Summer Camp #4

It was time to escape the heat of summer in Texas.  So we packed up our stuff and headed up north, where the summers are lovely…and the people are too. 

Horses

My first stop every time we go to Ohio is to say hi to Annie and Blooper.  These are PeePaw’s horses.  They are always so lovely to me.  Blooper even let me hop on for a quick stroll around the barn. Don’t let her name fool you.  She is a gentle horse when I am on her. 

After our quick stroll, I had to help PeePaw clean up the stalls and feed the horses.  While they were out in the field, we made short work of scooping up their poop.  I grabbed a shovel and started scooping the poop into the wheelbarrow.  Thankfully none of the poop was too fresh.  Once the stalls were cleaned, Peepaw rounded up the horses to put back in the barn.  I gave them each a treat of an apple for being so good with me. 

4^th of July

Today was the fourth of July.  So after a busy morning with the horses, we headed over to my cousins’ place for some burgers and fireworks…well, sparklers at least.  It was a lot of fun.  We made some crazy shapes with the light from the sparklers.  I was hoping to make it to the real fireworks, but it had been a big day, so my body said sleepy time. 

Quick Swim with the cousins

The next day we got to hang out with Evan and Owen again!  It was a hot day (for Ohio), so we headed to their neighborhood swimming pool.  Everyone else in Ohio had the same idea.  This place was hopping!  Both Evan and Owen gave me some swimming lessons, with my floaties still on.  Then the swimming basketball court opened up, so we decided to work on our shots and dunks.  It took a full team effort, but I was able to do my best LeBron impression and power slam the ball home. 

Tennis!

The activity the next day is always a favorite.  We hit the tennis courts with Evan and Owen.  They are too good, so they went off and played with Ma and Pa while I played with PeePaw.  I was crushing the ball.  I had MeeMaw running all over the court trying to chase down my shots.  I think I wore her out. 

Ma and Pa were exhausted too.  Apparently, Evan and Owen had been running them all over the court also.  Finally, we all came back to one court to play an epic game of king (or queen) of the court.  We battled for a while, running back and forth, trying to lay claim to the championship, but in the end, Queen Ma pulled out the victory. 

Ma’s ice cream

Our next adventure took us to another Summer Camp tradition.  It was our time to go out for an ice cream run to Ma’s ice cream shop, Velvet Ice Cream.  Well, it’s not really Ma’s, but I like to think that it was her own personal ice cream shop when she was my age. 

You’ve heard me rave about this place before. It is just incredible.  For starters, the ice cream is fantastic.  The site is almost as good as the ice cream.  There is a giant water wheel out front and a pond where we can feed the ducks.  Have you ever noticed some ducks look a little crazier than others?  Like, if you maintain eye contact for more than 3 seconds, they must attack.  There was one like that out at the pond on this day.  Most were cool, but that one with the crazy eyes, I stayed away from him.  I don’t want to go viral for an episode of When Animals Attack!

Fishing

Later that day, we headed to the back of PeePaw’s property to his small pond.  It was time for some fishing.  PeePaw helped me find some worms for the fish.  We put the worms on the hook, and I threw the line in the water.  There were a few nibbles on the line.  Then BAM!  The pole jerked in my hand, and I started to crank the reel slowly.  But the beast on the other end tried to pull me into the water.  I dug my feet into the mud and slowly reeled the line in, inch by inch.  We fought for what seemed like hours, and in the end, I defeated the beast.  We got him out of the water so I could record my victory.  This fish was well over one pound.  I got my picture, unhooked him, and tossed him back in the water.  Until next year fishy!

Inniswood

We had to take Pa to the airport so he could head back home for work.  After the airport run, we headed to a park called Inniswood.  It has one of the coolest treehouses I have ever seen.  It has some wacky windows and a cool roof.  There is even an entrance that takes you into the middle of the tree.  How wild is that?

We come here each summer so Ma can take pictures of the beautiful roses in their rose garden.  We put together a calendar every year with flowers from our travels, and Ma always wants to make sure Ohio is well represented!  As you can see, the flowers here are pretty epic.

Shale Hollow

Our last adventure for this year’s summer camp was at Shale Hollow.  We have been here a few times.  Last year we went creeking.  This year Evan wanted to bring his microscope to look at different things.  It was super cool.  We looked at some water samples as well as leaves, bugs, and all sorts of other things. 

Each year of summer camp provides all sorts of fun and excitement.  It is so much fun to see my whole family.  And Ohio sure does beat the heat of Texas summer.  There is not much better in life than summer fun with my family!