End of Summer Fun

Our summer officially ended last week, but not before we squeezed in quite a bit of fun. The highlight was a trip to Santa Claus, Indiana where we camped at Lake Rudolph. It's right next door to Holiday World, a really fun amusement and water park. There was an excessive heat warning almost the whole time we were there, but we found some memorable ways to beat the heat. One was "the avalanche" at Santa's Candy Castle.

This was a half gallon of frozen hot chocolate. It really hit the spot!

And yes, we were able to polish off the whole thing.

We rented a golf cart to get around the enormous campground. One of our favorite activities was to just ride around and enjoy the breeze.

We went fishing at the campground pond, but Joel and Maci mostly just wanted to take in the scenery. This picture was completely candid, we didn't ask them to do this! Before getting lost in their adorableness, notice that one of the roller coasters at Holiday World extends out over the pond in the background. We got a kick out of listening to the riders scream as they zipped by.

Once it cooled off enough to finally make a fire, we enjoyed roasting marshmallows. We couldn't end our trip before we did that! I included this picture, since it's apparently the only one from the whole vacation that had me in it!

After all of our fun, we were all pretty tuckered out and ready to head home.

After a day of unpacking and a few more outings, it was time for Jonah to start second grade. Here we are gathering with some of the seminary kids before we walked to school together on the first day.

Jonah was so excited to reunite with his friends from first grade, Jonathan and Leo. They all found each other within seconds of arriving on the playground.

Jonah had a great first few days of school. The rest of us are settled back into our routines too. We're looking forward to all that this next year brings, and the adventures that are to follow.

Blessings to you and yours!