Fort Snelling

Our G-man turns 9!

G wanted a relatively quiet birthday this year ON his birthday but then a big bash later...and he got it! On his birthday, we went out for breakfast, then went swimming and finally had some family over for a pizza party with a sinful ice cream cake. Joni (his birthday buddy) approved too! For his party, he had a bounce house, tons of friends and an ice cream sundae bar. It was great fun! Happy Birthday G-man!

M's Baseball Tournament

M decided to play baseball this year. Not YMCA, once-a-week, hangin' out baseball but the real deal with uniforms, practices, games...you know, baseball. He had a great time and improved so much over the course of the season. His team was undefeated and won their league championship. They were so happy and proud. Their trip to the State tournament wasn't quite as successful but they played well and had a good time nonetheless. Go Rays!!

First camping with mom trip

On our first mom and kid camping trip, we went to Nerstrand Big Woods State Park with 2 other families. It was so much fun. The kids had a blast playing together, whittling by the fire (a newly acquired skill and hobby), hiking and more. It was just great. We have another trip coming up very soon and we're all very excited about it! Mom power!!

Pukefest 2010

At the end of May and extending into June, we celebrated Pukefest 2010 with 4 weeks of rotating illness. It went through our entire family and peaked one night with 3 of 4 kids lying on the couch taking turns being sick. We ended up taking G into the ER because he just couldn't stop and was totally lethargic but the rest of them recovered on their own. I think it was perhaps rotovirus because of the symptoms and duration but I'm not sure. It was definitly NO FUN!!

New Kitties

Papa and Joni have had kitties on the farm for many years but little Nika was in an accident and didn't make it. Her sister, Bluebelle, was pretty devastated and so mom and Wayne decided that new kitties were a good solution. Here they are with the boys on the day they got them. The boys had a blast with them. S was very good with them and loved cuddling them up. C would hold one for about 2 seconds and then drop her. It's definitely true that cats land on their feet!

Fire

Inspired by my brother-in-law's mother, I decided that I was going to learn to be a camper and take my boys camping with our without daddy. There were only a few obstacles in my way and so I tackled them before we headed out. This was my "how to build a fire" trial. It went pretty darn well I'd say! I love that the big boys sat by the fire and read. It makes me happy.