Summer Vacation

We spent 11 days with Nick's family this summer-the longest we've ever been able to visit at one time. It allowed us lots of time for visiting friends and family. His parents went way out of their way for our visit-even buying the kids color coordinating towels and wash clothes (each child is assigned a color cup/towel/toothbrush holder...to help keep things organized at home). The kids had all kinds of fun experiences including three days of visiting the lake and boating, tubing, jet ski riding. We also did lots of swimming and the kids enjoyed playing on swings and fort that grandad built them. We played baseball, visited the downtown children's garden, rode tractors and horses and ate lots and lots of yummy treats. We had so much fun that I had to institute a week long boot camp (no playroom, tv, toys, sweets, or outside fun) to bring the kids back to reality. They had maxed out on fun and as a result we ended up with five little ones that thought the world revolved around them (no idea where they may have gotten that idea). It was great to get away and spend so much time with each other.










The girls' first 4th of July (and fireworks)






Boating with friends.











Tractor Riding










Horse Riding ADVENTURE: One of Nick's childhood friends now has horses (in addition to the tractors above). We were all have a great time taking turns riding the horse. I got on at the end and rode with a few of the kids. On the infamous "last time" with Meron, the horse got spooked and bucked us right off after what seemed like forever (Nick said we didn't even make to 8 seconds-ha ha). Luckily, we only had minor bumps and bruises, although I was super sore for several days after the fall. I figured that would be the end of horses for Meron. Ironically, she was the one who liked riding the most. However, she didn't rule out horses altogether. She said, "Me no big horse, just little horse." So I guess she'll try it again someday. I'm not really seeing any horse riding in the near future though.

























The aftermath of our rodeo ride.