Memorial Day

Last weekend was Memorial Day, and with it came the warm weather we have been waiting so impatiently for.  Summer is finally here!  We spent the first part of the weekend at my parents' lake where we braved our first night of camping as a family.  We traded in the sounds of sirens and honking for the (surprisingly equally-loud) sounds of crickets, bullfrogs, and birds chirping.  There are lots of fun things to do out at the lake and the kids made sure to do them all.

They made themselves dizzy on Oma and Opa's swing:

They interacted with (and probably terrorized) the local wildlife:

They went fishing:

They relaxed in the hammock:

Doesn't he look relaxed?

They took a dip in the lake:

D was not a fan of the cold water

Much happier on Mama's lap in the boat

They ate picnic lunches and grilled hot dogs and s'mores over an open fire:

They went for hikes through the woods:

Touching the wood gnome for good luck

They peed in interesting places (believe it or not, this was one of the highlights for them):

They soaked up special family time:

They watched Opa's special fireworks show:

And they experienced the joys of sleeping in a tent (well, except for Danny who stayed warm and cozy in his pack-n-play in the cabin):

Haha, you guys slept in a tent?!  Suckers!

After our camping adventure was over, we came back to the city and met up some friends at North Avenue beach.  The kids tired themselves out digging in the sand and dipping their toes in the freezing cold waters of Lake Michigan.

When we got home from the beach, the kids still hadn't had enough outdoors time, so they played a bit more in a blow-up pool in the backyard where the water was just a tad warmer than the lake.

Safe to say we took maximum advantage of the good weather and family time.  It was a fun weekend!