Happy Campers

Well...put a bow on it...say good night...the fat lady has sung.  Summer 2012 is officially over.  On November 2, this may not come as a surprise to many of you.  But I have been a holdout...still digging out my capris and flip-flops if the temperature is over 60 and not raining.  Today, though, I must concede since we officially swaddled our camper for the coming winter weather.

We spent a total of 25 nights in our mobile vacation home, starting on Memorial Day weekend and wrapping up the last weekend of September.  Almost the equivalent of an entire month.  And we loved it.  We are grateful for that time as a family.  With our eldest approaching the age of 15, we know this time is waning.  So we treasure it and will cling to it for as long as we can.  Here's just a few of our special  moments.

We kicked off the summer with a rainbow...a beautiful reminder of just one of the Creator's promises.

We roasted strawberries, wrapped in marshmallow fluff, over the fire.

We were awakened one morning by hot air balloons soaring right over our site.

We celebrated America's Independence Day with fireworks on a beach along the Straits of Mackinac.

We painted rocks to leave on a beach along Lake Huron.

We climbed the great sand dunes resting between Lake Michigan and Silver Lake...by foot and by car.

We visited six lighthouses.

We watched a rainstorm across Thunder Bay.

We camped with a 24/7 view of the mighty Mackinac Bridge.

And we saw countless sunsets (no sunrises, though, because those occur too early in the day)...and splashed with cousins and friends...and explored with grandparents.

And now...with a rough winter predicted...we will keep our eyes on Summer 2013...counting the days until we can plan each new adventure ahead of us.