The Joys of June

One of my favorite parts about being a mom is celebrating childhood and living joyously with my children.  June started out with a celebration as school concluded and summer break commenced.




This little one had it all planned out.  She set this up ahead of time by setting out her PJs, blankie, pillows and drink. She even asked me to cut some cucumbers while she was at her last day of school.  She was determined to start summer off right.


Morgan was so cute in her dance recital.  I marvel at her ability to bravely dance in front of hundreds of people without any hesitation.  I know I'm biased, but her dance was the most impressive.








I started summer off on the right foot as well!


We've started having weekly lunches with the Wells, Aunt Julie and Grandma.  Grandma brought a sundae bar for this one.


The boys had Laffalot Camp in the mornings for one week- charlie's favorite camp.  Then in the evening, the girls had Sunset Camp.  Jessica and I decided to take the boys out for a little mother-son bonding during one of the evenings.


(Sunset camp)




Charlie finally found a book he's connected with- a biography about Houdini.


Charlie went to Cub Scout camp for the first time this year.  Three days and two nights on his own.




He did great!


We joined him on the last day for a family dinner.


When we came to pick him up, the first thing Charlie told me was that he wanted to buy his sisters a slushie.  How sweet is that?!


After Cub Scout Camp, the boys joined the others for the rest of Vacation Bible School.




I really didn't take many photos this month until the last week.  We basically swam every day, and I hadn't unearthed my underwater camera housing yet.  I finally did for our 'all nighter'.

The kids got it in their collective head that we should have one night this summer where we stayed up all night.  We settled for just staying up really, really late.  We started with an evening swim around 8pm.










Then, after some quick showers, we played Apples to Apples.


After some quick research, I discovered that UDF is open 24 hours.  So I loaded the kids in their PJs and off we went for milkshakes at 10:45pm.


Finally, we watched a movie together.  By the time it was over it was 1am!  I'd call that a successful 'all nighter'.


The next day (after sleeping in, of course) we celebrated Aunt Julie's birthday with a luau.


Taylor and Grace helped with the decorations.




They also made a special herb garden as a gift for their aunt.






Finally, all the children performed a skit for the adults.


The day after the birthday celebration, we left for a road trip with Grandma.  On the first day, we drove to Salamonie Lake in Indiana.


The weather was unseasonably cold and it was almost dusk so we had the lake to ourselves!






Charlie had fun skipping rocks.




The next day we continued our road trip into Michigan.


By the afternoon, we were on the shores of Lake Michigan.




I couldn't believe how much it looked and felt like the ocean!


Just like I remembered from our trip to North Carolina, the kids were thrilled with the sand and water.










Our campsite was so nice and just across from the bath house and playground.








On the third day, Mark had scoped out a place to go cherry picking.  It was a first time experience for all of us and so fun!




We were encouraged to taste the cherries on each tree before filling our buckets since there were so many different varieties.










We also picked strawberries.






Then we headed to Silver Beach to a pizza joint Mark had read about.  We then tried to walk to a nearby lighthouse, but found ourselves separated from it by a river and very treacherous waters.




After driving back to our campsite, we headed out to the dunes.


This was another first for us.  The children haven't even really been sled riding in snow before.  Of course, Charlie loved the thrill!


The girls did too, although Morgan flew off the board her first time and injured herself on a log the next day.




We finally talked Grandma into climbing one of the dunes with us.  It started raining and we realized our board was out of wax, letting her off the hook from riding down.


We decided to check out the beach again instead.


Morgan loved showing us how she made her 'sand dough'.




Finally that night, after a delicious dinner, we headed to a nearby town for an ice cream treat.








The next day brought more sand dune sledding and beach playing.
















Then we unwound by the camper for the evening.








It was a wonderful trip.  One filled with memories we won't soon forget.  I feel so blessed that my mom was able to join in on the fun!  My heart is full as I continue to take my children's cue and live each day joyously.  May you have a joyful summer as well!