End of Summer Fun

We had an extremely dry, hot summer this year. The grass really struggled and playing outside was not very enjoyable. Luckily, we decided to try this giant homemade slip-n-slide! It's just a giant sheet of plastic from Home Depot, normally used by some kind of professionals... but we like to slide down our backyard on it!

This was our first attempt to use it. The next time, we used stakes at the top and pool noodles down the sides to keep it in place. We even used a little no-tears bath wash to add to the slippery-ness! It got stored for the winter, so we can use it again next year!

We also had our little pool set up on the deck. Luke didn't care for the slip-n-slide, but he really enjoyed the cool water in the pool!

Jack was so excited to grow watermelon in the garden this year for the first time. We bought "baby sweet" watermelon so they would have enough room to grow in our small garden boxes. Sure enough, after we waited all summer, we had some little melons to try out. They were red and ripe!

Jack went outside to ride his bike and discovered this little butterfly nearby. Jack said he gently picked it up and it stayed on his arm for quite a while. Fun!

Callie is a super crafty girl and had been introduced to Sculpey Dough last year. She can make any little creation she wants, we bake it in the oven, and it hardens and she can keep it forever. Well, Grandma Marshall sent more clay recently and the both Callie and Jack went crazy making little Pokemon and other creatures. They also made pokemon berries, mini food for a mini picnic, a few pieces of jewelry and beads... They'll be busy for a while!

Jack is really into Pokemon, in case it wasn't obvious. He loves watching the cartoon and playing anything Pokemon related. Then came this new game, "Pokemon Go." We played during the summer time and collected quite a few on our adventures!

And lastly, during a trip to Wendy's, the kids got a little kit that contained a bunch of silly picture-taking accessories. This is what they came up with. (Jack was busy reading during this time, so no silly pictures of him!)

Science Museum and a Visit to the Farm

Visiting the Rochester Museum of Science was on our summer fun list, so we headed out to Rochester! Jack, being the oldest and a science-lover, was fascinated by just about everything in the entire museum. He definitely could have stayed there all day.

We had to get a picture with the miniature Nuclear Power Plant so Dad could check it out. He said they did a pretty good job, but there were a few labels that he would change.

Jack spent quite a bit of time rearranging the color lasers in this display. They can be turned and reflected off of different surfaces.

Callie wasn't feeling well, unfortunately, so she spent a lot of time sitting in the stroller (that was meant for Luke), or just finding flat surfaces to lay down on. Poor girl.

Another sunny summer day, we went out to Long Acre Farm (when all the kids were feeling well) and they had a great time exploring. Normally, we stay in the front area that is free for everyone and just hang out, but we decided to try out the back this time. We had to buy bracelets for admission, and the kids were excited about checking out the new stuff!

There was a pretty pond and a nice dock to hang out and enjoy nature.

The kids got to "paint" with water. After a few minutes, they're paintings would dry and they got to start over!

The jumping pillow was super fun, of course. Luke tried it out and got used to it after a while. It was a little too bouncy for his taste, though!

The kids got coupons for free ice cream cones from the library, so we had to grab those after lunch. Luke made a huge mess and the kids didn't like that the bees seemed to be attracted to their ice cream. But other than that, the ice cream was a hit!

Beach day and Seabreeze

Before the summer was over, we needed to head out to the beach again! The kids had a great time, as usual. They love the beach. 

Jack stayed out of the water mostly because it had too much stuff floating in it (just normal beach water...), but he still had a lot of fun. 

Jack wanted to be buried in the sand, so we all helped cover him up!

We have a waterpark/theme park near us that we hadn't tried yet, so we decided this summer was the time to go! Seabreeze is not far, but we thought we'd wait for the kids to be a little older before we paid the money to go. It was definitely worth it!

The older kids and Dad got to try out a roller coaster. They loved it!

There were plenty of smaller rides that even Luke got to do.

It was a really hot day, so after a few rides on the amusement park side, we went over to the water park. No one took any pictures because water and cell phones don't mix, but the kids had a blast. 

The last ride of the day was a log ride, which got the kids a little wet after they had already dried off, but it was hot, so they didn't mind! 

As we were driving away, the kids were already asking when we could go back. We'll definitely do it again next year!