What we did on Summer Break Part 2

As we were coming closer to August we were, very excitedly, anticipating the first of our 2 summer camping trips.  It was a little bit of an anxious time, also, because Mark was switching jobs.  Everything worked out just fine and we were off to Moonlake, UT.

Moonlake is located about 3 hours from Salt Lake City, Ut.  It is quite the drive through some very beautiful country.  Every little town we passed through was so sweet and I wanted to move to almost every one.  We stopped in Duchesne, Ut for a break and a snack.  The kids had fun at their little park.

 Moonlake is one of the most beautiful places to camp.  We have been Tent camping twice and had the most enjoyable time both times.  This time around we decided that we wanted to stay in one of the cabins at the Moonlake Resort.  I am very glad we did because it rained for one whole day of our trip.

I think rain makes the mountains more beautiful, however, it can make tent camping very difficult and messy.

We had a gorgeous view of the lake from our cabin and the temperatures were really nice.

We were in cabin #5.  It was a short walk to the beach and had the best view.

While we were in the cabin waiting for the rain to stop I taught the girls some of my favorite solitaire games (ie. Pyramid, window, free cell, klondike, etc.).  We also played other games like Skipbo and Phase 10.

The rain slowed considerable in the afternoon.

   I was a little worried about the kids getting a little stir crazy in the cabin.  When the rain slowed a little we went for a walk up to the lodge.  On the back porch of the lodge they had 4 large humming bird feeders and there were no less than 30 humming birds zooming around these things for a drink. (The link is to video DeeDee took of the humming birds)

They had so many different colors and sizes and for the most part weren't to concerned about the people watching.

 The older girls couldn't get enough and spent a big chunk of time looking at the humming birds, taking pictures of the humming birds and also trying to stay still enough to get a humming bird to land on their finger.

A rare smile on this trip. MaeMae was new to walking and had a hard time with uneven ground.

Jussy running the beach with DeeDee while
 MiMi and LeeLee build a sandcastle.

DeeDee and LeeLee having fun digging in the sand.

Beautiful Beach after the Rain

I laid down to take a nap with MaeMae and Mark took the rest of the kids down to the beach.  The rain stopped and the sun tried to come out and after our nap we all went down to the beach.  The fishing was terrible.  The kids had a blast playing in the sand.  The beach at Moonlake is a wonderful, sandy beach.

Nature Art

 One of our favorite television shows right now is Dinosaur Train.  In one of the episodes the kids make nature art from the junk their Mom cleaned out of their nest.

I encouraged my kids to make nature art and they had so much fun.

I love watching their imaginations. 

This was our first big trip with Babe the Big, Blue Van.  It was so wonderful to have so much room and be able to haul whatever we wanted to take.

Despite the rain we all had a wonderful time together.  It is a trip I would love to do again with better weather.

What we did on Summer Break Part 1

We finished out our first year of Homeschool around the middle of June.  This first part of summer was spent swimming, BBQing and spending time with family.  We got up almost every morning and went swimming.  I wanted to do water aerobics.  I did pretty good until MaeMae decided she didn't what to be in her floaty any more and then it popped.  The kids loved it.  They had never been swimming so much and I haven't been swimming that much since I was a kid.

 We celebrated Independence Day and Pioneer Day with a barbecue and fireworks at Grandma & Grandpa T's house.  We took a little field trip up to the Utah State Capital on Pioneer Day after the parade excitement was all over.

 

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 I was fun for the kids to look at the statues, the fountain, the fun displays from the early days and other history of our state.  As usual the Rotunda was the highlight of the trip.  We had fun on their neat elevator also.  It was a gorgeous day and there were very few people at the Capital.

DeeDee loved the Rotunda and really liked everything.
MiMi loved the fossil exhibit.
LeeLee loved the lion statues.
Jussy loved the fountain.
MaeMae loved riding around in the stroller.

It was a lovely day.

July was cooler than expected and was very enjoyable.k