We still have another official week of summer, but volleyball has started, we have 2 birthdays to celebrate this week, 2 open houses to attend, and Carson and Ava are with their Mom for Labor Day weekend so our last hurrah had to be last week – which we jumped on!

I mentioned last week that we went hiking. Caleb has been working so hard on Ava’s room and the fall is super busy work and activity wise for me and the kids, so I just wanted to get out of town even for a short while. With Carson’s birthday party the night before, we knew we had limited time so we decided to stay semi close and head to Taylor’s Falls, MN (about a hour away). We went to Interstate Park and actually went to both the MN and WI sides of the St. Croix River. Both were beautiful but the WI side was over double the cost to attend. Go figure.

Anyway, I packed a picnic lunch, we drove East and enjoyed some quiet family time outdoors. We ate the picnic lunch outside, then went hiking and exploring on the bluffs. It was beautiful! But shocking too. There was almost zero restraints from some of the cliffs. Freaked Caleb and I out a little. We were super cautious with the kids. As usual, Harvey road on my back and Caleb carried the gear (#gocargopants).

After hiking for a few hours, Harvey was getting fussy hungry and antsy to get out of the carrier. So we headed across the bridge to WI and their half of Interstate Park and went swimming. I rested on a blanket while Harvey napped and the Caleb watched the kids go swimming. It was a teeny lake off the bluffs and it felt completely hidden. Besides the 6 of us, there was 1 other person so in our normal habits we took over. Sigh. Sorry random person.

Once Harvey woke up, the kids changed, and we headed out for a dinner in town and then drove home. It was a perfect summer day. Nothing is better than being outside with my people in some of the most beautiful places you’ll ever see ♥

I hope you had the chance to enjoy a few wonderful summer days before they disappear to school and schedules!

Pssst! This Thursday (September 1st) I’ll be joining Brave Love Blog for her Blogtember Challenge! Blogging a specific post everyday. Now I know this is out of my usual posting schedule & calendar soooo I’ll be posting some days, twice a day to get both my normal and the new posts in for the month. Happy extra reading! AND wish me luck! It is definitely a challenge!