It is Tuesday, which means my friends Diana and Jayme are hosting another round of Tell All Tuesday. This is a fun linky party to get us blogging and sharing this summer. Thanks for hosting ladies!
Today's theme is Summer Snapshot, where we share a picture about summer. In thinking about summers growing up and summers now as an adult, there are a few vacations that come to mind. Camping and Mackinac Island. These are two things my husband and I both did growing up and a tradition we are trying to pass on to our children.
Camping:
When I was little we did a lot of camping. It was a cheap way to travel when you had 4 kids. We saw a lot of the country that way...sadly I don't remember a ton of it. My most memorable trip was to the Candian Rockies. We spent a week driving there (camping each night), two weeks in the Rockies, and another week driving home. That is one month of camping people. In a tent. We are camping purists so no RV for us. I remember loving every minute of it and being outside and exploring the US and Canada with my family. But now, as a mom of two little girls, I think, how did my parents do it? A weekend camping with two little ones was a lot of work to plan. And my parents did it with four of us for weeks at a time, before smartphones. I am constantly amazed. My husband commented recently that while I have fond memories of camping, my parents probably have a different memory and list of things they had to worry about - where are we staying, what are we eating, how are we going to entertain the kids, what are the kids getting into, do we have enough clothes, is everyone warm enough, are these kids ever going to stop fighting, what's the weather like, is the tent leaking.....all the things we now get to experience as the adults on the trip! Ha. Here is a little then and now...(side note: this picture amuses me because I do NOT like hot dogs now and rarely serve or eat them unless I'm at a baseball game, but we had them on our camping trip last weekend because it is easy)
Mackinac Island:
One of my most favorite places on earth is Mackinac Island. I blogged about it a bit HERE . It is an island in between upper and lower Michigan and it is my happy place. There are no cars on the island - bikes and horses only. It is a slower and simpler way of life and such a fun place to explore. We went a lot when I was growing up. My parents honeymooned there so it was special to them and they wanted to pass that on to us. We usually went in the summer so I associate the island with summer. While some parts of the island are open year round, it is really just a spring-fall place because it is tricky to get to the island in the winter and the only people there are the locals. My husband and I have gone every year since we met, except for the year I was pregnant with M (we still kick ourselves that we missed that year.) We tend to go in the fall because it is cheaper and less crowded. Our girls loved it last year and K regularly talks about it. We are planning to go in the beginning of September this year unless I can find a free weekend and a cheap hotel/bed and breakfast before that. These pictures weren't in the exact spot but the statue in the back is the same. I'm the one in the sweet pink 80s shades, matching my little sister. And yes we both had fanny packs on and so did my mom. And my dad cropped my little brother out of this shot apparently. Bahaha!
That is what I think of when I think of summer. How about you? Want to link up too?
Here's how to join in on the fun:
1. Grab the picture and banner above and use it to link back to this post on your blog.
2. Write a post about the topic of the week.
This week is: Summer Snapshot!
3. Add your link below.
4. Advertise your post using any social media of your choice.