Summer hair cuts and more

Summer buzzes are back!  It took a little convincing on my part to make Pete do them in May.  But when I see the kids running around outside and their hair getting getting matted and sticky with sweat, it's time for it to go.  We do this every year, it's fun to look back at previous years (2011, 2010, 2009, 2008).

Over Memorial Day weekend we went camping at Sugarloaf Lake.  It started out so great.  And ended up kind of in disaster.  I spent the whole day Friday getting things ready to go, found a campground (about 30 minutes away in the Waterloo Recreation Area), drove over with the kids earlier in the day to set up the tent and reserve our spot, then came home for naps and to finish packing (getting things ready for a camping trip with 4 little boys pulling at me from every direction is no small task!)  As soon as Pete got home we headed over there, had some dinner over the campfire, then let the kids play at the park.  As you can see below, Dan and Joe decided to take a late night dip in the lake.  Nice.  This was our first time camping at a more modern campground.  Lots of trailers, bikes, chairs, grills... there were some luxurious setups there!  The campground we wanted to go to was all full so we decided to try this one.  And it actually ended up being pretty fun.  Lots of people, lots of noise, kids running all over the place... we fit in nicely :)

The next morning we woke up to rain.  And lots of it.  By the time the kids woke up the rain had slowed, so we ventured out to cook a hot breakfast.  I was a little jealous as I looked around at all the people inside their campers staying dry and watching movies on their big screens (seriously).  After we ate we retreated to our tent and played games to wait out the rain.  "Down by the banks" was a favorite.  The rain finally let up so the kids and Pete went down to the lake and the park to play for a bit while I cleaned up and fed the babe.  By the time I joined them some darker clouds were rolling in again, so Pete took off to go put the tent away before the rain came.  It was maybe a quarter mile back to the tent, and of course about 3 minutes after Pete left, lo and behold it started pouring on me and the kids.  The kind of pouring that it only does out here.  Within a minute we were all totally soaked.  I quickly gathered our stuff and started pulling the wagon back with my right hand with Will in the carrier (thankfully staying dry and sleeping), Joe crying in my left arm, Dan crying and shivering in the wagon, and John dragging his feet behind us.  Fun.  Meanwhile everyone else in the campground must have realized it was about to downpour and were safe and dry in their campers.  Needless to say we threw everyone in the car as soon as we got there and headed home.  Oh man.  Sorry Will, your first camping adventure was kind of lame.  BUT... the best thing that come out of this trip was that Will slept from 10:30 to 5:30!!!  It was amazing.  I got 6 straight hours of sleep.  That may have made the whole trip worth it.

On Memorial Day we went to the parade in Dexter.  Love these small town parades.

And the fun didn't end there!  Later that afternoon we went over to our friends' house, the Fredenberg's.  We had yummy tin foil dinners and made tie dyed shirts.  The kids had a ton of fun wandering around their farm, looking at the goats, sheep, chickens, dog and cats, playing soccer and following the other kids around.  Such a fun afternoon!  Fun until Joe, Dan and Will all hit exhaustion at the same time.  But we all slept really good that night :)

Clara and John had fun playing with their babies.

John told me what colors to do on his shirt.

I love how the shirts turned out!  And the kids love them too, they had to put them on as soon as they were out of the dryer.

Last but not least, our summer jammies!  I made them out of some old sheets that my sister-in-law had given us.  Still in excellent condition.  We weren't really in need of sheets, so they got turned into pj's.