Tri-ponds and the Hudsonville Fair

The end of August we took the kids to the Hudsonville Fair. I had entered Gibson in Right to Life's Precious Baby Contest, so we went to vote for him (while donating money to a good cause) and check out the fair (he didn't win:( ). My dad and Joyce were also working at the Beaver Dam food booth, but it was so crowded and seeing that they don't have high chairs, we weren't sure how we'd fit in there with the kids so we opted to get our food from the outside window at the Beaver Dam booth.

Enjoying her bbq and fries...

Em, Mike and Gavin were there, so Layla and Gavin went on a ride together and both seemed to enjoy it. Joe's parents and sister were also there that night and so was Heidi, so pretty much our entire family (except for Steve) was at the fair that night.

It was a bit bright:)...

The only game they did was the pick a duck game. They each had fun choosing their duck, although I'm pretty sure Layla would have kept picking if she could have:).

There were a few different prizes they could choose from based on the number they selected that was on the bottom of the ducky. I tried to convince Layla to select one of the little rubber duckies they had, but of course she wanted the largest toy possible!

And of course this is what they both did as soon as they got them:)...

Silly kiddos:)...

Layla also enjoyed checking out the tractors. We walked through all the animal barns too. She liked looking at the animals, but the only animal she wanted to touch was they bunny.

Inside the booth barn she got a sticker and a tattoo that she was very excited to show off:)...

And since he didn't make any of the other pics, here is proof that Gibson was there too:)...

He now enjoys her prize at home:)...

Also in August, we went with some families from church to Tri-ponds in Allegan. It's worked out great this year that all of the places we've gone camping have been pretty close to home! We tried keeping Gibson on towels, but that did not work so well:).

I thought that since "pond" is in the title, the ponds would be a little more active. One is a fishing pond, one is, um, something else, and one is a swimming pond, but there is hardly any beach at the swimming one. Nonetheless, Layla enjoyed the small beach area. Overall, Tri-ponds was really nice! Our site was decent size and grassy and the pool area was nice too. After being to quite a few different campgrounds in the past couple of years, we have definitely learned what we like about each one and what we don't.

Gibson playing with his buddy, Owen...

Layla in the pool with Anika...

Staying warm after swimming!

When we go with our friends, we typically put the kids to bed on time and they therefore miss out on smore time. Layla stayed up a little later than normal on Saturday to join in on roasting marshmallows.

Yum!

The kids before bedtime...

Laura, Logan, Wendy and Kevin gathered around the fire...

The kids had fun running out into the field that was behind our sites--Layla had fun trying to keep up:)...

End of Summer Camping Trip

Our camping season has sadly come to an end:(. We've had a great summer camping although it was definitely work taking (and packing for) a 2 year old and a baby. This last time especially was a bit more challenging since Gibson just wants to move all over, but we still had a good time! It's been fun watching Layla enjoy camping--she still talks about it and I have to remind her that we can't go again until next summer:).

We went to Oak Grove in Holland (by the beach). It was similar to Sandy Pines in that it had a lot of permanant trailers/mini houses--it wasn't what we expected, but we had a good time! They did have a hot tub that us ladies (except for Jill since she's preggers) got to enjoy for a bit Saturday afternoon so that was nice. Heukers and us came out on Thursday and Coppesses and Konings came out on Friday. Gibson and Layla had colds (as did Maddy and Jonathan), so that made Gibson a bit grumpy, but overall, he didn't do too bad. They slept good which is always a concern of mine with all of us in the same room! Elvis didn't join us this time since Lindsey and me and the kids wanted to go to some garage sales on Friday, but with the storm Friday night, it was probably a good thing he wasn't there (he has some major storm anxiety issues and would not have enjoyed hearing it in the trailer and would have kept us up!).

Jonathan and Layla playing golf with a bat:)...

This is how they say "cheese" :)...

Maddy and Gibs hanging out in their excersaucers...they were handy to keep the babies contained!

Apparently the sky was interesting:)...

Mickey figured out how to peak out of their camper:)...

Snack time!

The babies playing...

Saturday it rained, so we had to make use of Heuker's tent thing...we would have been a lot wetter without it!

Layla loves playing with Kali. It's cute to watch Layla follow Kali around like she thinks she's such a big girl like Kali:)...

Jill and Ella hanging out with Lindsey and Madison...

How many dads does it take to put on a baby's sweatshirt? :)

It was quite muddy!!

Chatting over dinner...

The babies eating together...Gibs' face was as messy at Maddy's, you just can't tell b/c his food was light colored:)...

Being a good big sister by talking to her bro...

The babies staying warm...

Mason, Jonathan, Layla and Kali playing...

Ella and Layla...

Layla's strange "cheese" face again...(Layla is actually not all that short, well, compared to national averages, she just has really tall friends:D)...

Gibs exploring the trailer...it worked well to just keep him in there some of the time so that he could move around--after the rain, it didn't work so well to have them move around in the mud:)...

Lindsey with Jonathan and Madison and me with Layla and Gibson...

Me relaxing with my kiddos...

The kids could enjoy their sidewalk chalk since hardly any cars drove past (and they were very careful to watch for cars coming)...Layla drew that moose--just kidding:), Joe had fun drawing too:)...

Layla has quite the imagination, at home when she colors, she'll draw something that slightly resembles a triangle and will say that she drew a house:).

We had a fun last camping trip and it will be sad to pack up our camper for the winter. It's weird to think about camping next year with an 18 month old and a 3 year old--I'm hoping it'll be less work, but that might be wishful thinking:).