Goodbye to Summer....

The Manne family is finally home! We have been on the road all summer it seems and it is so nice to have no plans of traveling in the near future. Jake and I went on two wilderness trips to Algonquin Provincial Park in Canada, then we visited my parents for a week in Hastings, we took our youth group on an overnight trip to Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, Cole and I went to Michigan to visit the Manne family and my sister-in-law and nephew who were visiting from Alabama, and lastly, we had our own family vacation at Hoffmaster Park in Michigan. Jake's parents were kind enough to let us use their fifth wheel and camp for a week. Of course, as it turns out, Michigan got the only rain it received all summer that week, but we still had a wonderful time. We often went to the Lakeshore mall so Cole could play in the kids area. He loved it and made a ton of new friends. This was the first vacation Jake and I have taken together since our honeymoon and of course it was the first vacation with just the three of us, so we made sure to cherish every minute. Here are some pictures to share with you.....

Playing on the beach

Taking a mud bath at Grandpa and Grandma Ainslie's

Playing with Cousin Sophie at Great-Grandma Janet's

Our family day at Millennium Park

All tuckered out from summer!


Cole's Summer Memories:

• Playing at the beach......nude!
• Eating popsicles that melt all down your hands
• Discovering my love for Elmo for the first time
• Going to the zoo at least once a month
• Learning about mud puddles.....through experimenting of course!
• Visiting all of my cousins......Leto, A.J., Garrett, Anna, Drew, Will, Sophie and Audrey!
• Visiting all of my friends.....Will and Isabella, Jenna and Chase!
• My first camping trip
• My first taste of S'mores.....yummy!
• Drawing with sidewalk chalk
• Eating the sidewalk chalk
• Taking colorful baths because of the sidewalk chalk
• Playing in the sprinkler
• Going down our stairs forward on my bottom.....this has been a dream of mine forever! =)

Cole has grown a lot just in this last summer. We were looking at pictures of him from his birthday in March and I can't believe how much he's changed since then. We are excited to "do" fall with him now that he's old enough to enjoy the leaves and the apple orchards, pumpkin patches and Halloween.....I especially can't wait because fall is my absolute favorite time of the year! I will make sure to post our fall fun as well! And any cute/creative ideas for a toddler boy Halloween costume, let me know!