How we started our summer

Like we did last year, we started our summer with an early June camping trip at the Missouri River near Yankton, SD.  We rented a cabin which was next to the river and got to spend three beautiful days (despite one evening of storms) loving life and relaxing!

We made sure to get some fishing in while we were there.  Papa Gary was the go-to guy with the fishing equipment.  Maddy was even quite patient and although Jack thought he had a few bites, nothing was caught.  Luckily, there was a playground near the fishing spot, so the kids could take frequent breaks.  :)  As you can see by the main pic, the girls were most interested in the worms and it's no wonder they didn't kill them all while man-handling them!  We convinced them to release them into the "wild" before we left on the last day.  Papa kept reminding them they could take them home.  Not happening!

We let the kids stay up really late one night to roast marshmallows and play in the dark.  They had glow sticks and glowing bubbles which kept them entertained for quite some time!  And after the sticky and stinky little monkeys took showers, it was off to bed.  One of the monkeys fell asleep on the couch and had to be carried to bed!

Other fun camping activities:  Jack got to play plenty of catch with Papa and I.  There was a little beach at the park and we took the kids swimming one afternoon.  I think Jack may done more rolling in the sand instead of swimming at the end!  We were digging sand out of kids for awhile that night (ahem).  

Jack made his top 10 list of camping fun activities on the last night.  And what was number one?  Climbing on the cabin roof....  So Jack and I were playing frisbee and he tossed it onto the roof.  I then proceeded to try to use a kid fishing pole and rubber weight to get it down (it was rather close to the edge).  Long story short, the rubber weight ended on the roof too.  After much debate, it was decided Jack was NOT getting on the roof to get the frisbee.  Jeremy got it down eventually using a different pole and a broom.  However, Sarah wanted the rubber weight down too, so using her mini-van and boost from me, Jack got on the roof to get it.  It was an adventure!  And if anyone of our camping neighbors were watching, I'm sure they were quite entertained.  Fun times!  The whole trip was a great time and I can't wait to go again!!!