Adventures with Cousin Kelsey

 Cousin Kelsey Stephens got to play hooky from day care in Humboldt for a couple of days to visit us and spend the night at Grandma's in Ames. Grandma kept the toddler cousins busy with playing in the sand box, going to the park, and a wagon ride complete with juice boxes and Cars graham crackers for a snack.

After all that the cousins needed a bath and then had fun running around the house in their towels.

The next day My Mom and I took the 3 cousins (Tyler, Kelsey, and Hannah) out to the Iowa 4-H Center for the afternoon.It was a nice warm fall day for a picnic and playing in the camp park.

 Then the cousins played in the new camp Gaga Ball Pit

 Then they gave up the ball game to play ring-around-the-rosie and stretch from all their intense playing!

 

The highlight of the afternoon was the hike to the camp pond. Grandma gave them each an ice cream bucket to gather treasures from our hike. We found several scenic spots to stop and enjoy the Kodak moments.

 

 

 

 

 Thankfully the trail was fairly flat for Hannah's stroller to make the trip.

We finally made it to the pond! The kids had fun throwing things into the pond from the dock, looking for frogs, playing in the water, and (after some hand washing), enjoyed a mid-hike snack!

 

 Even Hannah woke up from her nap to enjoy the pond scenery.

After our hike ended we piled three tired kids into the car and took a driving tour around the rest of the camp. And look who we found just outside of Silver Cabin near Maple Lodge! The trusty camp pig was enjoying a quiet fall nap - that was until Tyler and Kelsey woke him up. They thought he was dirty from sleeping on the ground so they tried to brush him off. They thought it was fun to see their names written on the pig, too. Our last picture of the day is my Mom and her three grand kids sitting by the pig. In case you don't know, our family has a lot of history with the 4-H Camp. My parents met at a winter 4-H camp held here at the Iowa 4-H Center and also spent time there during their honeymoon. Then I worked as the Program Director of the camp for 7 years and lived there for 5. My brother and his wife, Betsy, (Kelsey's parents) met at the camp while they were camp counselors for several years. So, it is a special place for all of us.
My Mom and I enjoyed sharing the camp with 3 young 4-H camp legacies on such a beautiful fall day!