Our Alphabet Summer (cont.)

S stands for splashparks!

Splash parks a great way to have some friend time for both the moms and the kids. The kids run off to play in the water, while the adults stay back and observe and chat. Win-win!

O is for Oak City Canyon
Some of my most cherished memories are from the times I used to go visit my Grandma Easterbrook in the nursing home. It was here that I learned of my Grandma's childhood.  When she was younger her family didn't have air conditioning in their home, so during the hot summer months, they would go camp up in Oak City Canyon just to stay cool.  And, while both of her parents were at work, my grandma (the oldest of 7) would take care of the children and even traveled back to town to their home everyday to make homemade bread for her family to have each night.  To keep the spirit of this alive, for many years now, my family has made it a family tradition to travel up to Oak City Canyon around each 24th of July and campout for the weekend.

However, we haven't done so for the last couple of years, so we were very excited when the family decided to put it together again this year (thanks guys!).

There is the best stream running right through camp that I played in as a kid with my cousins, and now my kids still enjoy. It is only a few inches deep and no rapids or heavy flow, so the kids are pretty safe to play at their leisure.

We also started a tradition many years ago where the kids each bring up a shirt to paint and decorate at camp. Here are my kids designing their t-shirts.

And, the finished product!

Family!

Baby Annika's first Oak City experience. She was a trooper the entire trip (which is nothing unusual for her). What a cutie!

Fun times! 

D is for ducks!

We decided to go feed the ducks for letter D. We first went to Murray park, but ended up at Wheeler Farm because there was not a duck to be found at Murray Park. It may have been because the water was so high and moving so fast. But, if you haven't checked out Wheeler Farm lately, you should go. They are doing some remodeling and fixing things up. They have also added a really neat playground on their land. 

They were hungry tonight!

Baby chicks!

We're making progress. 19 letters to go....