Summer Fun Challenge Check In

Today is August 1st.  Where did the summer go?   While some areas  of the country will be going back to school in the next few weeks, we are lucky enough to have one more month before we go back .  We do registration and other important school days in late August though, so it is beginning to feel close to back to school time

Now that the summer is 2/3 of  the way over, did you cross off everything on your summer bucket list?   We have crossed off quite a bit, but still have a few more things we hope to do in the next few weeks.    Here are some of the fun things we were able to do so far .  

June flew by. As soon as school was out, it was recital week. Kara got her 9 yr recital award (she has been dancing 10), and   danced in the recital and ballet production.  A few days after that she got to see one of her best friends for the first time since C. moved away two  years ago.  They got to go together to  Sleeping Bears Dunes with  their Girl Scout Troop. 

The week of the 4th  it was someone's actual birthday. We took her out to dinner at her favorite restaurant.  We  also went to see an outdoor movie at the mall.  It was kind of  funny when the screen collapsed. It was set back up quickly, and we got right back to the movie. (but not before I took a few pics)  We spent the 4th at a friend's house who lives  on a lake. We enjoyed a great meal, and watched fireworks over the water.  The day after that we took friends to our local Metropark to see the baby animals on the park's farm. 

A few days after the 4th it was time for grandma to arrive for a visit. On the way to the train station we stopped at a Cabelas to see all the fun animals on display While not fans of hunting, how the store is set up is impressive.   We then had to stay all night in a train station with no sleep when grandma's train was 7 hours late. After a day to recover, we made an Ikea run to get supplies. A few days after grandma arrived,  Kara  had an art themed birthday to celebrate with her good friends. 

The kids had a lot of fun taking grandma to Frankenmuth, which is a Baravian tourist town in Michigan.  It has several specialty shops and lots of great food. In the last picture, the kids are posing with Kara in front of the taffy store. In just a few weeks, she wont be able to have it anymore, so we had one last taffy hurrah.

Frankenmuth is also home to Bronners, the world's largest Christmas store.  This store is huge, and has every kind of Christmas item you can think of.  Where else can you find a life size Detroit Tiger, and  be able to pose with a 5 and 6 foot polar bear.  

We enjoyed a little bit of outlet mall shopping, and bought a few things for school. Kara almost got stuck in Scoop from Bob the Builder when she decided to  climb inside. (yes, I had to look that up on Wikipedia)  We had another road trip to take grandma back to the train station, and  then spent the day at the Toledo Zoo. 

This last week things calmed down a bit. We spent a few more days just hanging around the house.  I took Kara to the county fair twice. Once with one of her bfs, and once with our church youth group. (the other two did not want to go)  Kara also become one step closer to becoming a hamster hoarder. (just kidding/sort of)  She brought home her 3rd and last hamster Cocoa, who is another sweetheart. She is not allowed to add anymore pets to the zoo until we have a few less animals.   

In the month of Aug there are a few more things that we hope to get crossed off our Summer Fun Challenge list. 

Go to Six Flags (its happening soon!) 

Go to the beach

Go berry picking 

Attend the Art Fair 

Go to a local festival 

Go to the farmers market 

Go on a boat ride

Kara who seems to have the busiest summer will be 

attending dance camp

going camping with girl scouts 

and 

getting braces! 

(though I am sure she would not consider that fun) 

That is our summer to date.  What fun things have you done this summer?