If you're going to get covid, make sure you pass it along to your best friends so that you can be miserable together and still hang out. Just over a week after we got sick, we went to a riverside spot that is pretty quiet. Enoch discovered how much he loves filling and dumping his truck and I think Ira could've stayed buried in the sand for a long, long time. He was happiest buried in the sand.

Just some photos of us hanging around outdoors. Conor and I had an exchange about how wonderful the relaxed vibe is. That no one is hurrying and everyone is just there. We left Holly and Greta in Yahk with my parents for the rest of the week and they had a great time! Loving my children is my love language.

We spent a short weekend out in BC with my parents. We met them at Kootney Lake on a Saturday morning. The weather was a little touch and go with thunder in the distance, but the sun pulled through for us! Enoch and Ira were very unsettled by the loose sand, however, by the end of our time at the beach, Ira was on his tummy playing in it! This little spot on the lake is so pretty! After a couple summers of no Yahk time, we really liked being out there!

The water table has been a huge hit, especially for a certain little one year old who loves to splash in the toilet every chance he gets! We love spending time out front in our yard space. Maeve has a new little fairy garden and we're just full send on the "kids live here" vibe.

Our third annual Coulee City, Banks Lake trip! We love this summer trip! It's so low key and basic. I hope to return in a cooler season to do some family hikes. But at this phase and season, our days were swimming and napping the babies. The first day we arrived, the area was pretty smokey but by the next morning the smoke had cleared. E loved crawling through the water. The day use beach at Steamboat Rock State Park is so awesome because it's shallow for a long ways and the sand is so soft!

Our second day we played in the water in the morning, ate lunch and napped the babies, and then played again in the late afternoon before eating dinner in Electric City. A couple of important things we forgot were the baby carrier for Ira, sand toys, and E's floatie. We packed a paddle board but never took it out because the effort that required was beyond us.

Our last day was overcast, chilly with some rain. The kids still got in the water and so did I. Then we had our lunch by the playground and returned home. Vacations/trips with five (FIVE!) children are no joke, but I think they're worth it.

Here are our past vacations at Banks Lake. There's something super special about repeating a vacation with E.