In The Hartland: Summer Wrap Up

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Summer Wrap Up

When we began the summer, I made the goal to get outside as much as possible with my children on sunny days--even with a little baby in my arms. And wouldn't you know, we had one of the sunniest summers on record. So, needless to say, we were out a LOT. If I wasn't packing for a trip or unpacking from a trip, we headed out most mornings for some sort of adventure or outing before returning home for Logan's afternoon nap. We went to parks, the river, water parks, splash pads, wading pools, bike rides, and Lake Samm usually all with a picnic lunch packed. Some outings were with Ron and some were with friends, but a bunch of times it was just the four of us. I am proud of the fun we had because it was a lot of work with a baby, especially when we were alone with no other adult to help. But we did it and it was a great summer. Logan, Lia, and I had a TON of fun and I know that next year will be much easier with a weaned, walking one year old! Until then, we have the memories to keep us going through the long, wet winter months! Here is a recap of some of the outings we went on during the final, two weeks of summer...

On August 19th, we took Lia's good friend, Alyssa, down to the Carbon River in Orting to play. Since we have never gone this late in the summer, we were surprised at how low and murky the water was, but we still had some fun in some very hot temperatures.

Logan playing in the sand with the rocks.

Logan and Alyssa stop for a quick pic from their imaginative play.

Baby Ella hanging out in her car seat at the river's edge.

On August 20th, we went to Lake Samm with Kresta and her family. Although the weather dipped into the 70s that day, we still went swimming and had a good time. Logan discovered the art of floating solo in a tube and enjoyed floating along with Lia.

Logan taking a snack break.

Lia splashing around with Gavin and Parker.

On August 25th, I braved it and went to Kandle water park ALONE with all three kids for the first time! Luckily, Lia and Logan were happy playing in the awesome toddler pool for most of the afternoon which made it much easier to watch them and hold Ella at the same time.

Logan playing with one of the many cool water features in this pool.

Lia shooting her water gun.

And Logan shooting his!

The kids running through the water "tunnel."

Lia holding baby Ella in her adorable swimsuit at the end of our stay.

On August 26th, we tried out a new splash pad park on Titlow Beach in Tacoma right on the Puget Sound and LOVED it! Needless to say, we will never be going back to the splash pad park in Auburn. We went with Lia's friend, Sienna, and her family and had a great time playing in all of the unusual water features and just enjoying this beautiful park.

Logan running like a maniac through the water.

Lia and Sienna posing from atop a boulder.

Logan found another water gun to shoot.

On August 27th, we spent a glorious, hot day back up at Lake Samm with Grandma, Aunt Natalee, Aunt Rebecca, and all the cousins. It was was such a fun day and the kids loved playing with each other! Logan has gotten really brave this summer and will now float out into the deep end with me.

Logan, mama, Brynn, and Trenton hanging out on the floatie and paddle board.

Lia jumped into the deep end many times with Brynn looking for the golf ball that they kept on throwing down to the bottom of the lake.

Logan back in his tube with Bryce at his side.

Vivi, Brynn, and Lia hanging out on the paddle board.

Riley was a great, older cousin and played a lot with Logan that day.

We wrapped up summer on Labor Day by going on a family bike ride on the Orting trail. Since Lia has just learned how to ride a bike without training wheels last week, we were really impressed that she rode for over two miles. Look at our girl go!