Going for a hike! And a Father's Day project!

List Items - #23, #57, #96 

We had a special guest for our Saturday afternoon. A little girl I watched for a while got to stay the night with us. So we wanted to have tons of fun while she was here! First we loaded everyone up in the van and made our way over to Isle Du Boise once more. While a hike was not her idea of fun, the results sure made her smile!

#23 - Go for a hike 

We decided that finding a trail at the State Park would be perfect for what we wanted to do. After arriving we choose to stop just inside the gate and walk the Lost Pines Trail since Brewster was still having a bit of trouble dealing with the car. We walked the trail until it reached the lake where we found rocks and shells perfect for what we wanted to do! Bringing the rocks home the wind began to pick up and we decided to take advantage of it as soon as we got home!

#96 - Go Fly a Kite

Livia shared her kite with Jayden, letting her friend help get the kite into the sky and take a turn at holding the string. Then of course they began to chase each other around while watching the kite fly high.

We flew the kites overhead until we ran out light to really see them. It caught the attention of some of the people at the pool, which was right behind us, and some watched until we finally pulled them down. The had so much fun, and the wind was pretty gusty while we were out there! Finally we went back home and finished up the day!

#57 - Paint Rocks

Call me crazy but I let the kids sit down and paint their finds once I had cleaned them off.  They weren't exactly clean about it, but we use Crayola paints which wash off easily. What's fun without a little mess every now and then!

Once they were done we let the rocks dry over night. They were each beautiful in their own special way!

Once dry I got out my gold metallic marker and wrote a special note on the rocks. We sent Jayden's home with her to give to her father, and we presented Daddy with his when he woke up this morning. And it made for a very special Father's Day gift!

We had so much fun and this whole trip cost us absolutely nothing, and we were still able to cross off 3 more items off the summer list! We were  so glad that we were able to have Jayden over while we did some of these things, especially with her being practically a member of our family. Another successful fun day!

Camping Trip

List Items #5, #17, #19, #53, #58, #69, #98

It was the first official weekend of summer! We made plans to take this camping trip about a month ago thanks to my father, who is big into geocaching, and his plans to be at the State Park already. It turned into a great couple of days of fun with some friends who were able to join us for this trip! We were able to check off quiet a few items on our list and the whole family had tons of fun!

#98 - Go Camping

My son loves to camp! Him and my husband go at least once every summer with some friends or family, but we have thought Livia to be too young and I will admit that I shy away from it unless I have no other choice. However, this summer is about family time! So we packed everyone into the car, including Brewster our dog, and we drove just down the road to the Ray Roberts Lake State Park - Isle du Bois Unit. We invested in a State Park pass which will get us into any State Park for free for unlimited visits for anyone in our vehicle. With this card we also get discounts on camping, park store merchandise, and other benefits which we will be taking advantage of this summer! We recommend that everyone look into this for their state as I believe it is an untapped mine of fun for the family! If you are in Texas, here is where you can find more info: texasstateparks.org .

Of course, the boys did most of the tent building, but us girls tried to do our part to help!

#58 - Go to the lake / #5 - Go to the beach / #19 - Go swimming / #53 - Build Sandcastles

The Ray Roberts Lake has some amazing spots! We were fortunate enough to have a campsite that had a nice little pathway straight to the lake with a large beach area for the kids to have fun. And they weren't the only ones! Brewster had never been to the beach before either and he had so much fun, on leash, wading through the water with us.  And all of this of course led to swimming in the beautiful water! And for a short time we tried our hand at sandcastles.

#69 - Go berry picking

Originally we were going to try and go to the berry farm in the area, but news of their being closed this summer really put a damper on the Summer List. Fortunately for us a friend who had stayed at the site the night before had discovered a patch of wild blackberries! So we took the kids over and, after some mishaps with the thorns, we collected a large handful of blackberries! Not everyone liked them, Jareth being among those that didn't like the slightly tart berries. But they all had fun finding the bramble and searching for ones that had reached maturity.

#17 - Make s'mores

And of course no camping trip is complete without S'mores! The kids had so much fun, of course, roasting the marshmallows over the open fire and watching them ooze out of the sides of the graham cracker and chocolate sandwich. Of course, Livia went straight for the marshmallows, having no patience for letting it cook. Leaving everyone happy with the night as they ate their sugary goodness in the dark!

Of course the night didn't end there. Just before some of our party had to go home we went out in the dark for a small hike to do some night time geocaching. For those of you that don't know, this is an adult-type scavenger hunt utilizing the Global Positioning System (GPS). Geocaches can be found all over the world in all kinds of shapes and sizes. It was mentioned that I didn't include it on my list and that is for 2 reasons: 1) It wasn't on the two lists I used to compile mine, and 2) it is something my family does often enough that I didn't find the need to put it on the list. But I will mention it to anyone else making a Summer List, because it is a fun, family adventure that costs nearly nothing to participate in! So if you have never heard of or really looked into the fun, check it out! Geocaching.com will give you more information and get you hooked on the adventure!

Also on the way out of the park, as we were talking over all the fun we had, we were lamenting the fact that all we had seen was a small rabbit run across my path as I took Brewster for a walk. That was corrected as we came to a stop to see a young doe grazing at a patch of grass on the corner of two of the roads. Everyone was able to stare and admire her as she slowly made her way back into the woods, adding a little something special to the whole trip!

We had so much fun on the first trip of the summer! And it has made the family more eager to check off more of the items on our Summer List as we have fun and enjoy family time together this summer. I hope others have chosen to take on the challenge that is the List. If you do, please tell us about your adventures! I look forward to telling you more stories of our days and hearing about yours!