Summer seriously flew by! Just a bit over two months is all the freedom we get from school running our lives! As always, I tried to make sure we got in plenty of outside adventures. (It definitely helps us get through our day. Otherwise everyone's just biting each other's heads off!)
We made a couple of trips to the new Sports Legends Experience at the Indianapolis Children's Museum! So awesome! The tree house was closed for repairs on our first visit, but thankfully it was fixed by our second trip. We loved it all! Eli's favorite was probably the race cars. (You have to wear close-toed shoes to ride them, which we didn't have on the first time and he was so bummed.) My parents bought a Grandparents Membership, and our whole family is covered under it! We were happy to make our trips there with Grammie and then both Grammie and Grandpa Metheny.
 |
| Exercise machines |
Ezra and Clara both loved the soccer station!
OF COURSE the kids found puddles to play in! They just can't stay away from an opportunity to splash!
 |
| Helping Ezra run the bases. :) |
Inside there's more to see and do on the sports theme. The kids' favorites are the News & Broadcasting station and the Rowing Station.
Clara got a kick out of being on tv!
Eli was rockin' as Camera Man!
Back again and finally ready to race!
Up at the top of the Tree House--
They found the perfect resting place on the side of the tree house. Grammie brought the kids a new copy of We're Going on a Bear Hunt (since Ezra and Clara loving on it so much had completely torn it apart, it being their favorite the past several months).
Eli's always the collector! He'd always leave the creek with many shells and rocks in his bucket (he stores them in his bedroom).
Playing in the woods at Lawrence Inlow Park. I don't care for the play equipment they have and am excited they are building new things, but the kids still enjoy it. It's not very safe or easily accessible (especially for younger children). Even so, Ezra climbed the ladder over and over again to go down the big tunnel slide with Eli.
We take a short walk in the woods when we go there and the kids always want to perform on the "stage."
Meadowlark Park--This is a very simple playground, but I like it because it's surrounded by large, old trees. The area here gets VERY flooded anytime it rains. The last time we went Clara and Ezra got completely drenched jumping in the huge puddles while fully clothed. The joys of being a kid!
One of the gifts Ezra received for his birthday was a play tent! All three kids had so much fun playing in it and bringing their blankets and pillows and reading in there. After some time though they were getting too wild and rolling it around and fighting so the tent has gone away for awhile. :)
One day we played around with water and food colors:
David's parents are in the process of moving, so we wanted to be sure to take last-time pictures of the kids in the yard for memories. They have had such a fun yard. Grandpa Hayes built a playhouse years ago, as well as a teeter-totter. They also have a sandbox, nice shaded deck with porch swing, and a large garden. The kids have always loved playing back there!
We made a few trips to a local pool at Forest Park. Ezra never really warmed up to the pool idea. He hated going in the kiddie pool, and only wanted to be in the big person pool with David holding him, ha! I made him go down the kiddie slide a couple times but he was still not a fan. Maybe next year!
Eli LOVES swimming! Obviously he's still not a strong enough swimmer yet since he's wearing a life vest, but he really enjoys it and tries really hard to work at it. I wish for his sake we could be at the swimming pool a lot more often!
 |
| On that trip Clara would NOT get in the water because she had boo-boos. :/ |
Eli also loved getting to try "snorkeling" under the water. :)
Every pool day HAD to end with a snow cone!
This is the park that we can walk to. It's just about 10 minutes walking from our house, so we've gone there about a hundred million times! Thankfully it's a pretty great park and the kids are always happy to go there.
 |
| Ezra sometimes now walks on his own with us the way there, then I always push him in the stroller on the way back. |
 |
| This ball/maze contraption was just added this summer. |
A house right next to the park had this cage with a couple of ducks inside, haha! Not sure what they were doing there. We'd never seen them before and haven't seen them since!
Clara and Ezra enjoy being my little kitchen helpers, especially when we're baking yummy treats!
West Park--This is a HUGE park in Carmel with lots of land to explore around. It has a small splash area but it's not in the best shape/not our favorite. The kids would all rather play in the silo than splash. It does have this very fun tractor that is perfect for little ones like Ez. He sure loved sitting up there to steer!
Eli found his way to stay cool--making water slides!
We always enjoy ending the visit by feeding the ducks!
David had it in his head that we should go visit the Greencastle Fair (the town where he's from). He took off a couple weeks in July, and we went on one very hot day. We didn't realize that the fair is more of a night-time activity, so the kids were bummed they couldn't ride on any rides. We visited the booths that were open and met the farm animals. I always love the bunnies best!
Creek-Stomping at Flowing Well Park--This place is my FAVORITE! And I bet all three kids would say the same. The scenery and atmosphere is gorgeous. The trees let the sun shine through but also keep you well shaded so you can stay a long time on a scorching day and not feel too warm. There's no end to the fun to be had here!
We met our friends the Gerlas a few times. Clara and Maggie are darling friends, and we always love a chance to get together!
Eli and Clara on the hunt. On one visit we discovered some baby turtles!
We made our names out of the shells. :)
We have been doing a weekly library trip since forever, and our haul of books has grown to a ridiculous amount! We switch going to Westfield and Carmel. Over the summer we attended the storytime for "little ones" at Carmel and it became an instant hit! Each time is individually themed with songs, a story, rhymes, puppets, dancing with egg shakers, and ending with a bubble machine! I didn't realize that my kids apparently think bubble machines are the BEST INVENTION IN THE WORLD! Every time they were running around like crazy trying to catch the bubbles with the biggest smiles across their faces!
We participated in both libraries' Summer Reading Programs, earning prizes for the time spent reading, as well as doing other literary activities. We sure loved treating the whole family with free ice cream and custard at Baskin Robbins and Culvers with our prize coupons! I LOVE that all three kids love, love, love books!
Founders Park--This is where we really get our sand "fix!" The kids also love hanging out in the caves. They love to build moats, digging down deep and filling up with water! I love when they get a whole big group of kiddos working on a project together!
David found a baby bike carrier at a yard sale so he started taking Ezra and Clara for little rides. It was one of their favorite things! (Yes, we put a helmet on Ezra before they rode off.)
Central Park--This park is newer and so it has fun and different features. But most of it is really built better for older kids and makes me crazy nervous if I'm not right by Ezra the whole time. The structures also don't take heat well at all, so you have to be extra careful not to go on too hot of a day (even the rubber ground gets way too hot!) On this trip Clara was being a sweet and helpful big sister. :)
One of the very best parts about going to parks is meeting and making new friends! Eli can get grumpy and restless at home. He is always craving social interaction! (Not his family's, of course.) This particular trip was so fun because he made immediate friends with this other boy in the picture and they played together, laughing, the whole time.
This bumpy slide always brings out lots of smiles and giggles!
None of the kids like to spend time in the yard unless David or I am out there. :/ But we do have a few water activities that got some use this summer--
I don't think Eli stepped in the sprinkler once this summer! The pictures above were taken when we had our friends, the Hassies, over. Brexton and Eli are pictured below, playing their own dress-up imaginative games while the others where soaking in the sprinkler.
Coxhall Gardens--While Eli went straight to digging and creating in the sand on this trip, the youngest ones enjoyed playing pretend in the little buildings.
 |
| Playing restaurant/store. "Here's your chocolate ice cream!" |
 |
| Jailbirds! |
At this park there's a spigot where you can have the water on and run down a rocky hill, into the sand. So Eli leaves the water on for a while to make his moats!
The solution to a VERY hot day!
They love to ring the bell when they arrive and leave.
 |
| Such personality in this firecracker! |
Zoo--We decided to get a zoo membership this past year. We didn't go much. The zoo is just not our favorite. But we took a couple trips. I think the dolphin show is always the most-anticipated part!
 |
| Cooling off in the misting machines |
Asa Bales--This park is down the road from our house, right next to our library. It was remodeled this year and we love the improvements! I think my favorite part is that it was built on turf!
Holliday Park--This one is farther away, in Indianapolis, so we only went twice this summer. The playground area is MASSIVE. There are also hiking trails, a nature center, and a new splash area at the ruins.
 |
| This girl is always quick to give the perfect poses! |
For most of our time playing at the playground Eli was off working in one of the "pits." He and a group of kids were moving big rocks around in what's kind of a "secret hideout."
It was our first visit to this park this year, and I had forgotten that the ruins now had a splash area. So even though we didn't come with swimsuits or towels, the kids all got soaked and had a ball!
Ezra kept running off into the open field next to all those trees behind him! ALL summer long he was such a runner! It was often the debate of "Do I let him run and wait for him to turn around so he doesn't get the thrill of being chased?" or "I gotta grab him quick because he will never come back and he's too close to danger." He always thought it was a hilarious game. I counted chasing him all over the place as my exercise for the summer!
When we were back at the playground Clara made best buddies with this little girl. They played everything together! They walked over to the ruins to splash with us. I love the young age where you can make friends so easily!
We took David back with us on another visit when he took some vacation time off work. They have the coolest tree that David and Eli climbed!
Eli was BEGGING to have a yard sale since the spring! I kept putting it off because of how much work it would be to get ready (and because we kept wanting to go to OTHER community yard sales. We scored big time for Clara at some of them!) Then we had some too-hot Saturdays so it got put off longer. Finally I wrote a date on the calendar for the end of July. Here's piles of just GIRLS clothes. We have soo much!
Of course that day ended up being just as hot! Even with homemade cookies and lemonade to sell, we unfortunately did not have many customers, and very sadly had to pack it all up to try again next spring. I just don't think the area we live in is a very good spot for garage sales. Eli did very well for himself, earning $10 by selling a box of his pokemon cards!
The kiddos and I made a trip down to Castleton to visit Daddy at work! Each kid took a turn spinning around in his chair and then we headed to the mall nearby to have lunch at the food court and let the kids play in the play area.
After David went back to work I walked through the mall a minute to see if we could ride on the train (it wasn't working that day). But we did find these coin-operated vehicles! Even though I didn't have any coins on me, the kids loved sitting and playing on each vehicle!
Conner Prairie--We made at least a few trips here over the summer.
 |
| They loved this fishing spot that they added this year. |
 |
| The tram ride is always #1 favorite! |
Playing at the Treetop Outpost--
They love to watch the potter!
Mulberry Fields--I had heard of this park in Zionsville but we had never been there before. Always nice to try a new place!
A major highlight of Eli's summer is that he learned how to ride a bike! He's just been riding his big wheel FOREVER. We knew it was time to get him on a real bike (especially since the neighbor boys that he's friends with were always out on their bikes). First David tried taking Eli to a field to teach him how to ride a bike. That didn't go over well. Eli was really nervous and afraid of falling. So then he took the pedals off Eli's bike to make it like a balance bike. For about a week Eli was balancing his bike all around with his buddies and pretty speedily! When he felt ready we added the pedals and he took off, never looking back! He LOVES the freedom of bike-riding! He spent as much time as able, hours every day, out on his bike. Next up is getting Clara bike-ready!
Here's a funny little video of Eli swinging like Tarzan off a vine at Cool Creek.
There was a week or two in the summer when the Colts were at our local Grand Park for a Training Camp. David took Eli there one afternoon for "Kids Day."
We met my parents for dinner and a little celebration for my birthday in August. My mom made the most delicious chocolate chip cheesecake per my request! Yum!
Playing on top of the "mountain" at Simon Moon Park--
So long, summer!
Glad that you guys liked the post…Nice post!.let me do now!
ReplyDeleteลิฟติ้งขนตา