Squeezing Lots of Fun into the Last Bit of Summer

Hold your hats, because I have a bunch of pictures to help remind me of a few things we've done these last couple weeks this summer, and I decided to just throw them all in one post.  School has started this week and soon I'll be doing our "Back to School" post:)

But I had to remind myself that despite the days where kids were fighting and I was fighting pure exhaustion from trying to keep these 3 happy and entertained, we did manage to have fun and keep ourselves quite busy this summer with a whole variety of mini-adventures.

We finally managed to get a trip in to Bookworm Gardens last week.  Here is Emmeline at her favorite spot, brushing Harry the Dirty Dog:)

 New bench that I wish I could have for the girls' room:)

 Checking out the huge goldfish in the pond

 Looking at books

 Attempt at picture of all of us

Enjoying custard with Uncle Doug and Aunt Denise who were able to squeeze in a quick visit due to Denise's work travels.

 Emmeline swinging with A. Denise

 Family photo!

 Morning walk in town

Swimming at my friend Shellie's house.  This is the thing ALL of the kids wanted to do this summer and we just made it the night before school started!  They were elated!

 Mollie jumping in

 Emmeline relaxing:)

Day trip to North Beach in Racine.  The kids loved the hammocks they had and could have laid in them for hours and hours.  Emmeline almost fell asleep in one! 

The beach itself was really nice and the sand was amazing.  Water from Lake Michigan is always cold, but at least the kids could do some wading and splashing.

 My mom was along for the day and helped with getting these 3 buried in the sand.

 Sam truly enjoyed the hammock and kept saying how relaxing it was:)

Back at home, the girls still enjoy frogs and toads.  They played quite nicely with these 2 little toads for quite some time in the driveway. 

A trip to check out the dinosaurs at the Milwaukee Domes.  This was a totally unplanned visit, but turned out to be quite fun.  Always nice to have a new adventure to check out!

 There was a scavenger hut for the kids, which they all enjoyed.

Another unplanned trip to Whole Foods for lunch.  The kids LOVE watching the grocery cart come down on it's own little escalator.

 We ate our lunch at a park overlooking the lake.  It was a beautiful day!

 The kids played for a long time on this wall.  Climbing, sliding and jumping.

My dad has been bringing more fill for our "operation pond fill" project that was started last summer.  Winter and a very wet spring revealed that we needed more dirt to avoid standing water, so the kids have been entertained by watching the dump truck and backhoe at work.  The dirt piles have been quite fun for them to explore too:)

Sam enjoyed many rides in the dump truck, loading and unloading more dirt.  He would run out the door every time he heard the dump truck.  He was so happy to be a part of the whole process.

And last but not least, lunch at the beach during practice for an air show in Milwaukee a few weekends ago.  Something I definitely want to do again next year.  We avoided the crowds of the actual show, but were able to see all of the stunt planes practice their routines.  Ed and I love watching air shows, and it was so fun watching the kids experience one for the first time too.

And that's all she wrote!  Hard to believe summer is coming to a close.  It has been a nice one, full of lots of simple day trips and activities close to home.  With memories in hand, we are ready for school and the routine that it brings to fall/winter/spring.