Last Minute Recap

So I was going to get right to my Christmas post, but as I was looking through my photos on the computer, I decided I wanted to do a little more recap of the random summer / fall happenings of the Huinker household:  So, here's a bunch of pictures that give a little insight into it all!

PS - Based on the number of pictures included here, I bet you can imagine what one of my New Year's Resolutions is!

Poor Gracie - Never did a pre-school graduation post for her!  Needless to say, she was pretty proud of herself!  She's a huge fan of kindergarten too!

While the girls were at other activities, Grady and I had a little outing to visit the animals at the Winneshiek County Fair.  He liked the animals, but he loved his malt more!

Olivia earned the ability to go of the boards alone this year!  Grace, not to be left behind, quickly completed the ugliest swim across the pool you've ever seen (twice!) in order to be granted the same freedom!  They were pretty proud of themselves to say the least!

 

All the kids like visiting Dunning Springs and playing in the icy water.

One of our main summer highlights was spending time with the Browns (back from Japan) and the Hodens (back from Canada).  This picture is from Quinn's 1st birthday bash - which included a pony to ride!  It's nearly a complete family photo but is missing Tony as he was already back in Japan.  Our next family picture will have Tony and a new baby in it!

Lemonade stand with the Hoden kids.  They made enough to treat themselves and me to Whippy Dip!

Quinn and Grady watching Olivia and Grace at tennis.

Hanging out at the Kruse family farm.

Brian and I took Max and Mya to Niagra Cave for their birthdays - the kids had fun (and so did Grady despite his total scream in this picture).

 Just being silly and pushing Grady in the doll stroller - it's a good thing he had on a helmet because they were going fast, and I couldn't believe that stroller didn't break!

 Summer included lots of trips to the park - Grady decided it was time to be big and tackled both the tire swing and big-boy swings.

Late summer we took a trip to Northfield and the Minnesota Zoo.  The kids loved it and were troopers despite the very hot and humid weather.  It certainly helped that we hit up the splash pad before heading home.  We definitely need to repeat this trip again (x2) next summer!

 Not spring showers...fall showers and puddle jumping!

 

Grady and I took a couple trips up to the La Crosse Children's Museum this fall.  The girls came along on the second trip and had a fun time too.

Halloween!  This year we had a "Bat Fairy," a pumpkin (as someone refused to put on his costume), and "Bat Woman."  Grady figured out how to get candy pretty quickly, and the girls dominated the entire the neighborhood for the first time.  We had to break into two groups because they were moving so fast!

 The Campground:  This was Grady's and my favorite place this fall.  I would run him in the stroller to the park where we'd play for a bit before heading to the stream to throw sticks.  We made these trips weekly even into early December because the weather was so nice.  Our last trip there ended up with a ride home from Grandpa because Grady decided to take a dip...good thing I was watching closely, but I still can't believe it happened at all!

DuNord Recap 2015

Before I write my Christmas/New Year's post (coming soon!), I wanted to get one last recap down from the summer.  I've lost track exactly, but I think this past summer marked my 7th year going to DuNord, and I'm really excited for the tradition to continue next summer too.  It's fun to see how comfortable the girls have gotten at camp - they know their way around, they know what to expect out of Age Group activities, they know the Woitalla family and where to get gummy bears, and they know to expect a great time!  I'm sure it won't take long for Grady to start remembering this annual trip too.  As usual, thanks to my mom and Mark for hosting us.  I'm so glad the girls got this special time with you (again).  This next summer will feel strange without you, but we look forward to sharing a cabin with the Woitallas too!

Here are a few highlight pictures from our stay:

It was worth it to haul along the stroller - Grady did enjoy some nice rides and runs in it.  I know I'll leave it home this summer though because Grady liked walking along the paths with the girls last year so won't have anything else, I imagine, this summer.

 As usual, I enjoyed some great hikes throughout the week.  It's so awesome that Age Group gives adults some time without kids during the week.  This is one of my favorite pictures I took while hiking - usually the Lady Slippers are nearly done blooming when we're there so are hard to find, but last year they were everywhere!

There was a scheduled burn across the lake - so cool to see the flames and smoke - planes/helicopters flew over the burn area for 48 hours and of course firefighters/DNR were monitoring the area closely.  It was amazing to see how much organization goes into an event like that.

Olivia participated in the Polar Bear Swim this year...so, so did I!  Participating was her idea, and she had great fun with it, although this picture makes her look sad (she's in the rainbow swimsuit).  Olivia was always up in the morning getting everyone ready to go; she didn't complain about the cold but always wanted to be wrapped up the second we were done.  This picture is of the day Grace attempted the swim...she didn't make it and ended up standing on the side.  I think she decided it wasn't worth it when she realized she didn't get a T-shirt for just doing it on of the days!  I imagine her competitive nature will have her participating next summer!

As usual, the beach was a place we hit up as frequently as possible.  The weather was amazing and the bugs were basically non-existent which made the beach even more fun than usual...please let it be like that again this coming summer!  Olivia was the bravest with the chilly water, Grace did pretty well, and Grady...well, you can see he has on sandals in the pictures - this was because he hated the sand touching his toes, but at least he liked to play in it)!

 This is the only picture I have of our cabin which is truly a shame because it was the best cabin!  The layout was perfect for us, it was in a beautiful location (secluded yet close to everything), had it's own small beach, and had a great living room area for hanging out.  Wendy and I are crossing our fingers that we get this cabin for next summer.

This is the very fun fairy house my mom and I made with the girls' help/suggestions.  While we did most of the hot-gluing, etc., they were helpful with gathering stones, bark, and other nature stuff for us to put to use.  I have a feeling they'll want to do this activity again this year.