The Accidental Boilermaker

We tried out a new campground last weekend located on the Salamonie Reservoir.  The primitive side was big and spaced out with almost no bugs which was great.  At first I didn't like it as much as Chain o' Lakes but it grew on me.  We got in a little later on Friday and made mac and cheese for dinner. There was a big circle great for biking and despite the campground being full, there didn't seem to be much car traffic. We had really nice camp neighbors - a family with 4 girls from Marion.  The first night they shared their glow sticks and we shard some of our chocolate stuffed marshmallows. Saturday morning we went on a hike after breakfast. There were lots of blackberry bushes with berries just starting to ripen. We went to the Interpretative Center right when it opened so we were the only people there, but we still wore our masks. There was a turtle you could touch, a nice native wildflower garden, and several rehabilitating raptors in their own enclosure. ...

I haven't posted in a while; I think I just didn't feel like it.  We have done some fun things though.  Like play in the kiddie pool. One day Evelyn re-created the book What the Dinosaurs Did Last Night. We went to the zoo a few times, once with Bella and Millie I watched Bella and Millie one day when Maryca had surgery. We went over to Harper, Willow, and Violet's house.   Just this week we checked out a new coffee shop downtown.

We got to take a little 4th of July getaway to Michigan and stay up at the cottage.  We got in late Thursday, but thankfully didn't need to take any rest breaks.  First thing Friday morning Evelyn, Jameson, Nate, and Grandpa Paul went fishing. The fish were biting at least for Evelyn, Jameson, and Nate.  Evelyn and Nate caught a couple bass while Jameson caught a few smaller perch. Evelyn loved jumping off the dock and splashing in the water.  Jameson not so much.  Even with the extra sand, I don't think he liked the feel on his feet.  The swing however was always a favorite, no matter what other fun activity we did that day. The new thing for us this year was a tube ride around the lake.  Nate and I weren't so sure Jameson would want to go by himself, but he did great. We went swimming at the sand bar early on Saturday before it got too busy. Nate and the kids got a tow back to the cottage. Other fun stuff included target practice with the BB gun, Rel...

This week hasn’t been very eventful but we have done some stuff. Monday we had a fort 4 fitness event. It was hot and everyone was a little grumpy. Evelyn still got a mile run in; Jameson did half a mile.  Tuesday we did one of our library to-go activities - sun photography. They each got 3 pieces of cyanotype paper to create fun pictures with. I think everyone’s favorite object was the toy centipede.  Today we went to the zoo with Tamber and Natalya.  It was again hot, but this time everyone was pretty happy.