A summer together

We didn't really do anything too extravagant this summer, but we did have a little fun here and there (weather permitting).

The day after we went to Huckleberry Railroad to see Thomas, we took Madeline to eat some real Huckleberries at the Wilderness Arboretum near Caseville. It is located on 120 acres and was dedicated in 1941 on donated property. Our tour guide was Lynn Lenar (a true nature chick... well more like a science teacher).

Along the way we learned about mushrooms and trees that Lynn pointed out with her eagle eye precision, startled a little deer and swatted pesky bugs like mad! There were also some tree frogs here and there, a cool bridge over the marshy area and lots of pretty plants and trees to see.

Here is Madeline enjoying a scrumptious huckleberry along the trail. She ate about a dozen of them and probably would have continued, but she fell asleep.

Lynn also pointed out wintergreen, which we sampled. It was a little leaf that tasted just like the Wrigley's chewing gum... Madeline did not sample the leaf.

And we kicked up our heels, too!

When we got back to Lenar's house, she did sample Dan's grilled chicken and Lynn's whipped cream and blueberries, which she (and we) really enjoyed.

Madeline is definitely an outside-kind-of girl. She loves to be outside and really, really likes riding on the mower with her dad.

So she took a ride on dad's tractor....

And a spin on Papa's 4-wheeler...

And made funny faces beneath the tree after eating tomatoes out of the garden

And we spent time together, which made my heart happy
because she is growing so fast!

We enjoyed the sun and shade, just the girls, giggling and goofing around.

Our favorite summer spot is beneath the old tree in our yard, next to the garden. Next year, we'll make sure there's a slide or sandbox there... something cool!

Even though it was short, summer wasn't too bad afterall for the Ewalds!