Summer River Trip

A few days after getting back from our last camping trip of our Summer we headed out to meet our friends at the river!   Can you tell the girls were excited?? 

We arrived right around dinner so after hello's and unpacking we all piled back into the car and went out to eat at a local Mexican restaurant and after that we changed into swimsuits and then headed down to the river making sure to use every last bit of daylight that we could.

There ended up being bugs all over so even though the kids were happy in the river, the parents weren't so we relocated to a neighbors pool and everyone swam until 10ish before we called it a night.

The next morning the kids were busy sharing their favorite games on their tablets and after we peeled them away from that fun they got swimsuits on and we headed back down to the river.

Brooklyn made sure to make Millie very comfy since we would be gone all day.

We didn't go out on the boat this day but we rode wave runners and the kids played and had a blast, as did the parents.

Kayla rode on a wave runner for the first time but she was not much of a fan.  She kept saying "I'm going to fall off, I'm going to fall off"  I was pretty sure she wasn't going to enjoy it because it does seem a bit scary if you've never been on one but she tried it and now she knows.

These aqua pads are the newest, coolest river/lake accessory.  They are so perfect for kids to play on and for the adults to lounge on.

Sunday was our last full day at the river and we spent the late afternoon out on the boat.  Kayla was a little sad that they didn't get to ride on the tubes behind the boat but we reminded her that this isn't our trip to plan we are just guests that were invited along.  We all had a great time nonetheless and after driving around for awhile we parked at a small beach area and while the adults talked and enjoyed snacks and drinks the kids were exploring.

While the kids were exploring they started to use their awesome imaginations and made their own shelter with all of the branches, leaves and sticks they found.  They even set up a little fire pit off to the right of the picture.

They did such a great job that we offered to leave them out all night and we would pick them up in the morning to see how their new shelter would hold up but for some reason they did not agree to that idea.

The clouds rolling in made the sky so beautiful!

On the way back the dads hung out with the kids in the front of the boat while the moms enjoyed the quiet in the back.

When it's over 100 degrees and humid you stop here and there to jump into the cold river water to cool off!

I love, love, love being on the river when the sun is setting, it is gorgeous.

So thankful these two cuties met in preschool and is the reason we met the family in the first place.  They were so cute when we floated down the river they were holding hands so they wouldn't get separated.  I wonder if in 10 years they will remember holding hands down the river together?

After preschool Brooklyn and her buddy went to different schools and we never saw them until Kayla ended up having his sister on her softball team.  They quickly became the best of buddies and we all started hanging out together becoming good friends with their parents.  They just recently moved to Arizona so they are almost 4 hours away now but we are hoping to still keep in touch and yes we are all bummed they moved so far away.

Our last night at the river we finished the puzzle we had all started and worked on.  Brooklyn's little buddy hid the last four pieces so while we were going crazy looking for them he handed one to his sister, Kayla and Brooklyn so they could be the ones to finish the puzzle.  It was another cute moment watching them all giggle while they put their last pieces in the puzzle.

We left the next morning with lots of fun memories of another great river trip with great friends.