Summer 2021

 If there was a theme for Summer 2021, I think for us it would be camping & all the outdoor time. Especially with Covid on the rise, we were careful to mostly spend our time doing outdoor, not as crowded activities this spring into summer, which meant plenty of outdoor time (one of our favorite things as a family!). 

We took a couple different camping trips this spring into summer - mostly places we've gone before but a couple new ones as well!

May (Mothers Day Weekend) - Brown County: Somehow we have managed to make Brown County our first camping trip of the season the last couple years...and I am 100% here for it. It is one of our favorite places to go - it's not super far and there's a fair amount to do. We really enjoyed hiking the lakes (and Griff did them almost 100% on his own!). We also love going to the stables to see the horses (which Griff rode this time!) and going into town for pizza and ice cream (the Chocolate Moose has great vegan ice cream!). We usually take Ali with us to get pizza in town but this time opted to skip it and actually drove into Story, IN one day. 

May (Memorial Day Weekend) - Bryson City, NC (Deep Creek Campground): The Smokies are one of our favorite places to camp and we love the North Carolina side because it tends to be quieter. We decided to take a long weekend and just see the NC side (though we missed Elkmont on the other side!). We spent a lot of time exploring the trails near the campground (which has a nice creek to splash in and plenty of waterfalls!). We also went into Asheville, NC to get White Duck Taco Shop (one of Tim & I's favorite) and take Griff to Asheville Museum of Science (AMOS). Griff loved exploring this museum (it was a lot like a mini Children's Museum) - though he did get a little scared when he got to the top of the indoor play structure and mama had to rescue him!). We also drove to Cataloochee one day and hiked some of the trails there, enjoying seeing some of the old houses and some elk. 

July - Oubache: I had never been to this state park and Tim hadn't been since he was a kid, so this was a really fun one to check out! They have Bison at this park and Griff enjoyed seeing them (he actually had been gifted a stuffed bison toy by a friend of Tim's so he got a kick out of bringing that with him!). They also had a nice beach/lake with a trail around it so we spent some time playing in the water there which Griff loved. We also enjoyed plenty of campground walks, campfires, and time at the playground...and went into town for some local ice cream which Griff loved. 

July-August - Holiday World, Oregon Inlet (Outer Banks):I talk way more in depth about this trip in another post but this was one of our favorite spots to road trip to last summer...and this summer was no exception. :)  

We also spent a few weekends camping at Heritage Lake this summer, once even just with me + Griff and his cousins. Griff loved getting to have a sleepover with his cousins and I loved getting to love on them! 

 

We actually had a couple more camping trips planned this spring and summer but ended up cancelling them due to other life circumstances...but we're hoping for more camping time last summer and were thankful for what we got! 

We also spent so much time this summer outside - going to the park, going to the zoo, time at the lake, etc. or just playing in our own backyard! 

Griff loves going to Hummel Park, especially the splash pad or the play ground on the back side of the park...and we do to! We went almost every to every other day this summer. 

We also spent a lot of time at the zoo - I'd often take him in the morning when it wasn't too crowded on my own or we'd have others join us (we even took his cousins one day for Brax's birthday present and Griff loved that!). 

We spent a lot of time in the water or at the lake too. Griff loved swimming (especially on the lily pad), playing in the water table, or going on a boat ride or tubing! 

We also spent a lot of time playing on our play set in the back yard and playing with his water toys in our yard too!

This summer Griff was at such a fun age to experience - he has gotten so much more lively and interactive and is talking so much more. I have loved getting to experience summer and summer activities with him and our little family...and as sad as I am to see that go I am also so excited for all the fall activities that will be coming our way soon too!