Our Marathon August

This happens every year.  Suddenly, it's August and we still have a ton of things we want to accomplish before the school year starts up.  So, we try and see how many things we can jam into one month.  And it's quite impressive.

First up on our priority list was a trip to the zoo so Evan could feed the giraffes.  We'd already gone to the zoo several times this summer, including a zoo trip in Oregon, but we never got there right when it opened to get the ever-so-popular giraffe tickets.  It was well worth rushing out of the house at the butt-crack of dawn and driving in rush-hour traffic.

I'm happy to report there were no tears by either boys and they were even licked!  A successful zoo trip in the books for 2014.

Next up was to see as many family members and friends as possible.  Which wasn't a problem when one of our August weekends included a bridal shower, a birthday party, and two baby showers.  I'm exhausted just looking back at some of the pictures.  But, I saw both sides of Scott's family and one of my best friends!  So, I can't complain!

From a glitzy baby shower on the lake in Goodrich back to a Tiger's themed shower in Royal Oak, I was driving all over Michigan.  Somehow I managed to sneak in a tiny piece of cake at each shower and not gain a pound!  Bonus!

We took the kids up north for the County Fair with their cousins for two days during the week and then we rushed back home to rest up for our Great Wolf Lodge trip with my parents.  And rest was exactly what we did.  Evan spiked a fever for two days in between our two trips, but was miraculously healed in time for the GWL and his mystery virus never returned.

The latest and greatest at the GWL in Sandusky is that they now hand out these adorable wolf ears at check-in for the kids for free!  So, we started our trip by running down the hall to our room wearing the ears and then, of course, they had to check out their log cabin.

The theme of this trip was slides, slides, and more slides.  If it wasn't a slide, they weren't all that interested.  So, we rode every.single.slide a million times with barely a wait and took a few breaks for snacks and snuggles.  It was a great trip!

Whew!

We filled our last full week of summer vacation together with trips to the Ann Arbor Hands on Museum and the Henry Ford Museum/Greenfield Village.  The weather was iffy, but we were able to get a train ride at GV and the kids were content.

Lastly, we tried so hard to pick a coordinating weekend all summer for my parents to come up to Scott's parents' new cottage.  It wasn't easy, but the last weekend in August (not Labor Day weekend) we were able to make it work.  Our third trip up north this summer, we were no strangers to packing and hitting the road.  We made it up in time to enjoy the afternoon sun.

The men grilled some dinner and we finished off the evening with a boat ride to the park complete with ice cream.

Saturday we woke up to the start of a beautiful day.  A slight breeze, sun coming in and out of the clouds, and warm weather!  We spent the whole day tubing, jet-skiing, and soaking up the summer sun.  We grilled dinner again and had a bonfire with s'mores and some croquet.

We came home Sunday afternoon feeling a little down.  This week we're back to work for a few days of in-service and getting our classroom ready.  The boys are back to daycare three days a week and life goes on.  We had an absolutely wonderful summer and we feel so blessed to have gone to all the places we did as a family.  I'm sad to see it come to an end and I know I'll miss my bugs when I'm back at work, but for now, I'm thinking ahead to all the celebrations we have to look forward to in September.

A nice holiday weekend is coming up with minimal plans followed by Evan's birthday next Tuesday.  I can't believe the little guy is going to be 2!  We're in full-on potty training mode wearing only underwear during the day, he's sleeping in a toddler bed, and talking up a storm.  It's crazy how fast they grow up - especially the second baby!  We have the boys' joint birthday party in early September, two other birthday parties, a wedding, and a concert.  I'm going to enjoy my last weekend of relaxation before a whole new version of crazy begins.

County Fair - Up North Style

One thing I learned this week.  Fairs are so much bigger and better up north.  It's not your standard fair with just rides and funnel cakes.  It's all that plus it includes a farm animal auction, demolition derby, old-fashioned village with log houses, and tons and tons of tractors.  Pure Michigan.  Pure country.  Even the people watching is bigger and better.

It was Ogemaw County Fair week!  Last year, a few family members went and reported back that this was a must-do/must-see event for this summer.  We packed up the kids and dog to head up to Scott's parent's cottage in Gladwin for two days, ready for all the fair had in store.   My mother-in-law, two nieces, aunt, cousin, and her niece all ventured out as well.  I was excited (and terrified) to have the five little ones all together for a few days!

After the damaging rain and floods on Monday, I was ready for some sunshine on the lake.  It rained our whole way there on Tuesday and poured the rest of the day.  But, that didn't stop the kids from having fun together.  Ring-around-the-posies, basketball games, and running around the house kept them occupied.

After dinner, the rain cleared up enough for a boat ride and some ice cream.  It was definitely chilly and reminded us of fall.  Some warm apple cider would have been fitting.  Come on, September...

Wednesday we woke up to an absolutely beautiful day in the works.  The sun was out, the water and beach were warm enough for some swimming, and the kids were loving being buried in the sand.

We grabbed a snack and took a boat ride to a little park for the kids to run around for a bit.  Seeing how long they could hang on the pull-up bar was a big hit as Nana frantically counted.  Delilah held the record of over 200 seconds, while Sean and Sydney each came in with 146 seconds and 170.

Lunch and naps followed the boat trip and then it was finally time to head over to the fair!  It was right across from their old cottage/lake in West Branch and everyone from around the area must have all decided to come on the same day.  Kids could ride with a wristband for $18 all day, so the place was packed.  We weaved through some tractors, old firetrucks, and the boys and Delilah got to spray a fire hose.  It was a really cute display!

We met up with the girls at the kiddie rides and were relieved to find out that Evan could ride a few rides with an adult and two without.  So, I bought myself a wristband and we went on as many rides as we could before everyone was ready for a potty break and some funnel cake.

The kids were anxious to see the farm animals and the horses, so we took a break from the rides and headed over in that area.  It was really neat to walk down aisles of animals, some of which were just out in the open like the cows!  I can't say I've been that close to a cow before!  We even got to see one getting milked.

All in all, it was a successful trip to the county fair and a great time having all the kids together!  Growing up with only one cousin, who lived on the other side of the state, I'm fully aware of how awesome it is for the boys to be so close with their cousins.  While it was a lot of work with five kids under the age of six, it was well worth the memories.

Thursday morning, we took another boat ride to the park and celebrated Jennifer's birthday with lunch and a birthday cake before we all headed back home.  Happy Birthday, Jennifer!   'Till next year, Ogemaw County Fair!