Barnhill Waterslide

One of the things I loved about going to Wisconsin as a child was there were always plenty of cousins to play with. Another was that there were endless things to explore and create. Plenty of "scope for the imagination" as Anne of Green Gables would say. My favorite activity from this particular visit was using some of Uncle Phil's tarp to create an enormous waterslide on the barnhill. Uncle Phil and my cousin Nathan used hay bales at the end of the slide to create a pool for the kids to slide into. While this was one thing we never created as children I'm pretty sure it's something these cousins will remember fondly for years to come! :)

 

 Even if you're not an active participant if you're standing in the right (or wrong) place you still get plenty of action...

 Jackson jumped right in with all the big kids and thought this waterslide idea was a great one!

 They used a sprinkler at the top of the slide to provide the water. Nathan and the kids took turns spraying each other so they could run through the sprinkler as well as slide.

 Aunt Dee had sent down ice cream the day before so we decided it would make the perfect ice cream break!

 Love this picture of the kids all lined up eating ice cream. From left to right we have Jackson, Kennedy, Haydn, Kage, Kolton, Reagan and Ariel

 For our second day of water sliding fun Eleanor and Peter joined the Carlson cousin crew

 Pile up!

 I think this series of brother/sister shots are so cute! Love that they are holding hands as they fly down the slide! :)

 These two were wild men both days but this picture doesn't do credit to their antics! lol :)

  The kids had a good time trying to hold on to the balls Aunt Arla had provided

Peter was being so cute and smiling so sweetly. I asked him if I could take a picture and this is what he did for me. lol :) 

 I did capture this smile as well after working on it for a while 

Deep conversations with Uncle Phil

What says summer better than waterplay and watermelon with cousins?!?!?

Thank you Great Grandma for letting us play hard at your house! Thank you Uncle Phil and Nathan for setting this up for us! Thank you Aunt Dee, Aunt Arla and Grammy for providing such yummy snack breaks! Thank you to all the cousins who came to play with us! :) Thank you everyone for such awesome summer fun and memories! :)

Father's Day 2012

Unfortunately we were not able to spend Father's Day with Grand-Dad or Daddy this year since we were in Wisconsin and they weren't. :( We were able to enjoy a beautiful day with a couple of uncles, however, and certainly sent our wishes to the special dads in our lives! After church Jackson decided to check out Uncle Randy's new motorcycle.

 Back at the farm he put on his new Thomas boots and headed out to the barn

 Reagan needed to have a discussion with Uncle Phil on this cow's misbehavoir and why she's not allowed outside with the rest of his cows.

 Reagan rode out with Uncle Phil to herd the cows back to the barn for evening milking

 Kennedy decided she trusted Aunt Dee's 4-wheeler driving more than Uncle Phil's...

 

Somehow these two little wild and crazies ended up in the pool with their clothes on!

 

My cousin Julie along with her family and parents, my Aunt Carla and Uncle Pete, came by in the afternoon to visit. Here are Kennedy and Amber checking out the Explorer and iXL games together.

 

 As you can see from these pictures, Seth was having a wonderful time with his father and grandpa

 Aunt Carla with two of her cute grandkids

 That evening before bed everyone decided they needed to sit on Great Grandma's lap, at the same time. It's a good thing we have a very sweet and patient Great Grandma! :)

Thank you everyone for another super fun day! :)