Friday Fun (8/22)

We celebrated the end of our first week of school with some Friday popsicles.

Niabi Zoo

Nana joined us this summer for our annual trip to the Niabi Zoo back in July.  The kids enjoyed showing her around on her first trip there and I appreciated the extra help.  I didn't take many pictures with the animals but we did get to hear the lion roar loudly and the giraffes were out and about to look at.

We started off on a train ride.

The kids each feed the lorikeets.  They were entertained when one of the birds went potty on a man that was trying to feed it.

A ride on the carousel is always a must at the zoo.  They each picked out which animal they wanted to ride.

The kids have never taken pony rides at the zoo and decided spend their own money on a ride.  They took a loan out with Nana since we hadn't brought their money along.

Before leaving, we stopped for some pictures in the butterfly chairs.

Okoboji Family Reunion

The Hoefer family celebrated Great Nana's 95th birthday with a family reunion in Okaboji.  It was fun to spend time at the lake with my kiddos since I have so many memories from past family reunions.  I don't even know where to begin describing the week so I'll stick with captions on the pictures for this post.  We are so thankful to be a part of such a wonderful family.

Drake and Eric on the dock with Grandpa.

Lilly, Sylvia and Phillip on the boat with John.

Enjoying the waves with my boys.

Uncle John patiently helping Drake drive the boat.

Extended cousins pile-up on the slide.

Eric likes to help Great Nana with her walker.

Enjoying some sticky s'more's with Adam and Grandpa.

We spent a lot of time on the Noah's Ark/Pirate Ship playground.

Eric and Noah attempting a game of Connect Four.

An evening out with my cousins.

The Hoefer Family 5K participants.

Eric investigated the boat lifts multiple times during the week.

Family "pedal" boat ride.

Eric and daddy's kayak trip.

The cousins all built flashlights with Uncle Lee.

Daddy is good at swings.

Sylvia's kayak trip with daddy.

Lots of cards and games were played in our lounge.

These two enjoyed the water all week.

Great Nana is good at sharing her snack with my boys.

Filling up buckets of water to take down to the beach.

Devil's Lake

This summer we took the kids to Devil's Lake, WI.  We were joined by some good company which made the trip even better.  Our family stayed in a large cabin which made our "camping" trip much easier on all of us.

We did plenty of swimming at the beautiful sandy beach.  Eric really wanted to go on a "pedal" boat but it didn't work out on this trip.

Thanks to Yuani and a buddy of his, we were able to take all the kids rock climbing.  It was so fun to share this experience with them.  Plus, Dan took the kids for lunch at the park and I was able to stay up and do some climbing myself!

We went on a hike through Parfrey's Glen with the Lanes.  The man-made trails have all been washed out so we got to walk through the creek and up boulders.  It was much more exciting that way.  Sylvia and Eric even got to stand in a waterfall with mommy.

We did some meals in the cabin but we also roasted hot dogs and marshmallows over the fire.  The kids all participated in a talent show organized by Beth.  Sylvia sang 5 Little Monkeys and called on Eric to help her with the actions.  Eric made up a song and dance on the spot for his performance.

Before heading home, we hiked to the the top of the east bluff.  All the kids made it to the top on their own.  We stopped for some pictures by balanced rock and Devil's doorway.

4th of July

We joined the Kacmarynski's for the 4th of July parade this year.  We were thankful for friends to sit by as well as the shade of their Texas tent.  The kids got plenty of candy.  Eric sat on the curb most of the parade with his bucket sitting next to him.  He must have looked cute because people would walk right up to him and drop candy in.

We tried out the Coralville fireworks this year from the parking lot of Gilcrest Jewet.  Plenty of space between us and and all the noise but you could still see the show.  Eric wanted his ears covered so we tied his extra shirt around his head and he was happy.