Throwback Tuesday: An Idyllic Summer Day in 2013

 For my second Throwback Tuesday I pulled a post from August of 2013 which means my boys were 5, 7, & 9 (I had their ages wrong with last week's throwback post and had to adjust them!).  We had a fun day at the state lake park planned with our friends and it was one of those days where everyone got along the whole day and we just had a really wonderful and enjoyable day together.

We had a wonderful day yesterday!  It was one of those perfect summer days... you know that ones that are fun and relaxing and filled with memories.

While I cleaned the house yesterday the boys played quietly.  Ian went outside to work in the sand with his trucks, shovels and buckets while Evan played with his Lego's.  Alec tended to move back and forth between the two.

Evan has been playing with his Lego's a lot lately and  I love to see all the new things he's made up. He has started making up his own designs using pieces from various sets and he was so excited to show me the jet bike he made complete with turbo blasters.

He was so proud! 

It's so nice to see him branching out from just doing what the instructions say and using his imagination.

We were heading out to a homeschool park day around lunch so I told the boys to get ready.  I warned them that we'd be walking to the local park.  I then went on to tell them that since I was carrying all the lunches and the beach blanket, they were responsible for their own towels, goggles, and toys.

After much grumbling, they all decided to wear their bathing suits and pack a towel, goggles, and a few toys into their backpacks.  They remembered to use sunscreen and were all ready to go early.

While waiting they took turns playing with the etch- a- sketch and making stairs, houses, and a generator.

Alec played with his interactive sea life game.  I was impressed by the number of questions he knew and could readily answer.  I also couldn't help notice the way he ties information into his memory.  One of the baby animals is 60lbs. at birth and Alec immediately responded "that's big enough to not have a car seat!"  I've noticed before that he is very good at taking seemingly unrelated topics and tying them together in a way that makes sense to him. 

We finally headed out and Ian decided he wanted to ride his scooter.

Along the way we saw butterflies, birds, caterpillars and lots of nature type stuff.  We also talked about rode safety both when you're walking and when you're riding.

We were the first to arrive from our group so we set up our blanket and the kids started digging in the sand.  We didn't have long to wait until everyone else showed up.  The boys were thrilled that my sister and her two boys showed up as well.

They had so much fun digging a huge hole in the sand that Ian soon turned into a pool, complete with ledge, a shallow end, and a deep end.

The kids swam, played chase, and made up a field game that lasted a really long time.

We had a lovely picnic on the beach, gorgeous weather, and a large bunch of kids that all got along so well.

Alec climbed a tree and was happy to see many of school friends as well as his homeschool friends.

Evan dug in the sand and played with his younger cousin, helping him to create holes and rivers in the sand as well.

It was a perfect summer day. 

Ian soon made friends with another little boy on the beach and we stayed long after the homeschool group had broken up and left.  They were having so much fun playing in the sand and the water and I didn't want to end their fun. 

a bird we saw... dipping repeatedly into the lake.. it had what
looked like a white head and Alec thinks it might have been a bald
eagle.  He was beside himself with excitement

  

It was finally time to head home and get dinner started.  We started our walk home and the boys recapped their favorite parts of the day.

I sent them outside to play and the boys rode bikes and scooters once again.  They chased each other around playing "Wac A Mole" with a piece of a pool noodle that they had found.  They were loud but at least they were active! 
   
We inspected the wasps nests that we found in the ground near the driveway.

They gathered up bikes and scooters and had races, tried out new tricks and practiced balancing.  They climbed rocks, played on the swings and even tried their hand at fishing.  We ended the night with a camp fire and some s'mores.

In the boys eyes it was the perfect summer day topped off by a perfect summer night.  No one wanted to come in for bed and all were eager to see what the next day would bring.   

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