Looking back on these pictures sure makes me long for summer... and vacation... and family. This summer we spent 2 1/2 glorious weeks visiting my family in Wisconsin (first) and then Scott's family (who almost all live in the NW Indiana area) at his family's cottage in southern MI. So here are some more snippets of our summer.
Although my camera doesn't do this justice, there is nothing quite like the sunsets in my parents' backyard.
Before Scott and the rest of my siblings joined us, the kids and I spent 4 days with my mom and dad. One outing we usually do is a trip to the
Horicon Marsh, a local nature preserve (something similar to the
Kaweah Oaks Preserve for the
Visalia locals).
Uncle Eric (my sister Andrea's husband) is always so patient to play and read with the kids.
We celebrated the momentous occasion of my whole family being able to get together (for the first time in 7 1/2 years!) with a camping trip to Green Lake, a favorite place for all us throughout our growing up years. Unfortunately, it was a memorable occasion for more than one reason; of the 18 people who gathered, 16 of us endured at least 24 hours of a miserable flu bug!
My brother, Stephen with his adorable son,
Keegan.
Another very special part of our reunion was getting to meet my sister Laura and her husband, Aron's newly adopted daughter, Gracia. Gracia joined Laura, Aron, and their sons, Gabriel and Micah earlier this spring when they went to China to get her. It was such a blessing to see her and see how well she seems to be adjusting to her new family.
Gracia was kind enough to allow me to hold her for awhile.
The tradition of building (and destroying in one magnificent leap!) a sand castle continues...
In
addition to pop-up campers and a tent, we also rented a small cabin, which made making meals a lot easier!
My sister, Andrea and I, along with Daniel and Calvin enjoyed some kayaking on the lake. I bet you can't guess who was always in the mood for a race rather than a leisurely paddle!
Gracia seemed to take a shine to Scott right away.
And would our visit to Grandma and Grandpa's be complete without a few bonfires?
We also enjoyed a trip to a local water park that had a few
waterslides... just the right size for our little munchkins.
Catching butterflies was lots of fun!
And so was a slip-n-slide down the hill by my parents' house!
And now begins phase 2 of our summer vacation: a week at the cottage. We always really look forward to our week here; life is pretty relaxed with nothing much on our schedules except a little tubing, fishing, and playing down by the lake. Cottage life is pretty grand!
Scott was a trooper and spent many hours behind the wheel of the boat pulling kids on tubes, knee-boards and water-
skis.
Norah enjoyed a lot of time on the tire swing.
Calvin learned how to knee-board this summer. He is such an adventurous little boy, always up for something new and fun!
And Daniel LOVED to go tubing (a little "safer" than knee-boarding), especially if he could convince his cousin, Faith, to go with him!
The kids still enjoy endless hours of just playing in the sand down by the lake (as we adults enjoy endless hours of sitting, reading, and talking down by the lake!)
Grandma can always be convinced to spend some time reading a book to little ones who are interested.
After some convincing, Daniel actually held this little guy that he caught. Doesn't he look so proud of his accomplishment?!
Grandma and Grandpa with all the
Kostelyk cousins: our 3 plus Faith, Blake, and Micah. What fun!
Here are all the kids in our Explorers Co-op. What great kids!
For one of our outings, we went again to J and K Farley Farms, a pick-your-own vineyard/orchard. Once again, it was hot and once again, we came home with a bountiful harvest of peaches and grapes
With the peaches we picked, I canned peaches and made peach salsa and a few different kids of peach jam. Now that it's November, we are really enjoying the fresh peach taste from the summer!
Another one of our field trips brought us to Win-Co, the warehouse-style grocery store that we usually shop at. The kids had to don these lovely hairnets for our tour.
Our tour guide is explaining some of the things we'd be doing and seeing on our tour.
Getting to see some of the fresh bread in the bakery.
Here we are in the back where some of the extra pallets of food/drink are stored.
For this next field trip, we enjoyed a drive up to the foothills just outside the gate to Sequoia National Park and went to Cat Haven. We were able to see many different types of wild cats -- it was pretty interesting!
For another Explorers outing, we drove up to Three Rivers, another town on the way to SNP (but near the south entrance) where one of our co-op families lives. Laurienne hosted a lovely lesson and craft time focused on monarch butterflies. After we completed our indoor activities, the rain cleared up and the kids ate their lunch outside and then meanered down to the river to check that out. 
Norah is diligently coloring her booklet about monarchs.
And her she is making tissue paper monarch silouettes.
The kids had fun splashing and throwing rocks into the river. But about the time we decided it was time to pack up and head home, we noticed that the river suddenly seemed like it was rushing more loudly and rapidly. 
We quickly moved all the "beach" toys and chairs farther (and farther) up the riverbank. Within about 15 minutes, the water level had risen 15-20 feet up the riverbank and had become a rushing torrent. It was one of the craziest things I've ever seen -- a great first-had lesson on the dangers of flash floods!
