Summer is here and, for us, that means camping!!

We love camping!  

All of us love camping! 

And hiking ...  

... this particular weekend that we went camping, the mosquitos were abundantly harsh!! 

For real, we sprayed mosquito and tick repellant all over ourselves, practically bathed in it, and it just wasn't enough to deter the battalion of mosquitos!

So, the hiking was kept to a minimum.  

Like ... 15 minutes max ... literally!! 

This type of beauty to be discovered and uncovered ...  

... well, it would just have to wait.  Like until the first frost!!! 

The overlook was pretty!!

That's Horicon Marsh in the distance ... 

... we "MAY" venture out that way, depending on the extreme heat index we're supposed to be experiencing on this particular weekend ... oh, and the mosquitos. 

We did venture out to the marsh.  We went earlier in the morning and anticipated only staying for a short bit ... just to say we saw it.   

This mammoth is constructed completely from pieces of hribar ... amazing!! 

The marsh area is actually quite nice.  It's pretty.   

The heat was not yet too unbearable and the mosquitos were not much of an issue at that time. 

We enjoyed exploring and walking around ... even being a bit daring ... 

We saw lots of different wildlife ... 

It was pretty cool to watch this bird convention ... geese, pelicans, herons... all hanging out together. 

Lots 'o Lilypads! 

A Leopard Frog ...he blends in really well --- we saw about a dozen of these guys throughout our walk.

Guess what??  We made it through the whole marsh area ... well, at least we walked around the WHOLE thing.  One giant loop ... came out to about 3.25 miles.  In the heat.  And humidity. 

So, then we went to a splash pad to cool off!! 

It was so cold ... but so perfect!! 

It was just what we needed on a very hot day ... and it was FREE due to the heat advisory!!  YAY! 

Jonah and Rees even took it upon themselves to wade through a nearby stream.  No shame! 

Then we took a walk through the West Bend Labyrinth Garden that was nearby. 

It was so pretty, full or gorgeous flowers and stone paths in a winding labyrinth. 

It was a nice weekend spending time with most of our kiddos.  We saw some great sites and enjoyed the sights as well.  :-)