Fun Filled Summer!

// under Summer Swimming Zoo Family Hiking Camping

Wow, summer is already over and school has begun for Brianne, but let me tell you about Keaten's summer! He started off his summer with trips to the zoo, parks, World of Bounce (a place where they have a lot of bounce houses setup for kids to run and play on), and the play area at the Naz. I took off random days throughout the summer to go with him to the zoo, the park, and we even made it out to the Wilds!

The Wilds was a fun experience. It is 10,000 acres of pure wildlife from zebras, to rhinos, giraffes, cheetahs, and so forth. You get in a transport vehicle and go on a 2 and half hour tour where you can see the animals both closeup and from a far. We got blocked by giraffes for quite some time and eventually the staff had to come and move them so we could continue on our tour.

The same day we went to the Wilds we also went over to see Big Muskie, a big coal mining machine that was used in the Bucyrus-Erie dragline. The kids were in awe of how large the scoop is which is still available for viewing and climbing in. Keaten was thrilled to see a part of a "mighty machine" up close and was in awe of its massive size.

We also got to attend the Strawberry Festival in London. One would think the entire place would be lined up with strawberry this and strawberry that, but in reality, it was anything but. There was strawberry lemonade, but that was about it. However, Keaten and Brianne got to do their first carnival ride, the Blue Angels, and their first pony ride! To say they had fun, would be an understatement, they can't wait for it to come around again next year.

During the summer Keaten got to go visit his Aunt's and Uncle's. The trip started out with visiting Aunt Megan and Uncle Rob where he went swimming and played at a park. While there he also got to see his Aunt Brittani and Uncle Nathan, along with cousin Judah.

The trip continued to Aunt Amber's and Uncle Kris's where he got to visit the Fort Wayne Zoo and feed the giraffes. He also got to go to a local splash pad which had a running river bed, which Brianne, Finten, and him all thoroughly enjoyed.

Not long after that trip, we went to Tennessee to visit Nana and Papa. While there we went to a huge consignment sale called Jack and Jules searching for fall/winter clothes, then we made our way to the Bush's Baked Beans museum/visitor center! Keaten who was much younger the last time we visited the Bush's Baked Beans Museum, had a great time. Each day in Tennessee ended in the kids playing in the pool, which probably felt great after we did a short hike in Cades Cove on one of the days.

After our trip to Tennessee, we were finally home for a full week and then headed off to Hocking Hills with his Uncle Andrew, Aunt Missy, Nana, and Papa. Staying in a cabin, we did a lot of grilling out, had a couple of bonfires, visited Lake Logan, and hiked to Old Man's Cave and Cantwell Cliffs. Keaten hiked Old Man's Cave with no issue, but when it came to Cantwell Cliffs he was insistent of riding in the backpack, so I carried him most of the way. After the half way point, he got out of the backpack and hiked the rest of the way back. Aunt Missy and Uncle Andrew bought the kids fishing poles. Keaten was still a tad too young to fully grasp fishing, but he had a fantastic time of just dropping the line in the water off the dock. Although he never caught anything Aunt Missy caught a small fish in a pond near the cabin for him, and that made him happy as can be. I look forward to what another year will do with his focus and abilities as I'm sure he'll enjoy it that much more when he really understands how to cast the line.

We came back home Thursday and that evening we got to go to Brianne's school orientation. Keaten was just in awe of the building his sister would be attending. When asked if he wanted to go to school, he was adament that he was not going to school, Sissy was! He was going to stay home with Mommy (Mommy couldn't have been prouder that she still had one who wanted to stay home with her).