It Is Summer

And that's a fact.

Date nights watching cover bands:

Independence Day in... Independence, where else?

Another trip to Boston for work:

You're not enjoying the summer as much as Lily:

But you can sure try...

Rose spent probably the hottest week of the summer at camp, but it builds character:

Next month: vacation!

Morwood

The weather couldn't have been more perfect for camping at Morwood Campground. It's a tidy, well-maintained campground with a pool, miniature golf, hayrack rides, hiking trails... and Amish people working in the fields nearby. The Amish weird me out a little, but it's cool. Anyway, we stayed a couple nights and it was one of the quietest campgrounds I've visited.

Since it's June and there has been a lot of rain lately we came prepared. We had five different brands of bug spray (and itch stuff for bites) and the winner is... none of them. Cutter was the only thing that the bugs seemed to dislike momentarily, but you have to reapply it often to keep 'em away. Better than nothing.

The afternoons were hot, but there was a steady breeze and the humidity was low, so it wasn't too bad. We took a break between trips to the pool:

One of the best parts of always carrying a camera around is the ability to annoy everyone. Good morning, Rose:

Nearby there is a nature center and wildlife displays at Fontana Park.

One of the Amish cats became friends with us:

So yeah, Lazy Acres and Morwood; a couple good camping spots in Iowa.

JellyStone Park

Last camping trip of the summer! We went tubing on the Maquoketa River, took a hayrack ride, cooked over the fire, and had some fun camping next to the river. The mosquitos welcomed us, too. Oddly enough, they seemed to disappear as soon as it got dark. Not sure what that's about it, but I'm not complaining. It was a good weekend outdoors!

Pictionary and being creepy:

I like a good sunrise:

Back at Backbone

It was a weekend of perfect weather for camping at Backbone State Park; upper 70s during the day and low of 60 at night and lots of sun. This was our first camping trip of the summer, but we're going to try to get in one or two more camping trips on decent weekends.

After picking our campsite and setting up the tent, we went down to the lake to play in the water for the day:

The water was super cold, so we weren't planning to swim, but Rose fell in. Her braces make her do that a lot. Cynthia caught the moment she hit the water. Nice timing!

We stepped on some lost toys as we were wading:

Paddle boats!

The playground near our campsite:

Later in the afternoon the Conrads drove out to hang out with us for a while. They brought the girls' 4th of July parade candy which the girls had forgotten at their house and I helped them eat it.

We played Ghost in the Graveyard after dark and then walked around and saw some deer nearby. Then we roasted marshmallows to make s'mores and went to sleep. The next morning we went hiking:

Bill the Snail!