We Are On Vacation!

Finally! School is out, we've hit the pool and we've gone camping so summer has officially begun in the Streeter household!

Yes, we've already had our first camping trip of the year. Our last day of school was June 6th and we packed up the van (to the brim!) and set off for the great outdoors the folloing weekend. Our good friends, the Cheesemans, invited us to hang with their high school/college crowd for Father's Day weekend so we did! Five families from Spokane, Okanogan and Portland met in Hunters, WA for the weekend and had a ball! I'd love to show you pictures but I'm at a computer that won't accept my picture card! Maybe I'll be able to add some at a later time.

The weather was gorgeous and the water was low so the swimming area was perfect for all the kids. Our site was right on the lake so kids spent most of the days down at the beach. They loved the big frogs hiding under the floating dock! They also enjoyed the freedom of being able to maneuver the Cheeseman's new canoe in the shallow, logged-in swimming area.

We had a great surprise for Dylan yesterday! Again - I wish I had the pictures uploaded so I could show you the beautiful grin that wouldn't leave Dylan's face! For several years, Dylan has been wanting to take horseback riding lessons. Last year I heard of a woman who does some therapeutic riding with individuals with disabilities. She also teaches kids without disabilities at the same time as her therapeutic rides. She uses adult and student volunteers to act as side walkers and leads. Anyway, it sounded interesting last year and the topic came up again this year so I jumped on it.

Wednesday morning, I got Dylan up, told him to put on his cowboy boots and Wranglers (I wish you could see his skinny little body in his jeans!) but wouldn't tell him what we were doing. I think he figured it out but didn't want to jinx the possibility by saying anything out loud! The whole family set off for the fairgrounds and Dylan got to ride for an hour. He began and ended the session with some grooming where he learned the importance of taking care of your horse. He then had to put his own saddle on, with some help from Siobhan. The riding itself was pretty slow as he had someone walking at his side the whole time but they were teaching him about holding the reins, posture, clicking, kicking....... well, a little of everything! Eventually, Dylan will be riding solo and in a few years could be a volunteer if he chooses too!

I was so excited to be able to do this for Dylan. He is given many opportunities but riding horses has been the one thing that I have sort of pushed aside. I always figured it was a bit of a phase and since horses terrify me :) I never really pursued the lessons. However, seeing how easily Dylan interacted with his horse and how eagerly he listened, I know I've given him a great gift. As he got out of the car at the arena he said he was so excited that he was shaking!

Yes, we are on vacation! Amber is getting married in little over a week in South Bend, IN so we are en route! Our first destination is actually Menomonie, WI where we will spend a couple of days with Aunt Coy, Uncle Don, Sara, and the kids. We will see Grandma Schumacher while we are there and maybe even all the rest of the cousins! My grandmas is in her upper nineties (her exact age is escaping my sleep deprived brain!) so I feel very fortunate to be making this trip with her in mind!

Tonight we are at Linda's and we will be in Billings tomorrow night. We have a lot of long driving days but some very fun days in between. I may be able to post and upload a few pictures in WI. We'll see!

I've been thinking about this trip for a year now and Steve and I have been planning for several months so I am very excited, as are the kids and Steve. My only regret is that we will miss Shawn and Kendall's wedding. We wish them all the happiness they deserve and will get together with them when they return from their honeymoon.