Last of summer!

We decided to do one quick family camping trip before school started, so we went up to Door County on the thumb of Wisconsin and camped at Peninsula State Park. It was kind of last minute so there was only one night available, but we had a great time! Our camping spot was perfect!

I love lighthouses! This one was very pretty. It had some of it's history written on a plaque and it was kind of sad. One of the lighthouse keepers watched his own son fall through the ice and die. Sad!

We decided to take the "difficult" trail. Which ended up being not too difficult. Although we did get a bit of course, so we aren't sure if we accidentally skipped the difficult part.

The boys thought these cliffs looked like minecraft caves! They really do!

Wesley needed a moment of quiet meditation. Silly kid!

Even though the hike wasn't too hard, the boys were able to convince the girls to carry them. And Brian was carrying a sleeping Sullivan. Lucky boys! It was so nice to spend a few days as a family before school began.

Summer Trip part 7: Homeward Bound

We left for home early on the 3rd of July. We didn't take the scenic route this time around, we were just trying to make good time! Luckily Sullivan did much better on the way home!

On the afternoon on the 4th of July John called and told us Sara had passed away. It was hard news. She had only received the cancer diagnosis 8 short weeks before. She left behind 5 kids under age 11 and a husband finishing his phD in Chemistry. What a trial. We are thankful we have complete trust and faith in God and know there is a plan and that they will be together again. 

 

It was so nice to see our families, but it was nice to be home again as well.

Summer Trip Part 6: Johnson/Dalley reunion

After the Phillips reunion we drove back to Preston to be with my family for a week. It had been way too long once again since we had all been together. My mom had so many fun things planned for the kids. The kids loved playing in the pool, sleeping outside in tents and hanging out together.

 

We had planned on staying through the 4th of July, but we received some sad news from home that a good friend of ours, Sara Roylance who had been battling pancreatic cancer for the last 8 weeks, wasn't expected to make it through the next few days. It was hard to leave early, but Sara and her husband John are our good friends and Brian is the Bishop of our ward so we felt we needed to go home early.

Summer Trip Part 5: Phillips Reunion

 We spent a week with the Phillips clan and had so much fun. We were mostly working on Alex and Cathrine's wedding, which took place out at the river! We also managed to squeeze in a day at the park, the family variety show, camping at the river, a hike to the Wind caves and lots of family fun!

Nora building a dam at the park. I can't remember now who helped her with this, but she was the only one who kept at it the entire time.

Sweet Lucy and the American Girl doll I brought her!

Fun family dinners.

We played the duct tape candy rolling game, always a crowd pleaser!

Ice cream time!