Day at the Dunes 2024

 We went to the Warren Dunes on Saturday.  And from the long line waiting to get into the park, we apparently weren't the only ones who thought that it was a great day to go to the lake.  Wow!  I have never seen the parking lots so full and so many people and dogs at the beach.  Despite the large crowds, we still managed to find a spot on the beach where we could soak up the sun, cool down in the freezing cold water and enjoy a great day all together before the summer quickly comes to an end.

It's like Nolan is walking through the "calm before the storm".  Once we got past that clear spot, there were just people everywhere!!

It didn't really matter how busy it was on the sand though since none of us planned to just sit anyway.  Noel and I went for a walk along the beach while the kids immediately went to the water.  When we came back from our walk, we found them having chicken fights, having swimming races in the water, and seeing how many people they could "stack" into a tower.  I just sat on the sand near the water and listened to them laughing as they were having so much fun and just enjoying the time there all together.

Nolan and Melayna got cold so they came back to the sand to warm up and to build some castles.  Eventually, Noel joined them.

And then the others came up to the sand to take turns burying each other.

'Had to make sure that we climbed the dunes at least once and then we took some fun pictures at the end before heading home at the end of a long fun day in the sun.

Labor Day Weekend // Part Four // The Warren Dunes

 The girls had practice on Labor Day / Monday morning and then we didn't have any plans for the rest of the day so they asked if they could invite a couple of friends and then drive up to the dunes as a family.  Since the weather looked to be a gorgeous day, we decided that it would be a great relaxing way to spend Labor Day so we grabbed a quick lunch at home, packed a few snacks, and then headed north. 

Can I just say that the girls' friend Tyler (from the Nappanee youth group) is at least 6'8" and doesn't fit into our minivan very well.  He tried to sit like a normal person but his legs were still squished so then he threw his seat back onto Marissa and laid out giving himself plenty of space.  That brought quite a few laughs, but I'm not sure that it was the most comfortable trip ever.  LOL

Let's just say that Marissa may have celebrated her freedom when we finally arrived.

It must have been a popular idea because the beach was really crowded.  Things thinned down quite a bit once we climbed the dune (except for the group smoking marajuana casually at the top), but as long as we were down on the beach, it was crowded both on the sand and in the water.  Even with the crowds however, it was still the perfect way to spend the day.

It is always so hard to make the climb in the hot sand, but the view from the top makes it worth it every time.

Back down on solid ground, 'cuz climbing the dune one time is enough for me.

After a couple of hours of swimming and playing, we all decided that we were probably ready to head back home so we started to get dried off and dressed -- but some of us may have gotten a bit distracted with pictures.

All the "kids"...

Melayna, Spencer, Marissa, Tyler, and Nolan

After convincing Nolan "the pirate with the rock for an eye" to leave the picture...

And then Melayna wanted a serious picture with just her and Spencer but Marissa was very intent on photobombing all of them.

Attempt #1-

Attempt #2 with Tyler's help-

Attempt #3, the most graceful attempt (and my personal favorite) of them all-

Finally!

Since we were all just goofing off at this point, Marissa decided that she could lift Tyler and carry him around.  He disagreed and then the challenge was accepted.  Marissa just asked Noel to stabilize her for the first few seconds until she could carry him on her own...

This would work better if they weren't all laughing so hard!

I'm not sure that they moved, but she did successfully hold him off the ground.

We got back home in time for the four older ones to go out for ice cream before calling it a day.  And all in all, it was a very good day for all of us.