Camping!

Todd got some camping things for his birthday so we wanted to test them out. There are a few good places that I've heard about in Northern Indiana and a lot in Michigan. I'm excited to try out the Michigan ones but for our first real trip we decided to stay a little closer to home. We went to Chain-O-Lakes State Park which is only a 45 minute drive from Fort Wayne. I was a really nice campground and I really enjoyed that the tent sites were separated from the trailer sites. It was quiet and a little more private that way.

Things I liked about camping:

-watching Tyson explore and enjoy the wild outdoors

-sitting by the campfire with my family

-stargazing and sing twinkle-twinkle little star to Ty. It's now his favorite song.

-watching Tyson chase fireflies yelling star after them.

Things I didn't really like:

-mosquitoes

-dirty,dirty little boy

-going to sleep at midnight because the tent was obviously too exciting for a 1 1/2 year old to fall asleep in.

-really hard ground to sleep especially being 4 months pregnant (we got an air mattress for our next trip)

-waking up at 5:45 because Tyson couldn't sleep with the sun being up and the birds chirping

-leaving at 8:00 in the morning because Todd and I were exhausted from no sleep

All in all it was fun, I just can't figure why my parents went camping so much when I was younger. Actually, it's not so much as why but how. I know all my memories of camping were so much fun and I cherish them as great family getaways. It wasn't the easiest but we will for sure be doing it again because Tyson had so much fun and I want him to have those same fun filled memories that I did.

My little Water Dog

We've really enjoyed our apartment pool. Especially during that heatwave that broke through. I like the pool because there are actually two of them, on normal big person pool and a 16 in. wading pool. The water in the wading pool is always super warm so I mostly like to spend my time there and it really is perfect for Ty just playing around. We decided to buy him a flotation device to help feel more comfortable in the big pool. We bought one that has foam arm floaties that are connected by a foam piece around his front. I absolutely love it! Ty is able to float by him self and his head never really gets to close to go underwater except when he wants it to. I highly suggest this type of floaty to anyone who is looking for a good one. Here are some pictures of my boys having fun in the wading pool.

Catching up! 4th of July

So I've really been a bum! I finally downloaded my pictures and realized I have over 200. I won't post them all, goodness, but I know I need to update you all on how our little family is doing. We've had a great summer and I really want to share some of our memories with you. Starting off...4th of July. We ended up getting together a little potluck dinner with a few other couples in the ward and the missionaries. (sorry no pictures of that) We went to a park that had a really fun splash pad. It is probably my favorite park I've been to so far and it's the closest to our apartment. It is such an innovative park. It is wheelchair accessible and also has activities for the blind and deaf. So there are a lot of things that make sound and a really fun light chasing game. It's all manual power too, you have to turn cranks to get these games to run. I also love the park because it is all turf, well besides the cement in the water are, but that means no dirty grass and mud in the water. It's pretty much amazing.

Tyson still isn't quite sure of the splash pads but I finally coaxed him into touching it.

The turf and one of three playgrounds attached to the splashpad!

We didn't get to see fireworks because they didn't start until 10:30 so we bought sparklers instead and I think Tyson liked them just as much as he would have liked watching fireworks. I didn't feel too bad though because we went to a baseball game 4 days later and watched the fireworks there. Sorry no pictures of that either. He was amazed though!