Summer Rewind

Frogs, water, studying, road trips, friends and family - yup, that pretty much sums up our summer.

Isn't it crazy sometimes when you look back and realize time has just. flown. by.  My last post was at the end of June.  CRAZY!

Here is my version of a summer rewind to get caught up.  There were of course a lot of other things that didn't make it into the photos, such as Hudson turning 5 and Vivi turning 2.  We also took a weekend trip to Georgetown Lake with my co-workers where everyone kayaked and tubed, but somehow I didn't end up with any of those pictures on my computer. 

Regardless of what we captured and what we didn't, the summer was hot, busy and wonderful.  I'm ready for the change of seasons though.  I know Stella loves running around without shoes, but we really are a winter family.  Bring on the snow and skiing!

*The pictures didn't quite load in order and I have decided not to waste time getting them into chronological order.  Think of this as hitting the "random" button on our summer pics.

Mr.'s happy place - on the Lochsa River during the return trip from McCall, Idaho.

This picture encapsulates what Stella and Hudson are always doing.  That is, looking down into the water for minnows or looking in the grass for some kind of creature.  They'd just finished their first "river snorkeling" lesson.

Somehow I thought it was a good idea to drive all the way to Iowa two weeks before my exam.  Luckily, Pouli and YaYa took the wild ones in their car most of the trip.  This is what I did most of the trip - study, study, study!

We stayed at a nice KOA on the way to and from Iowa.  It had a cute little playground which the kids loved.  Here is our just-turned-two-year-old climbing around on the monkey bars like, well, like a monkey!  That girl...I'm pretty sure I have a few new gray hairs from that.

I will never forget the kids running around in the evening at the reunion on Lake Okoboji, catching fireflies.  Hudson has one in his hand here, but my mediocre phone camera skills didn't quite capture the glow. 

Looking a little dorky for our pontoon boat ride around Lake Okoboji. 

The KOA we stayed at was right at 1880's Town in the middle of South Dakota.  The kids LOVED it.  I was skeptical at first, but loved watching the kids run around and discover.  Hudson particularly liked the bottles of ginger beer we bought in the saloon.  Here he is bellied up to the bar.  I seriously crack up every time I look at this picture of him with his little arm reaching way up there.

After he'd finished his "beer" he insisted on carrying the empty bottle around and posing with it.  Here is in in "jail" with his "beer." 

Skip ahead to our wonderful week-long vacation to McCall, Idaho.  I knew we would all need a break after I took my test in Phoenix, so we planned a trip to meet Zach and Lori at Lori's cabin.  It really could not have been better.  It was a true vacation for us.  I was done with my test and we just HUNG OUT.  So nice.  Vivi is showing her little cousin Gracelyn the finer points of the iPad.

 

All the Klotovich-side cousins!  They LOVED little Gracie and I can't wait to get the kids together more so they can know their cousins as well as Mr. and I both got to when we were kids.

There was a pond behind the cabin we stayed in, and Mr. took the olders out fishing in the canoe every evening.  Heaven. 

The second half of the week we got to hang out with Mr.'s brother's family.  I snapped this pic because the kids happened to notice that they were wearing almost the exact same outfit and thought they should probably stand back-to-back to see who was taller...notice any cheating going on???

We spent an idyllic afternoon on the North Beach of Payette Lake.  There was a brackish backwater area near the beach where the kids spent hours trying to catch minnows.  Here is the minnow catcher that Mr. fashioned out of a ziploc bag, twigs and rope.  Mike was nice enough to be the minnow facilitator most of the afternoon.

One of the rare family pics.  An evening in McCall after dinner at the brewery and then ice cream by the lake shore.  Seriously, it was a wonderful vacation.  One week was definitely not long enough. 

I know this doesn't look too interesting or exciting, but it is to me...it is my test results...I passed!!!  Woohoo!  Yippee! 

Mr.'s wonderful cousin Maria from Minnesota and her beautiful family visited us in late August.  The kids became fast friends and we spent a fun day up in Big Sky hiking and hanging out.

Here is one of the frog's of the summer.  These kids were FROG CRAZY!  Everywhere we went, they were catching something. 

Random picture from earlier in the summer...a day in Yellowstone Park turns interesting when Vivi slips and falls into a pile of fresh bison poo.  It just isn't an adventure with us unless someone is falling into poo or almost losing her hearing aid over the hot springs board walk. 

Hiking up Spanish Creek when Grandma Candy and Grandpa Pete were visiting.  Our goal was to try to hike one day every weekend.  That quickly went by the wayside, but we did have some nice family hikes.

Everyone was at Spanish Creek that day, even Penny and Pouli and YaYa. *Note Stella with the butterfly net..."I MUST. CATCH. SOMETHING!"

Back to Iowa here - we stayed a Lutheran Bible camp that had the coolest tire swing EVER.  All the kids had so much fun in this thing. 

Hudson and his second cousin, Alaric, making their way down to the lake.  So sweet!

The lake had two awesome floating swimming docks including one with a slide.  Of course, Mr. couldn't be left out of the action. 

Stella got right into the action too. 

Even Hudson embraced his inner dare-devil and went hurtling down the slide. He only did it once.

Pouli and the kids enjoying everything a summer should be about.