July 18-21: Camping!

This is the fifth year we've camped at Lake Wabasis with a group of friends from our church.  While they stay for 10 days, we usually limit our camping experience anywhere from 3-5 days.  The kids talk about camping all year long...they can't wait to go back next summer!  I'm already praying it won't be as HOT!!!  We were in the middle of a heat wave this year!  While we did go to the beach one day, we waited until evening to hit the beach the other days just because it was too hot!  We have kind friends who shared their inflatable pools with us so we could try to keep cool during the day.  One friend even brought a window air-conditioning unit for us to use with the pop-up camper we borrowed.  It worked great the one night we had it, but it just couldn't keep up during the day.  Honestly, it was just too hot to do anything much, yet the kids didn't seem to mind the heat a bit.  Here are a few pictures from our 4 days out there this year.   

Brielle fell asleep on the walk up from the beach.

Ty hangs out in front of the camper.  Notice the bluish tinge on the picture? 
Seth created an awning for us out of a blue tarp.  It was great for providing much-needed shade!!!

Playing in dirt!

What?!?  Girls can play in dirt too!

1 comfy chair + 1 good book = 1 perfect afternoon



Splashing in Ian's pool to keep cool!



One morning we went to a local bakery for donuts!



S'mores!  (Although none of the kids ended up eating more than 2 bites)



July 20: Anderson & Girls Orchard

During our camping trip, we took a day for an excursion to the Anderson & Girls Orchard.  This place is AMAZING!  Our friends, the DeBoers, had found it a year ago and had told us about it, but it's in Stanton, MI, which is a bit of a hike from our house.  It's much closer to the campground we were using, so we took part of a day to head out there.

This place is wonderful!  First of all, it's TOTALLY FREE!  Love that!  They have amazing animals for kids to see:  reindeer, emu, camel, zebra, sloth, kangaroos, parrot, and warthog, just as examples!  Then, kids can play on an old firetruck, use the ski boat sand box, slide down the tube-slide, feed the goats (and other animals...just be sure to take your quarters to buy the food!), and touch the pigs, bunnies, and sheep. We could have spent more time there than we did simply because we went on a hot day, and everyone got tuckered out after about two hours. 

They do have a store on the property, but we didn't make it in there so I'm not sure what that holds.  We did, however, treat ourselves to some ice cream from their ice cream shop after our picnic lunch.  They have $1 cones for soft-serve ice-cream...what a deal!  Of course, Koen needed to have the Superman ice cream (not on the $1 list), and Ty just mooched off from Mommy and Daddy's ice cream. 

(Below pix:  The slide & Ty in the firetruck)

I wish this place was closer to our house as it'd be fun to go back with other family and friends!  I'm sure we'll get there again someday!

(Can you see the kangaroo in this pic?)

July 17-July 21: Camping at Lake Wabasis

While I do not consider myself a "camper," my husband and many of our friends from church look forward to communing with the great outdoors.  This is the forth year (I think) where a group of our friends from church has stayed at Lake Wabasis Campground together for an extended period of time.  There is a core group who stays for a 10-day period and others of us who join in at one point or another. 

This year, our family of five stayed longer than ever before:  five nights!  The first two nights were in a tent...a borrowed one since we've outgrown our tent now that we have kids (thank you VanDrunens!).  The final three nights were in a borrowed camper (thank you Oostindies!).  I was extremely thankful for our other VanDrunen friends who had an air-conditioned trailer where I could nurse Brielle in the heat of the day.  It was heavenly! 

Lake Wabasis Campground is a great place for families to camp!  The beach has a great sandy area for kids to play, with a playground in the sandy area as well.  The water is shallow and warm near the beach...perfect for kids to splash around in.  In the past few years I've become more of a shade-lover and one who avoids the sun.  So while the beach is a fabulous spot, Brielle and I hung out in more shaded areas. 

I highly recommend camping with friends, especially if they are like our friends who are amazing and helpful!  It was so nice for our kids to play with their friends all day, every day.  And minus one brief thunderstorm, the weather was great!  A little hot and sticky, but that's better than rain!  Overall, a successful camping experience!