Nicholas, one of the most important things for us to do
while in Pentwater was make a trip to Cosmic Candy in town.

3 kids under the couch. A little too cramped for my liking - but they were having a blast.
Then, Grandma snuck out around the back of the trailer and opened the outside access door and scared them by grabbing their legs. Love the sound of children giggling and laughing over something so simple.

One day we drove to the Hart Montague Trail. All of the kids wanted to ride their own bikes, so we knew we wouldn't make it very far - but it was an enjoyable afternoon anyway.
We also had the coordinates for a geocache located just off the trail @ we were actually able to bike that far and locate the cache.

The kids love the swings and Gabrielle was having a blast getting pretty wild on her swing because she was in the baby swing and felt pretty confident that she wasn't going to fall out.
She kept tipping herself forward and backward and laughing her little heart out.

This was the weekend of the Pentwater Arts and Crafts Show. Grandma's big purchase of the day was super squirters. There were several water fights that followed.

After taking off his wet clothes, Sam decided to put on his pajamas.
I caught him inside trying to put on his PJs with his shoes on. I thought that was quite comical.
(And for anyone who is looking closely at this picture - no, Sam did not go to bed with those filthy dirty legs. He was cleaned up and properly dressed in his PJs following this picture).

No trip to River Farms is complete
without some fishing in their Catch and Release Pond.

True to form, after we have been fishing for a while -
the turtles discover us and the fishing turns into using our fishing poles to lure the turles into our nets. I think the kids have just as much fun going after the turtles as they do fishing for fish.