"Row, Row, Row Your Boat..."

On Sunday, we went on a canoe trip down the Stillwater River with some friends. The trip took about four hours from beginning to end. We had a great time laughing, splashing and taking breaks to play. Toward the end of the trip, Cole, Riley and I were in the same canoe. Riley was sitting on top of the cooler in the middle of the canoe. We were going through some small rapids and came close to the shore. A tree branch was about to hit Riley and on instict Cole reached out to grab the branch. Immediately, the canoe flipped. Luckily, the water was only about 3 feet at that point. Riley was wearing a life jacket. She went under water very briefly and bobbed right back up. She was fine but was afraid to get back in the canoe. Can't say I blame her. Daddy convinced her that he was a better driver and that his canoe wouldn't flip. She was satisfied with that answer and got in his canoe for the rest of the trip!

Splish Splash

Trying out the new free splash park in Huber Heights.

Tree Hugger or Bug Lover?

Mom thought it would be cute to get some pictures of me in my red, white and blue outside by the tree. I'm a "Tree Hugger" so I was all for it.

See...me hugging a tree.



I was all for it, that is, until, I spotted something.



"Look Mom. What is that?"



"It's a bug shell Riley. It won't hurt you. Do you want to take it off of the tree and hold it?"



"Let me take another look."



"Um, no thanks."



"Daddy will hold it and show you that it is okay. See."



"Swear on your heart that it won't hurt me and I will consider it."



"I will touch it one time only. Get your camera ready Mom."



"Please don't hurt me little bug. Please don't hurt me."



"There. Can we get back to taking cute pictures of me by the tree now?"

Growing A Garden

Second update on our first garden:



We now have melons, cucumbers, zucchini and eggplant.

Loving the Lake

The only thing better than going for a ride on Grandpa's boat on Lake Erie is...

driving the boat. (Shhh...Don't tell Grandpa.)

Bugging Out

Riley got bit by a mosquito on her left eyelid while sitting around the fire on our first night at Camp Sabroske. The next morning, she woke up with a swollen eye. With Benadryl and a few days to heal she was good as new. As her cousin Journey would say (and did say many times while camping), "Poor, poor thing."

Sun, Sand and Sea

We went to Maumee Bay State Park for an afternoon of swimming and sand while camping at the Lake. The kids had a lot of fun playing with their cousins both in the water and in the sand.

"The Pool is Cool" (Literally, it was FREEZING.)

Paddle Power

Fishing Frenzy

Fishing has always been a big part of camping at Lake Erie. Because I LOVE to fish, I take my kids fishing at the pond at Camp Sabroske every year hoping that they too will get the "Fishing Fever". It has definitely worked on Cole. He has caught "The Fever". Cole and his cousin Hunter were rarely seen at the campground this year without a fishing pole in their hand. They fished in the pond, the river and even Lake Erie. The highlight of Cole's trip was catching his FIRST WALLEYE. Cole enjoyed spending a couple of days on the lake with his Grandpa, cousin Hunter and some crazy uncles! (I have heard the stories fellas.)




Not to be completely outdone by Cole, Trent, Reed and Riley also had their fair share of fishing success on this trip. A few of their successes are pictured below.