Camping with the Jacksons

We headed out to the trailer the day before the Jacksons so the girls were pretty excited when they finally arrived the next day.  We were in the middle of playing some new games Grandma has at the trailer so they joined in.

The kids couldn't wait to get to the lake to start all the fun games they play.  The joys of childhood and summer!

Camping isn't complete without a trip or two for ice cream and because of fire bans, this year may have had a few extra trips.  The standard group ice cream picture!

Elizabeth spent a lot of time in the water with her boogie board.  She would float on it, swim with it and try to surf on it.  

Emilee and Anna worked on building sand castles - complete with motes.

Because of the long weekend, the park rangers has some programs going on.  Mom, Emilee and Elizabeth decided to go on the lake walk.  We learned lots about the history of the area and have a few new places to visit next year.

"Hot tubs" with sandy, dirty looking water never grow old!  The kids enjoyed building them, playing in them and sitting around visiting by them.

We decided with the kids getting bigger that we could no longer travel in one vehicle.  The downside is no visiting on the drive but the upside was all the kids could have their bikes at the lake.  They enjoyed riding around the campground and exploring close by.

The kids have always wanted to rent something from the rental company by the lake.  Mom often says it's too expensive and the girls have been a little small to make any of the "toys" very much fun (just lots of work for Mom).  Finally this year Mom and Aunt Jadi decided it would be fun for the kids to play for an hour.  We rented a SUP board and paddle boat.  Cera was a great little teacher for her sisters.  She helped them understand and get the hang of it so they could enjoy their time on the board.

The kids each had a turn on the board.  Cera loved paddling around the lake.

There was lots of switching spots and taking turns on the paddle boat.  The kids could all reach the pedals and really move around the lake.  It was a pretty good workout for their legs too!  (Hopefully they sleep well afterwards!)

Elizabeth wanted to take Mom for a paddle around the lake.  She did pretty good and only almost took Mom's head off once with the paddle!

Emilee enjoyed her time on the SUP board also.  She was pretty relaxed and enjoyed some alone time.

Due to the fire ban, we had to enjoy some other night time snacks besides s'mores.  Watermelon is a great option and helps hydrate after a long day in the sun!  Look at that great looking crew.

Even Emilee joined in eating watermelon - it's not her first pick of a treat but she still enjoyed it.

We were so happy that Grandma and Uncle Mike could come join us for a few days of fun.  Grandma was such a great sport at helping the kids blow up floaties.

Then she joined them in the middle of the lake where they spent hours floating and chatting together.  What great memories with Grandma!!

The girls may have enjoyed a few ice cream cones this summer!  There was a fire ban which made s'mores difficult so they would sweet talk for ice cream whenever they could.  What another great summer full of fun, growing and memories!